Leaders have improved standards at West Kent and Ashford College (WKAC) but more needs to be done to bring the institution up to scratch, the government’s education watchdog has said.

Ofsted sounded a cautiously optimistic note in its first inspection since the centre was acquired by the Hadlow group of companies in 2014, following the dissolution of debt-ridden K College.

Previously rated inadequate in 2013, inspectors bumped WKAC's rating up to 'requires improvement', citing better performance across the board under the new regime.

Officials, who visited WKAC's sites in Ashford, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells in late February and early March, said teaching, learning and assessment have been improved from very low starting points but are not yet good. Despite some progress, issues remain in the outcomes of students of English and mathematics.

However, they praised the high standards for adult students and requiring extra support, the links forged with businesses and better outcomes for the centre's many apprentices.

The college has also seen seen a 16% improvement in its overall pass rates since that 2013 and better GCSE English teaching means more students than ever are getting A*-C in their examinations.

The report states: "They [leaders] have introduced a culture of high aspirations and accountability, and improved performance management, which has started to raise the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, particularly for adults and learners with high needs funding.

"However, these improvements have not yet improved the overall quality sufficiently and too many learners on study programmes or apprenticeships do not make the progress of which they are capable."

Bosses said the report illustrated how the institution had been brought back from the brink, but acknowledged more needs to be done.

Paul Hannan, principal and chief executive of The Hadlow Group, said: “It was never going to be an easy undertaking to acquire a Grade 4 college and turn it around in a 2-year period.

"Bringing an institution back from the brink is not easy – the scale of the challenge is considerable and it has taken a huge team effort to make the journey from Grade 4 to Grade 3.

"We had effectively been shackled with a judgment on the past, a judgement on a previous administration, which had no bearing on the standards we see being upheld here day-to- day. I’m proud of all the staff at West Kent & Ashford College and the hard work they’ve put in - and the well-deserved recognition this report gives them.”

Mr Hannan's deputy, Mark Lumsdon-Taylor, added: "We are looking ahead to having another full inspection within two years and we’re fully aware of the areas we need to focus on, continuing to raise the quality of teaching and learning and effective lesson-planning to ensure our learners reach their full potential.

It’s easy to forget our starting point on this turnaround journey - K College had debts of £65m."