UTC Swindon 75 per cent full for year 10 in 2016/17

With eight months still to go, UTC Swindon has already filled 75 per cent of its available year 10 places for the academic year starting in September 2016. 

The college is urging year 10 and year 12 students aspiring to a career in engineering to apply now as places, while still available, are likely to be filled soon.

Allocation of places will begin on Tuesday 1 March.

To help new and prospective students and parents decide, UTC Swindon is holding an open day on Saturday 16 January from 10.00 am to 2.00 pm. This is your chance to meet the college principal, Angela Barker-Dench, learn about the curriculum and tour the fabulous facilities at UTC Swindon’s state-of-the-art Bristol Street site.

Two further open days will take place on Saturday 16 April and Saturday 25 June.

The high demand for places at UTC Swindon is unsurprising. The college enjoyed a highly successful first year after opening its doors in 2014 and looks set to surpass its goals this year. Furthermore, research conducted on behalf of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust shows high levels of satisfaction among UTC students and parents nationally.

Key findings of the research

Demand for technical education^[1]

• 64 per cent of mainstream school parents want more choice in the type of school for their child

• 69 per cent want the option to select a technical education if it reflects their child’s talents

Satisfaction with UTCs

• 80 per cent of students say going to their UTC was the right choice

• 70 per cent of parents say the UTC has made their child more confident of getting a job

• 85 per cent of parents believe the UTC is preparing their child for the world of work – compared to 68 per cent of parents with children in mainstream schools

Optimism

• 86 per cent of students attending UTCs are confident of getting a job that suits their skills when they leave education – and 87 per cent are confident they’ll succeed in work

• 70 per cent of UTC students believe their prospects are better than if they stayed in a mainstream school

 After UTC

• nationally, 37 per cent^[2] of school and college leavers go to university at 18/19 years. This year, 42 per cent of UTC leavers went to university

• 24 per cent of students who left UTCs at 18 started apprenticeships – nearly three times the national average of 8.5 per cent^[1]

About the research

During July and August 2015, OnePoll surveyed 450 parents of children aged between 14 and 18 studying at a UTC. It carried out an online study between 13 August and 1 September 2015 among 1,000 parents of children aged 14-18 in state school education.

The Baker Dearing Educational Trust was founded by Lord Baker and Lord Dearing to develop and promote the concept of university technical colleges.

Speaking about the current levels of applications for the upcoming academic year, Angela Barker-Dench said: “With UTC Swindon off to the flying start and UTCs outperforming mainstream schools in many areas, we’re seeing very high demand for places, even at this early stage of the cycle. My advice to students looking for a technical education is to apply now.”

About UTC Swindon

UTC Swindon caters for 600 students aged 14 to 19, providing courses for young people who aspire to a career in engineering, computing and business. Students at the college gain skills demanded in all sectors of the engineering and computing industries.

As part of the original Great Western Rail works, the UTC Swindon site creates a link between the engineering history and the engineering and computing future of the local area, with the Old School Building and the iconic Water Tower featuring prominently. Both structures, which are Grade II listed, were treated sympathetically, with the Water Tower being restored and brought back into educational use.

UTC Swindon is run by a trust sponsored by Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells and Oxford Brookes University. There are over 90 different industry partners involved with the University Technical College.

To apply for your place or find out more, visit www.utcswindon.co.uk or call UTC Swindon on 01793 207920.

Like UTC Swindon on Facebook: www.facebook.com/utcswindon  

Follow on Twitter: @utcswindon

Ends

[1] Apprenticeship Programme Starts by Narrow Age Band, Gender, Learners with Learning Difficulties and/ or Disabilities and Ethnicity (2002/03 to 2014/15 in-year estimates), available in https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/467750/apprenticeships-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.xls  54,880 18 year olds started apprenticeships in 2014-15. There were 655,733 18 year olds in England in 2014 (source: ONS MYE2: Population Estimates by single year of age and sex for local authorities in the UK, mid-2014, available in http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pop-estimate/population-estimates-for-uk--england-and-wales--scotland-and-northern-ireland/mid-2014/rft---mid-2014-uk-population-estimates.zip 

[2] Higher Education Initial Participation Rate https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/participation-rates-in-higher-education-2006-to-2014