TL;DR: Great teaching staff! Social justice is strong there; debate about social issues that don't align with the personal opinions of certain staff is a bad idea.
I graduated from Woking college in 2020, and I had a mixed experience.
The teaching staff were absolutely wonderful, I had an extremely enjoyable time learning there, with particular thanks to teaching staff Sam, Rob, Nikki, Dan, Shanaal, and Josh. Every lesson was interesting and well planned, and each of the above-mentioned teachers was always happy to answer any and all questions I had about the subject. Some so far as to do independent research, off the curriculum, to answer my question at a later date!
However, I had a particularly negative experience with feeling heard when, after engaging in a philosophical debate in my philosophy class, my head of year and another member of staff came to believe that the argument I presented was my personal opinion on the matter, and thus I was treated like a misguided student and told by my head of year that I should research emotional intelligence. I am typically extremely careful about the words I choose to use, and I'm very conscious of the thoughts and feelings of others. Despite my protest, it was like explaining myself to a brick wall. Suffice to say, I was far quieter for the rest of the year learning there, in fear that what I say would be miscontrued once again.
(Addional context for those interested: The debate was about whether or not another student should be allowed to use racial slurs when directly quoting a movie. My argument was that because his recital was purely objective, that it's acceptable. I obviously do not condone the use of racial slurs. Despite my objective argument, regardless of my personal opinion, I was told on numerous occasions that I shouldn't use racial slurs; something I've never done. I went unheard to those who it mattered most. Fortunately, my form tutor, Sam G, took the time to actually listen to me and made me feel far more validated, not as some maniacal racist, but as a student that can offer an opinion without it being misconstrued and pushed down because it differs with of the personal opinions of other staff members).
