Auniversity technical college (UTC) is a type ofsecondary school in England that is sponsored by auniversity and has close ties to local business and industry.
University technical colleges specialise in subjects like engineering and construction, taught alongside business skills and the use of IT. Pupils study academic subjects as well as practical subjects leading to technical qualifications. The curriculum is designed by the university and employers, who also provide work experience and projects for students.
The university and industry partners support the curriculum development of the UTC, can provide professional development opportunities for teachers, and guide suitably qualified students on to industrial apprenticeships or tertiary education. The UTC's governors include representatives from the sponsor university and partner employers. Students traditionally transfer to a UTC at the age of 14, part-way through their secondary education, though many UTCs now accept pupils at a younger age. The first UTCs were established in 2010, and there are 44 of them in 2023.
It was announced in August 2023 that two more UTCs would be established in Doncaster and Southampton.[1]
A university technical college is a non-selectivefree school funded directly by theDepartment for Education,[2] free to attend, and outside the control of thelocal education authority.
Students study core academic subjects, as well as practical subjects which lead to technical qualifications.[3] The curriculum is designed by the university and employers, who also provide work experience for students.[3]
UTCs were conceived and supported by theLabour government and introduced in 2010 by thecoalition government under thefree schools programme.[2] UTCs are collectively distinctive in that they offer technically oriented courses of study, combiningNational Curriculum requirements with technical and vocational elements. UTCs must specialise in subjects that require technical and modern equipment, but they also all teach business skills and the use ofinformation and communications technology (ICT).[4] UTCs are also supposed to offer clear routes intohigher education or further learning in work.[5]
When operating, UTCs receive the same per capita funding as other schools in the local authority, calculated by the same formula, and £87 extra to cover UTC-specific administration.[6]
The university technical college programme as a whole is sponsored by theBaker Dearing Educational Trust,[7] which promotes the setting up of UTCs. The trust was co-founded byKenneth Baker, a Conservative politician and formerSecretary of State for Education andRon Dearing. Each UTC pays an annual licence fee (£10,000 in 2019)[8] to the trust. Baker Dearing's promotion of UTCs is supported by a range of organisations, including theGatsby Charitable Foundation, the Peter Cundill Foundation, and theGarfield Weston Foundation.[9] Many large companies have pledged to co-sponsor UTCs includingArup,British Airways,Ford,Jaguar Land Rover andSony.[10]
| Name | Location | Opened |
|---|---|---|
| Aston University Engineering Academy | Birmingham | 2012 |
| BMAT STEM Academy | Harlow, Essex | 2014 |
| Aylesbury UTC | Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire | 2013 |
| Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology | Cambridge | 2014 |
| Crewe Engineering and Design UTC | Crewe, Cheshire | 2016 |
| UTC Derby Pride Park | Derby | 2015 |
| Doncaster UTC | Doncaster | 2020 |
| Elstree Screen Arts Academy | Borehamwood, Hertfordshire | 2013 |
| Brook Sixth Form and Academy | Dagenham, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham | 2014 |
| Energy Coast UTC | Workington, Cumbria | 2014 |
| Engineering UTC Northern Lincolnshire | Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire | 2015 |
| Global Academy | Hayes, London Borough of Hillingdon | 2016 |
| Greater Peterborough UTC | Peterborough, Cambridgeshire | 2016 |
| UTC Heathrow | Northwood, London Borough of Hillingdon | 2014 (as Heathrow Aviation Engineering UTC)[11] |
| JCB Academy | Rocester, Staffordshire | 2010 |
| The Leigh UTC | Dartford, Kent | 2014 |
| Lincoln UTC | Lincoln | 2014 |
| Liverpool Life Sciences UTC | Liverpool | 2013 |
| London Design and Engineering UTC | Royal Docks, London Borough of Newham | 2016[12] |
| Mulberry UTC | Bow, London Borough of Tower Hamlets | 2017 |
| North East Futures UTC | Newcastle upon Tyne | 2018[13] |
| Ron Dearing UTC | Hull | 2017 |
| Scarborough UTC | Scarborough, North Yorkshire | 2016 |
| SGS Berkeley Green UTC | Berkeley, South Gloucestershire | 2017[14] |
| Silverstone UTC | Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire | 2013 |
| South Devon UTC | Newton Abbot, Devon | 2015 |
| South Wiltshire UTC | Salisbury, Wiltshire | 2015[15] |
| Thomas Telford UTC | Wolverhampton | 2015 (as West Midlands Construction UTC) |
| University Collegiate School | Bolton, Greater Manchester | 2015 |
| University Technical College Norfolk | Norwich | 2014 |
| UTC Leeds | Hunslet, Leeds | 2016 |
| UTC Oxfordshire | Didcot, Oxfordshire | 2015[16] |
| UTC Plymouth | Plymouth, Devon | 2013 |
| UTC Portsmouth | Portsmouth | 2017[17][18] |
| UTC Reading | Reading, Berkshire | 2013 |
| UTC Sheffield City Centre | Sheffield, South Yorkshire | 2013 |
| UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park | Sheffield, South Yorkshire | 2016 |
| UTC South Durham | Newton Aycliffe, County Durham | 2016[19] |
| UTC Swindon | Swindon | 2014 |
| UTC Warrington | Warrington, Cheshire | 2016[20] |
| UTC@MediaCityUK | Salford, Greater Manchester | 2015[21] |
| Waterfront UTC | Chatham, Kent | 2015 (as Medway UTC)[22] |
| WMG Academy for Young Engineers, Coventry | Coventry | 2014 |
| WMG Academy for Young Engineers, Solihull | Solihull | 2016 |
| Name | Location | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Country UTC | Walsall, West Midlands | 2011 | 2015[23] |
| UTC Central Bedfordshire | Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire | 2012 | 2016[24] |
| Daventry University Technical College | Daventry, Northamptonshire | 2013 | 2017[25] |
| Greater Manchester University Technical College | Oldham, Greater Manchester | 2014 | 2017[26] |
| Hackney University Technical College | London Borough of Hackney | 2012 | 2015[27] |
| UTC@Harbourside | Newhaven, East Sussex | 2015[28] | 2019[29] |
| UTC Lancashire | Burnley, Lancashire | 2013 | 2017[27] |
| Sir Simon Milton Westminster UTC | City of Westminster, London | 2017 | 2022 |
| South Wiltshire UTC | Salisbury | 2015 | 2020[30] |
| Watford UTC | Watford, Hertfordshire | 2014 | 2023[31] |
| University Technical College Wigan | Wigan, Greater Manchester | 2013 | 2019[32][33] |
| Name | Location | Opened | Converted | New status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol Technology and Engineering Academy | Stoke Gifford, South Gloucestershire | 2013 | 2022 | UTC Sleeve[34] |
| Royal Greenwich UTC | Royal Borough of Greenwich | 2013 | 2016[35] | 11–19 free school |
| South Bank Engineering UTC | London Borough of Lambeth | 2016 | 2023 | 16-19 Academy |
| Tottenham University Technical College | London Borough of Haringey | 2014 | 2017[36] | 16-19 free school[37] |
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