University technical colleges (UTCs) are academies for 14- to 19-year-olds. They focus on providing technical education that meets the needs of modern employers. They offer technical courses and work-related learning, combined with academic studies.
All UTCs:
- are sponsored by a local university and employers. It is also usual for FE colleges and other educational institutions – like established academy trusts - to work in partnership with them;
- specialise in two curriculum areas (eg engineering and science);
- teach core GCSEs alongside technical qualifications, and we expect them to offer young people the opportunity to achieve the English Baccalaureate;
- focus on disciplines that require highly-specialised equipment, for example, engineering, manufacturing and construction;
- teach these disciplines alongside developing young people’s business, ICT and design skills to prepare students for a range of careers and continuing education at 19; and
- have 500 to 800 students.
The Baker Dearing Educational Trust plays a key role in developing partnerships and advising on applications for UTCs.
On 28 March 2013, the Department for Education approved 13 new UTCs through the pre-opening phase to open in September 2014 or beyond. See the full press notice here.
You can download a list of the open UTCs and those approved the pre-opening stage from this page.
