Edgbaston College

Inspection of Edgbaston College 37 George Road, Birmingham B15 1PL

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

At Edgbaston College, a vision of ‘education with a purpose’ is more than just a statement on the website; it is the call to make every moment matter. Respect, care and support underpin this college’s approach to ensuring that students succeed. This means that students successfully take their next steps into education, employment or training.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Across all subjects and college life, staff expect students to work hard, thrive in lessons and seize every moment for personal growth and development. The college has a track record of helping students achieve places at university to study courses like medicine, engineering and mathematics.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is an overwhelming sense of mutual respect between staff and students. Students have positive attitudes as they aim to get the most from each lesson. Staff are swift to act on those rare occasions when students need more support with studies or attendance at college. Consequently, behaviour is strong in lessons and at all other times.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Bake sales, game nights, trips to college fairs and work-related learning at places like doctors’ surgeries enrich students’ experiences. From ‘making physics fun’ to ‘investigating the cause of the death of Robbie the rat’, enrichment activities bring that sense of fun alongside study and academic ambition.

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better?

The proprietor, supported by a strong staff team, is driven to get the best outcomes for students. The college works closely with students to help them take their next steps into further education, training or employment. Students know exactly what they want to achieve. Across the college, there is a shared determination to make students’ ambitions come true. Many successfully secure places at university.

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better?

Clear systems and strong procedures ensure that the school consistently meets the independent school standards (the standards). The proprietor, who is also the principal, ensures shared responsibility among all staff to meet the standards. Staff value the proprietor’s support and feel that their well-being is safeguarded as much as the students’ experience.

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better?

Across all subjects, the school has set out exactly what students will learn and when they will learn it. Sequences of lessons are precisely planned to help students learn more, remember more and apply this knowledge to increasingly complex challenges. In some subjects, the students apply this theoretical knowledge to real-life situations. For example, in biology, students use their knowledge of DNA to ‘solve’ historical crimes, while in geography, they use their knowledge to debate globalisation. However, these opportunities to apply their knowledge to real-life situations are not yet as well implemented in other subjects. 12 to 14 March 2024 Staff deliver lessons skilfully and inspire students to want to learn more. Students told inspectors that their teachers are skilled and supportive. They are particularly positive about how staff go the extra mile to help them precisely understand what they are good at and what they need to improve. Teachers use ongoing

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better?

assessments to identify the precise areas where students need more help. They immediately follow up with one-to-one support sessions or weekend and holiday learning opportunities. Consequently, those who fall behind catch up very quickly.

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better?

Staff are attentive and supportive to students’ varying additional needs. Students confidently ask when they need additional help or when they have worries about their courses or exams. However, staff are not sufficiently knowledgeable and skilled in meeting additional needs such as dyslexia, autism or anxiety. This means that while staff are supportive, they do not always meet pupils’ specific learning needs. This limits the progress made by those students and their enjoyment of college life.

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better?

Students are attentive and studious in lessons. There is an overwhelming sense of mutual support and encouragement. Students attend well and are punctual. There are very few instances where attendance drops below the college’s expectations. In these cases, the school provides ongoing support and challenges. This support helps identify and break down the barriers stopping students from attending well.

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better?

Students benefit from effective careers education. This starts when the students arrive for their initial interviews. All students are expected to articulate their vision, aspirations and hopes for the future and these are carefully recorded so they can be revisited. Career fairs, trips to workplaces and guest speakers from the world of medicine and industry enrich students’ understanding of the world of work. Students told inspectors how this focus and support helped them achieve the university placements they had always dreamed about.

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better?

The college is more than a place to prepare students for higher education or training; it helps students to broaden their talents and interests and teaches them how to stay happy and safe in the wider world. For instance, lessons in personal, social, health and economic education develop students’ skills in financial management and independent living. Clubs such as the medical society or debate club provide opportunities to reflect on current affairs and debate topical issues. Students use the enrichment weeks to see their learning through a different lens. For instance, they use their knowledge of physics to unpick the mysteries of a black hole.

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better?

Since the pre-registration inspection, some parts of the second building have been used as a canteen, study space, toilets and examination hall. The college has also started to make use of a large courtyard as an appropriate outdoor space. These areas meet the standards for premises.

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better?

Leaders ensure that the school meets the requirements of schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010 and a suitable accessibility plan is in place.

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Safeguarding

12 to 14 March 2024 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The school’s awareness and understanding of the specific additional needs of some students is not always as clear as it could be. This means that sometimes the right provision is not in place to meet needs such as dyslexia, autism or anxiety. The college needs to ensure that all staff access regular training to develop their understanding of the additional needs that some students may have and the barriers that these can create to increased levels of progress and success.  In some aspects of some subjects, opportunities to apply knowledge to the workplace or the world in general are in the earlier stages of implementation. While there is a strong vision for this in all subjects, and plans reflect the intent to do this, there remains some variability in how subjects across the curriculum have provided consistent and regular opportunities. The college needs to ensure that students can apply their theoretical knowledge to real-life situations across all

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school. 12 to 14 March 2024

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School details

Annual fees (day students) £7,035 to £15,735

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School details

Email address owais@edgbastoncollege.co.uk 12 to 14 March 2024

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Information about this school

 The school is located in two large Georgian buildings on opposite sides of the same street. The second building’s address is 9 George Road, Birmingham, BN15 1NP. Number 37 George Road has been fully renovated to a good standard. The second building at 9 George Road has been partly renovated, and work is currently continuing to finish the renovation of this building. At the time of the inspection, some areas of the college were out of bounds for students and staff while maintenance work was being completed.  The school currently has Years 12, 13, and 14 students on its admission register. There are currently no Year 11 pupils on roll.  No students have an education, health or care plan, and none are looked after.  The school does not use any form of alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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Information about this inspection

The school meets the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and students; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts students’ interests first.  During the inspection, inspectors completed deep dives in the following subjects: mathematics, biology, chemistry and geography. In these subjects, they visited lessons, looked at students’ work and talked with students and staff about how these subjects were taught. Inspectors also looked at other subjects in less detail to check how they were planned and taught.  Inspectors observed informal times to evaluate safeguarding and students’

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Information about this inspection

behaviour.  During the inspection, the inspectors had formal meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders, subject teachers and students. They also talked informally with students and staff to gather general information about school life. 12 to 14 March 2024  An inspector also spoke with the proprietor about how he provides oversight for the college, the maintenance of the standards and the quality of safeguarding at the college.

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Inspection team

Chris Pollitt, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Mike Onyon Ofsted Inspector 12 to 14 March 2024 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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