Kimberley 16 - 19 Stem College

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 3 May 2023

Students enjoy studying at Kimberley College. Students treat each other and staff with high levels of dignity and respect. Students appreciate the way that staff recognise their maturity. Students value the inclusive community in which they study. Their voices are heard and diversity such as sexuality and ethnicity is accepted and celebrated. Students develop their confidence quickly. They value a calm environment where it is easy for them to get on with their work. Students demonstrate consistently good behaviour in lessons and around the college campus. Students are highly motivated to achieve and progress. A high proportion of students go to university or progress to an apprenticeship in their chosen subject area. Over half of the students at the college participate in social mobility and skills development activities, for example mathematics and biology Olympiads, recital evenings and an amnesty group that writes to local MPs about international human rights issues. Students feel safe in college. They find the open plan structure of the building a safe place in which to learn. Staff have a zero-tolerance approach to any form of bullying or discrimination. Students are confident that they know who to contact should they need to report anything.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should improve the quality of education in the few subjects where teaching is not yet consistently good so that all students make good or better progress.
• Leaders and managers should ensure that attendance to lessons and tutorial sessions is consistently high.
• Leaders and managers must involve employers in the design and implementation of the vocational curriculum so that it meets local and regional employer needs.
• Leaders must ensure that students know about the local risks of radicalisation and extremism in the areas in which they live.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)