Achievements, awards and accreditations
Weston College is the top-performing College in the West of England.
Aside from outstanding academic success, the College and its staff and courses have won a string of prestigious awards, accolades and accreditations in recent years.
This shows that quality and excellence run through everything we do and means that that, whether you’re thinking about enrolling on a course, training your staff, or working with us, you can be confident Weston College is the best choice for you.
Look below to find out more about our achievements.
An Ofsted Outstanding College
'Outstanding' Ofsted rating
In our most recent Ofsted review, we received he highest possible rating – ‘grade one Outstanding’ – following a rigorous, week-long inspection in December 2013.
The inspection related to every area of the College’s education programme –14-16 provision, 16-18 study programmes, 19+ learning and apprenticeships.
The College was rated 'Outstanding' in all four areas of inspection:
- Overall effectiveness
- Outcomes for learners
- Quality of teaching, learning and assessment;
- Effectiveness of leadership and management.
Ofsted also singled out many curriculum areas for praise, particularly the outstanding provision in:
- Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy
- Sport
- Public Services
- Independent Living and Leisure
- Foundation English.
More than just a College
Prison Education
Weston College has been awarded the contracts to deliver education to thousands of offenders in 19 prisons across the south of England.
The three contracts were awarded under the Prison Education Framework (PEF) and are worth £15.7 million over four years. The contracts cover prisons in Avon and South Dorset (including South Gloucestershire and Somerset); Devon and North Dorset (including Cornwall); and Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
We deliver nationally recognised qualifications and a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities to thousands of offenders. We focus on transformational learning and raising aspirations, ensuring that education packages meets the needs of offenders when they complete their sentence.
Read more about prison education at Weston College.
National Skills Academy
Weston College is an accredited ‘hub’ of the National Skills Academy for the environmental technologies sector.
This prestigious status means the College plays a major role in transforming the ability for businesses to access key training skills in the design, installation and maintenance of environmental technologies.
Read more about Weston College's National Skills Academy status.
Institute of Technology status
Weston College led a successful bid to create one of 12 new Institutes of Technology (IoTs).
The South West Institute of Futures Technology (SWIFT) aims to address gaps that exist in technical provision, by delivering high-quality technical training at Level 4 and 5.
It will deliver greater opportunities by creating routes into skilled employment and pathways for progression that are on a par with academic equivalents. SWIFT will also help reduce inequality by unlocking potential that has, traditionally, struggled to find an outlet.
Read more about SWIFT.
