The Department for Education spent more than £90 million on university technical college and studio school projects that went on to fail, new data shows.
The government updated its register of capital spending on free schools, which includes the acquisition and construction costs for the 14 to 19 technical institutions.
Analysis of the data shows that, since 2010, £63,983,295 has been spent on eight UTCs that went on to close or announce closure.
A further £28,926,340 has been shelled out for 17 studio school projects that didn’t work out.
The actual spend is likely to be higher, as some of the doomed schools have not yet been included in the government’s data.
In total, 26 studio schools and nine UTCs have either closed or announced plans to shut.
The government has also admitted today that it handed a UTC site worth £10.3 million to a university after the college closed down.
Annual accounts of the Education and Skills Funding Agency reveal that the site previously occupied by UTC Lancashire until it closed in 2017 was handed over to the University of Central Lancashire.
This resulted in a “gift” of £10.3 million from the ESFA to the university being listed in the accounts after the site was given up.
Overall, the government has spent more than £407 million on UTCs and studio schools since 2010.
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