Prior Pursglove and Stockton Sixth Form College

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings

This is a good provider Leaders have very successfully created a culture of mutual respect and tolerance. The behaviour of students is excellent in classes and public areas of the college. Leaders and managers work effectively with local partners and stakeholders to develop a curriculum that meets local and regional needs well.

Adults benefit well from learning opportunities in the community that would otherwise be unavailable to them. Leaders and teachers have implemented a well-planned curriculum for students who have high needs that has a strong focus on employability and engages well with employers. As a result of well-planned teaching in the large majority of subjects, students make goo...d progress in improving their knowledge and skills.

A high proportion of students who complete their courses achieve their planned learning goals. Teachers ensure that a high proportion of students who need to take English or mathematics GCSEs as part of their study programmes make good progress and improve their grades. A high proportion of students progress to university, higher-level apprenticeships or work when they complete their programmes at the college.

Senior leaders do not use data effectively enough to monitor the performance and progress of students on courses below level 3. As a result, when areas of concern arise, they are not able to take rapid action to resolve them. Managers lack awareness of differences in achievement of the small number of students on study programmes below level 3.

Senior leaders have been too slow to address inconsistencies in the quality of provision and outcomes that students achieve across the two campuses. Although improving, too many students who take level 3 qualifications, particularly at the Stockton campus, leave their programmes before they complete them.

Information about the provider

Prior Pursglove College and Stockton Sixth Form College was created through the merger of two predecessor sixth form colleges in May 2016.

The college is a medium-sized 16 to 19 academy and is part of the Tees Valley Collaborative Trust. The college provides 16 to 19 study programmes for 1,665 students, adult programmes for 286 students and has 61 students who have high needs. The college offers a wide range of A-levels subjects and a smaller range of vocational subjects at levels 1, 2 and 3.

The college delivers provision across two sites in the boroughs of Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees. Both boroughs share similar social and economic disadvantages, such as high unemployment, illness, child poverty, crime rates and low household income compared to the national averages. In recent years, attainment rates for 16-year-olds completing key stage 4 have improved in Stockton but remain well below the national averages in Redcar and Cleveland.

Also at this postcode