UTCs | FE Week

Over two thirds of UTCs rated less than ‘good’ in the last year

More than two thirds of the university technical colleges visited by Ofsted in the last year received ratings that were less than ‘good’, according to FE Week analysis. But the organisation which oversees UTCs has hit back, saying it believes the watchdog’s inspection regime is not designed to measure their performance in the most accurate […]

Revealed: Gove was forced to create UTCs

As education secretary, Michael Gove was “forced” to create university technology colleges by George Osborne and David Cameron, a former senior minister has revealed. David Laws, a Liberal Democrat who served under Mr Gove as schools minister in the coalition government from 2012 to 2015, told FE Week that he “never liked” the policy, but […]

Warrington UTC enrages neighbouring schools by ‘poaching’ pupils

A university technical college in Cheshire has been accused of poaching students from local schools in the middle of the year, in the latest embarrassing blow to the struggling programme. The pupils were due to join UTC Warrington as normal in September, but it invited them to move over this month, winding up neighbouring heads […]

UTC makes impressive turnaround – then ditches the brand

A university technical college which clawed its way up two Ofsted ratings in eight months has denied distancing itself from the UTC movement even though it has removed all mention from its name. Once known as UTC Cambridge, the 14-to-19 provider has rebranded as the Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology as it joins Parkside […]

UTCs demand more funding than mainstream schools

The body behind the ailing university technical college model has called on the government to apportion more funding to them than to mainstream schools. The Baker Dearing Trust also wants school leaders to assess which students might best fit the scheme – instead of just sending them unsuitable learners – as well as changes to […]

Government urged to do more to rescue struggling UTCs

Far more needs to be done by the government to support its struggling University Technical Colleges programme, a new report by the National Foundation for Educational Research has warned. The document named ‘Behind the Headlines’ analysed the UTC programme so far, acknowledging that “the introduction of UTCs has been very challenging”. It identified six areas […]

UTC applications surge after letters sent to parents

The body that runs the university technical colleges has been making bold claims about a surge in demand for places for 14-year-olds. New figures shared exclusively with FE Week by the Baker Dearing Trust indicate that applications from 14-year-olds are running at nearly “double the rate” compared with last year. Silverstone UTC, for example, currently […]

University technical colleges plan to switch recruitment age to 13

University technical colleges across the country are planning to recruit students a year before their standard 14 starting age, an FE Week investigation has found. Five UTCs are consulting on taking students in from year nine, instead of year 10, in future academic years – with more expected to follow suit. The UTC project is […]

UTCs should be allowed to recruit at 11

To circumvent the problem of recruitment at 14, LSEC is setting up a vocational free school – a UTC in all but name. Sam Parrett argues that UTCs should be allowed to start at 11 Another week, another story about a failing UTC. Seven of them have now closed their doors and 60 per cent […]