Presentation Day Once again, we were blessed with blue skies for the College Presentation Day and we welcomed back former student, Louisa Nie to be our Guest of Honour.  Louisa has recently graduated from Cambridge University with a BSc in Land Economy and an M.Phil in Real Estate Finance and so her speech focused on giving the students her top tips for a happy and successful life at university.  Louisa then presented certificates and prizes to students for academic progress and achievement – congratulations to all those who received an award. 

The ISC students celebrated the recent Royal Wedding of William and Kate- after watching the wedding in the morning dressed up in their best hats, they went to the Garden Party held at the Village Hall in Padworth which was attended by over 700 local people.  They enjoyed the picnic, dance displays and live music and took part in the traditional Maypole dancing and Tug of War…in the time-honoured way of marking a royal event.

Two Academic Day Scholarships which will reduce the fees by as much as 50% have been made available by the Trustees for day students from the local area to come and study GCSE or A level from September 2012 at Padworth College taking advantage of the small class sizes, excellent academic results, individual attention and the opportunity to make friends with students from around the world.  Contact the Admissions Department for more information.

Year 10 students who are taking GCSE Core Science visited the Grundon Recycling plant to find out more about the waste management facility. Here is Holly’s account of the visit:  ”When we arrived, we were kitted out with reflective jackets and hard hats then we trooped off to see where the trucks dumped their loads.  I was amazed at the huge mound of rubbish created by Padworth that had been collected that day.  We then saw the belts that fed the paper from the heap for compacting.  Sorters picked out any paper that wasn’t the right kind.  Our guide was proud to tell us that the main factory had never turned down any of Grundon’s paper “cubes” because the percentage of the wrong paper was too high.  I enjoyed visiting Grundon and think that subsequent year groups would too.”

A group of students from all year groups have just returned from a trip to Paris.  ISC student, Keiko described the trip.  “We went to Paris for a long weekend.  We travelled by coach and ferry which was a new and interesting experience for some of us.  We visited the Sacre Coeur, Montmartre and the Eiffel Tower.  The Eiffel Tower was amazing and we all took some lovely photos.  On Sunday we visited Disneyland where we all had a fantastic time.  many of us were able to practise our French.  When we got back to Padworth on Monday evening, we were all exhausted after such a wonderful trip.”

Following the inspections in February 2011 by Ofsted and the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), the reports published have praised the overall achievement of students at Padworth College and ISI Inspectors reported that “It is a happy and successful school where students feel very well supported and cared for”. The ISI inspection consisted of assessing regulatory requirements and the school’s educational provision whilst the Ofsted inspectors were concerned with the boarding provision.  The ISI praised the learning and teaching standards, the pastoral care and the leadership and management of the school whilst the Ofsted report rated the overall quality of the boarding environment as “Good”, particularly commending the promotion of equality and diversity. Principal, Linde Melhuish, commented, “The Inspection teams took time to understand Padworth; the report therefore reflects their strongly felt belief that it is a special place, which draws out the best from its students. The pastoral system was found to be strong and supportive and the Inspectors spoke highly of the excellent relationships between staff and students which undoubtedly strengthen and support learning both in and outside the classroom. The occasion of such inspections provides us with objective judgement from education experts as to how the College is performing and therefore helps us to assess the priorities for the future and to develop the school accordingly.” Both reports are available to download here  Independent Schools Inspectorate Report on Padworth College 2011 Ofsted Inspection report for Padworth College 2011