Rochdale Sixth Form College

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 18 October 2022

Students describe their experiences at the college as 'heart-warming', 'enjoyable', 'rewarding', 'motivational' and 'safe'. They talk about their college with pride. Almost all of them would recommend the college to a friend. Students told inspectors that the college provides a happy and supportive education where teachers are very helpful and make learning fun. Staff have high aspirations for their students, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. They know their students very well. Teaching staff create highly purposeful and productive learning environments that enable students to flourish academically and personally. Around three quarters of students progress to university. Almost all high-needs students perform better than their peers and all progress to university. Teachers are very effective in promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in lessons and around the college. Consequently, students leave the college with a set of values and standards that prepares them for their futures. Students develop high levels of confidence and resilience as a result of their programmes. For example, students respond positively following mistakes they make in their work and use this experience to self-reflect and to improve their next piece of work. Student support is wide-ranging, well structured and of an excellent quality. Students' behaviour and attendance are exemplary. They arrive to lessons on time, and they are keen and enthusiastic to learn. Students demonstrate consistently high levels of respect for others. They fully embrace their peers' opinions and different viewpoints, and value their contributions in lessons. Students listen very attentively to teachers' instructions and work very conscientiously throughout their time at the college. Students participate routinely in an extensive range of highly relevant extra- curricular and volunteering activities. These include the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, the college's annual theatre production, the Student Union and a variety of activities to support students' next steps, such as astrophysics, biochemistry, law society, medical society and other pre-career programmes. Students contribute to their local community regularly. For example, they help to clean a local river and paint fences for local care homes. Students become active and responsible citizens in their local and wider communities.

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