Compliance Inspection Passed

We are delighted to announce that Shiplake College met the required standard in every criterion examined during the recent regulatory compliance inspection by the Independent Schools Inspectorate.

The inspectors visited the College on 21 and 22 March and immersed themselves fully in Shiplake life. They attended Chapel, observed lessons and a variety of sport and co-curricular activities, conducted interviews with pupils and held discussions with teaching and support staff. During this time they were recording whether the school meets each of the standards in the schedule of independent school standards and national minimum standards for boarding schools.

These standards are arranged into eight parts including: the quality of education provided; the welfare, health and safety of pupils; the suitability of staff and those in contact with pupils; the premises and accommodation; the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils; and the provision of information to parents, inspectors and the Department of Education. The report confirms that Shiplake meets all the standards and that no further action is required as a result of the inspection. Since this new iteration of inspection regimes has come into force not all schools meet the standards and some have had to implement action plans to respond accordingly.

Headmaster, Gregg Davies, comments: "My congratulations to the whole staff for providing such a rich, nurturing and all-round education and for such an affirming and positive inspection result. This is on the back of the full integrated inspection in March 2015 which saw us judged as ‘excellent’ in all the categories. We welcome the scrutiny that external inspections and self-evaluation brings, as they ensure we avoid complacency. There are always ways to improve and we shall be looking at the feedback questionnaire results completed by parents and pupils to see where we can further improve.

The report also showed that recent GCSE performance has been above the national average for maintained schools and results in IGCSE examinations are higher than worldwide norms. The report, which disappointingly does not take into account our exceptional BTEC results, states that A Level performance is in line with the national average.

The inspectors commented on the College’s positive atmosphere, environment and relationships and our engaged, happy pupils. They also praised the school for its pre-inspection preparation and my particular thanks to Mr Keith Settle who ensures all the policies and other information required by inspectors prior to them making ‘the phone call’, is up-to-date and available."

The full report is available to download below.

Regulatory Compliance Inspection Report - March 2018