East Sussex College (ESC) has been ranked as the best performing FE college and in the top 5% of all providers in the UK for its international provision following a recent British Council inspection.

EL Gazette (English Language Gazette), the international news and media company for English Language Teaching, ranked the UK providers based on the summary statements published by the British Council. There were 15 areas assessed by the British Council, which EL Gazette then calculated to create the overall standings.

The college was ranked as the highest placed Further Education provider for its Lewes and Eastbourne campuses, only bettered by 14 other organisations, predominantly made up of private language schools. The college has held the top position for eight years.

Mark Allen, International Director at East Sussex College, said: “We are delighted with the successful British Council inspection. Although the inspection focuses on English Language, they also look at every area of our work including the accommodation we provide, our admissions process, the support we offer students, the resources available to help them learn, and the management of the college. This accreditation is a very strong kitemark of the whole college’s quality and something we are very proud of.

“We also have even more reason to celebrate as this is the eighth consecutive year that we are the number one college in the UK for English Language and placed in the top 5% of all providers, including private language schools, colleges and universities.”

A summary from the British Council report showed that the college had “Strengths...in the areas of strategic and quality management, staff management, student administration, premises and facilities, learning resources, academic staff profile, academic management, course design, learner management, teaching, care of students, accommodation and leisure opportunities.”

You can read the full report here: www.britishcouncil.org

The EL Gazette rankings are based entirely on the summary statements published by the British Council. From the summary statement, they assign one point for each ‘area of strength’ listed and deduct a point for each area that ‘needs improvement’ to arrive at the ‘net areas of strength.’

The rankings of all providers can be found here: www.elgazette.com