Our colleges
UTCs are a national family of over 40 state-funded schools that offer a distinctively different educational choice from other schools. They offer a secondary-age education for Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 (usually age 14-18) with some starting earlier at Key Stage 3. By recruiting at age 14, UTCs provide a fresh-start for many young people in a supportive, smaller school environment.
UTCs are more than just a school. As well as providing a strong grounding in the core subjects of English, Maths and Science, each UTC has one or more technical specialism linked to their local industry partners. The curriculum provides a blend of academic and technical learning, with balance appropriate to each Key Stage. Programmes of study demonstrate high academic and technical ambition for all pupils, building the vital employability skills, personal values and professional behaviours required by UTC leavers for rapid progression into the UTC’s target technical sector. UTCs invest in young people’s enthusiasm and aptitude for science, maths and technology, and in doing so accelerate their progression to a career in a technical field. In turn this progression will feed the talent pipeline into UTCs’ target technical sectors.
UTCness
The UTC model is licensed by Baker Dearing, and UTCs sign up to a charter setting out the expectations for their unique character and educational contribution. There are a number of characteristics which help define this special ‘UTCness’.
Technical qualifications
UTCs offer high quality English, Maths and Science like other schools, but also provide sought-after technical qualifications in their chosen specialisms
Destination-focused
Through strong employer and university engagement, UTCs enable young people to make an informed choice about their career pathways after they finish school.
Project-based learning
Learning is taught in the context of industry with employer and university partners contributing to curriculum design, content and delivery. Students are set real life projects which require them to apply and extend their technical knowledge.
Professional work environment
UTCs run a longer working day, with professional dress codes and behaviour expectations that mimic the workplace of the employers our students are preparing to join.
High quality work experience
Students build on the job skills and a network of contacts in their preferred businesses
Work-ready
UTC students develop all the skills and attributes required for progression into a productive technical career, such as: curiosity and imagination; enquiry and analysis; problem-solving and resilience; creativity and ingenuity; self-management and organisation; teamwork and collaboration; synthesis and presentation skills; confidence with technology and digital skills; emotional intelligence.
Cutting edge technology
UTCs are newly built schools and offer industry-standard equipment. They are supported by industry partners to ensure the curriculum offered, and equipment used, remains relevant to the needs of employers.
