With all these colleges getting the full set of outstanding grades, you could be forgiven for thinking that Ofsted inspections, like A-levels (allegedly), are getting easier.

But if that is true, it would be wrong to accuse principals of not facing up to the issue. Many have expressed to Ferret privately that there ought to be some way of differentiating between those who get all top grades so that we can see who is the best of the best.

It seems that principals are happy to risk revealing that their top grades might not be quite as good as the college down the road if it means a little healthy competition.

Ofsted, it seems, feels otherwise.

When Brockenhurst College in the New Forest, Hampshire, became the latest to get five out of five, it also transpired it has 39 out of 41 grades overall - if you include the 36 unpublished grades which contribute to the five main grades.

Curious as to whether this put Brockenhurst in pole position, Ferret asked Ofsted whether any college had done better.

Sadly, the inspectorate does not see fit to share such information with TES readers.

So much for the competitive spirit.