YOUR article “Post-16 inspection alert” (TES, November 26) linked the introduction of area inspections of 16-19 education to general government crackdowns on the sector, following the Halton college fiasco.
I am afraid that the Department for Education and Employment press release encouraged this type of confusion. It used selective figures to create a picture of inspection cavalry coming over the hill to rescue 16-19 education in Islington - currently a favoured area for cavalry exercises!
There has long been a need to look at what is offered in an area across schools, colleges and training providers, to appreciate the role played by each, and how opportunities and achievement can be improved.
This requires objectivity, creativity and imagination. The issue has been around for nearly 30 years and never properly tackled.
For the record, the A-level point score for this college is 12.6 for 350 students (the fifth highest out of 36 colleges in Greater London) and our advanced GNVQ point score is 11.2 (the fourth highest in Greater London). Our intermediate general national vocational qualification pass rate is above the national average.
Tom Jupp
Principal
City and Islington College
London
