THE acting principal at Tavistock College this week claimed the school?s new Ofsted report would provide the springboard needed to make it one of the leading educational establishments in the county. Chris Powell, who took over at the college on a temporary basis following the early retirement of former principal John Simes, acknowledged failings highlighted by the inspectors ? but said the school had ?huge potential?,which he was confident would be harnessed by new head Colin Eves when he takes up his post in September. The Ofsted report published this week praised the standards of teaching, learning and achievement at the college. Inspectors said: ?Overall, teaching and learning are good. Over a third of lessons seen were very good or excellent and seven out of ten were good or better ? there are very few unsatisfactory lessons.? Mr Powell was praised for his good leadership throughout a ?difficult? transition period for the college, the governing body had made a ?strong and growing contribution? to college improvement and student attitudes and behaviour was good. Provision for students with special needs was also good and the sixth form was praised for its wide range of courses, in which students achieved above average results. But some classrooms were criticised by the inspectors, who said: ?Teaching can be handicapped by accommodation and teachers and students often suffer through working in cold, unpleasant and impractical rooms ? it is to their immense credit that teaching and learning do not suffer more due to these depredations.? The curriculum was ?unsatisfactory? ? planning for the future also needed improvement, being labelled ?disjointed and unconvincing? and resources, particularly for ICT, were ?unsatisfactory?. Mr Powell said: ?Basically, there is a lot of good teaching going on, there?s a lot of effective learning going on, but the accommodation does hamper teaching and learning in a number of areas, particularly technology and science. ?In order to address the accommodation issues properly, you are probably talking about £12-million to £15 million at current prices and I think it?s remarkable that in some areas the students and teachers are getting such good results, in fairly grim conditions.? He said curriculum issues and future planning were already being addressed. Accommodation and computer provision would be improved with the opening of the new language and sixth form study centres in September. ?This school has immense potential and the report underlines that. If we can get the curriculum, long-term planning, accommodation and communications with parents right, there is no reason why Tavistock should not be one of Devon?s flagship comprehensive schools. ?The Ofsted experience has really brought staff and governors together in a very determined way to bring about improvements. ?What we have to do now is make the best of the resources we have available in the short-term and work with Devon to build a sensible plan to replace some very outdated and inappropriate accommodation.? Mr Powell said a detailed survey to find out what staff, parents and students really thought about the school had been commissioned this summer. ?This will be a very powerful set of data to sit alongside Ofsted?s snapshot of life in Tavistock College. It will give the new principal and governing body a lot of information with which to address the issues facing the college,? he said. Alex Wood, chairman of governors, said: ?We are pleased that Ofsted has recognised the work we have undertaken already to address concerns they highlight and that we have already begun planning for the short, medium and long-term. ?The report will give the college the necessary leverage to begin working with the LEA to help us take on these challenges, particularly the millions required to address accommodation issues which impact upon the quality of curriculum we deliver.?
