Last week, I visited Dan Dean (Principal) and Terry Price (Chair of Governors) at Esher College. After really feeling the pinch of the public financial pressures in recent years, it was good to be able to meet up after the Chancellor's Spending Review, with news that the national base rate funding per student in colleges will be protected.

The Chancellor also opened up further opportunities for colleges like Esher College to gain more autonomy and gain extra money (from recovering the cost of VAT) through academy status.

Above all, it was a chance to celebrate the college's amazing results compared to other colleges and schools - including private ones - nationally. In terms of A Level passes, Esher College scores in the top 10 of all Sixth Form Colleges, and has a higher proportion of students going onto secure first class or upper second class degrees than the average pupil from private schools. It also has 9% more students gaining firsts from the Russell Group of universities than private schools. These are fantastic achievements we should celebrate.