New wave of UTCs confirmed
The Department for Education has announced a deadline of 29 January 2016 for applications to establish new vocational secondary schools, known as University Technical College. There are nine UTCs in the North West in sectors including construction and engineering.
The DfE will publish a guidance document this autumn to help groups through the application process. This will included information on:
- what DfE expects in an application to establish a UTC
- what applicants need to know before applying
- how to complete and submit an application
- who to contact for help with an application
Interested applicants should get in touch with Jack Rickard, senior adviser at Baker Dearing Educational Trust, for further details and to discuss the process. BDT is funded by DfE to help applicant groups prepare.
Since 2010 the government has opened 30 UTCs, with 31 more in development. UTCs are schools developed in partnership with universities and employers that prepare young people for careers in industries such as engineering and science.
The North West UTCs are:
- Energy Coast UTC, Cumbria: Specialising in Construction, Engineering and Energy, opened September 2014
- UTC Lancashire, Burnley: Construction, Engineering, September 2013
- Wigan UTC Academy: Process engineering, environmental technologies, September 2013
- UTC Bolton: Health Sciences and Engineering Technologies, September 2015
- The Greater Manchester Sustainable Engineering UTC, Oldham: Sustainable Engineering and Construction, September 2014
- Liverpool Life Sciences UTC, September 2013
- Crewe Engineering & Design UTC, September 2016
- UTC@MediaCity: Creative, digital, enterprise, September 2015
- UTC Warrington: Energy and engineering, September 2016
