A university technical college (UTC) is a type of secondary school in England that is sponsored by a university 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 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. Pupils 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-selective free school funded directly by the Department for Education,[2] free to attend, and outside the control of the local education authority.
University technical colleges specialise in subjects like engineering and construction, and teach these subjects along with employability and IT skills.[3] Pupils study core academic subjects, as well as practical subjects which lead to technical qualifications. The curriculum is designed by the university and employers, who also provide work experience for students.
UTCs were introduced in 2010 by the coalition government under the free schools programme. UTCs are collectively distinctive in that they offer technically oriented courses of study, combining National 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 of information and communications technology (ICT).[4] UTCs are also supposed to offer clear routes into higher 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 the Baker Dearing Educational Trust,[7] which promotes the setting up of UTCs. The trust was co-founded by Kenneth Baker, a Conservative politician and former Secretary of State for Education and Ron 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 the Edge Foundation, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and the Garfield Weston Foundation.[9] Many large companies have pledged to co-sponsor UTCs including Arup, British Airways, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover and Sony.[10]
| Name | Location | Opened | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aston University Engineering Academy | Birmingham | 2012 | |
| BMAT STEM Academy | Harlow, Essex | 2014 | |
| Buckinghamshire University Technical College | Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire | 2013 | |
| Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology | Cambridge | 2014 | |
| Crewe Engineering and Design UTC | Crewe, Cheshire | 2016 | |
| 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 | |
| Shireland Biomedical UTC | West Bromwich, Sandwell, West Midlands | 2015[11] | |
| UTC Heathrow | Northwood, London Borough of Hillingdon | 2014 (as Heathrow Aviation Engineering UTC)[12] | |
| 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[13] | |
| Mulberry UTC | Bow, London Borough of Tower Hamlets | 2017 | |
| North East Futures UTC | Newcastle upon Tyne | 2018[14] | |
| Ron Dearing UTC | Hull | 2017 | |
| Scarborough UTC | Scarborough, North Yorkshire | 2016 | |
| SGS Berkeley Green UTC | Berkeley, South Gloucestershire | 2017[15] | |
| Silverstone UTC | Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire | 2013 | |
| South Devon UTC | Newton Abbot, Devon | 2015 | |
| South Wiltshire UTC | Salisbury, Wiltshire | 2015[16] | |
| 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 | 2017 | |
| UTC Oxfordshire | Didcot, Oxfordshire | 2015[17] | |
| UTC Plymouth | Plymouth, Devon | 2013 | |
| UTC Portsmouth | Portsmouth | 2017[18] [19] | |
| 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[20] | |
| UTC Swindon | Swindon | 2014 | |
| UTC Warrington | Warrington, Cheshire | 2016[21] | |
| UTC@MediaCityUK | Salford, Greater Manchester | 2015[22] | |
| Waterfront UTC | Chatham, Kent | 2015 (as Medway UTC)[23] | |
| 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[24] | |
| UTC Central Bedfordshire | Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire | 2012 | 2016[25] | |
| Daventry University Technical College | Daventry, Northamptonshire | 2013 | 2017[26] | |
| Greater Manchester University Technical College | Oldham, Greater Manchester | 2014 | 2017[27] | |
| Hackney University Technical College | London Borough of Hackney | 2012 | 2015 | |
| UTC@Harbourside | Newhaven, East Sussex | 2015[28] | 2019[29] | |
| UTC Lancashire | Burnley, Lancashire | 2013 | 2017[30] | |
| Sir Simon Milton Westminster UTC | City of Westminster, London | 2017 | 2022 | |
| South Wiltshire UTC | Salisbury | 2015 | 2020[31] | |
| Watford UTC | Watford, Hertfordshire | 2014 | 2023[32] | |
| University Technical College Wigan | Wigan, Greater Manchester | 2013 | 2019[33] [34] |
| Name | Location | Opened | Converted | New status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol Technology and Engineering Academy | Stoke Gifford, South Gloucestershire | 2013 | 2022 | UTC Sleeve[35] | |
| Royal Greenwich UTC | Royal Borough of Greenwich | 2013 | 2016[36] | 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[37] | 16-19 free school[38] |