Following the four-day on-campus assessment by seven inspectors from Ofsted (the UK government’s Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills), education across Queen Mary’s degree apprenticeship programmes was judged to be Outstanding in all five categories: quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; leadership and management; effectiveness of provision.
Professor Colin Bailey, President and Principal of Queen Mary University said: “I am extremely proud, although not surprised, that the quality of our education has been rated as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted. This independent in-depth evaluation by the regulator demonstrates the excellent education that is delivered by our staff.
“Our vision at Queen Mary is to open the doors of opportunity to any student with the potential to succeed. I am therefore pleased that the Ofsted assessors recognised that we ‘place a significant emphasis on promoting social mobility, diversity and inclusion’.
“We were the first Russell Group university to offer degree apprenticeships programmes, with the dual aims of: providing students with varied study options that suit their career goals; and providing employers the opportunity to work with us to meet their skills needs. This assessment highlights our leading achievements in ensuring that our graduates have the required skills to compete within a global market.”
Professor Stephanie Marshall, Queen Mary’s VP Education said: “This fantastic result is a testament to the hard work, commitment and dedication of staff across Queen Mary. It demonstrates the quality of our educators who teach our degree apprentices alongside our undergraduate and postgraduate degree students. I could not be more proud.”
Dr Philippa Lloyd, Queen Mary’s VP Policy and Strategic Partnerships said: “We are very proud of the employers we partner with on our degree apprenticeship programmes, including Goldman Sachs, Amazon, KPMG and PwC and the NHS. I was therefore particularly pleased to see this assessment highlight that we ‘work very effectively with prestigious organisations’ to ensure our curricula meet employers’ skills needs.”
In their report, Ofsted note that Queen Mary’s degree apprenticeship students demonstrate exceptionally positive attitudes towards their studies, develop substantial new knowledge and skills, benefit from demanding and ambitious teaching, and are fully included in the University community. It also notes that leaders and managers ensure apprentices enjoy an excellent experience, work very effectively with prestigious organisations to ensure the curricula meet employers’ skills needs, and give all students apprentices effective support.
Notes to Editors
• At Queen Mary University of London, we believe that a diversity of ideas helps us achieve the previously unthinkable.
• Throughout our history, we’ve fostered social justice and improved lives through academic excellence. And we continue to live and breathe this spirit today, not because it’s simply ‘the right thing to do’ but for what it helps us achieve and the intellectual brilliance it delivers.
• Our reformer heritage informs our conviction that great ideas can and should come from anywhere. It’s an approach that has brought results across the globe, from the communities of east London to the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.
• We continue to embrace diversity of thought and opinion in everything we do, in the belief that when views collide, disciplines interact, and perspectives intersect, truly original thought takes form.
• Ofsted’s rating comes off the back of a recent stream of recognition for Queen Mary’s work on social mobility and its degree apprenticeship programmes:
• In October this year, the University’s President and Principal, Professor Colin Bailey, was recognised for his outstanding contribution to social mobility with a national award SOMO award.
• Queen Mary’s Flying Start programme, run in partnership with PwC, is shortlisted for a QS Reimagine Award, while its lead, Professor Ishani Chandrasekara is shortlisted in the 2024 THE Awards.
• A Sutton Trust Report (2021) named Queen Mary the best university for social mobility in the country.
Method of Research
News article
Subject of Research
Not applicable