Experience everything UTC Swindon has to offer at open day
Students and parents can discover what Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for School Reform, has called “one of the best school buildings” he has ever seen[1] at UTC Swindon. The college is holding an open day on Saturday 18 April 2015from 10.00 am to 3.00 pm.
Visitors can go on a guided tour around UTC Swindon’s £10 million state-of-the-art Bristol Street site. The tour takes in light-filled workshops and classrooms that reflect the workplace, the lecture theatre and a hub area where students can generate ideas, socialise and inspire others. The tours will be available from 10.00 am. There will be presentations every hour from 10.00 am and refreshments will be available throughout the day. College staff will be on hand to explain the curriculum.
Angela Barker-Dench, Principal at UTC Swindon, said: “We’re proud to invite prospective students and parents into the building and present the wonderful learning experience UTC Swindon has to offer. This will be a brilliant opportunity to showcase how well we’ve been doing since September, so we’re excited to welcome people through the door.”
UTC Swindon partners will be on hand to discuss the importance of engineering. These include, Spirent Communications, the leader in networks, services and devices testing, The Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), the largest multidisciplinary professional engineering institution in the world and Stuart Holland, director of Thermographic Consultancy.
Spirent Communications is a global leader in test and measurement, offers an extensive portfolio of solutions to test data centers, cloud computing and virtualized environments, high speed Ethernet networks and services, 3G/4G wireless networks and devices, network and application security, and positioning technologies.
Darren Cooke, director of operations for service experience at Spirent Communications, said: “As an innovative engineering organization, Spirent wants to inspire young people and open their eyes to engineering in all its forms. Through this partnership, we can help UTC Swindon develop the engineers the UK will need in the future.”
The IET works to inspire, inform and influence the global engineering community, supporting technology innovation to meet the needs of society.They provide expert advice to the UK’s Parliament, Government and other agencies.
Stuart Holland has in-depth technical knowledge of power supplies for industrial, commercial and domestic structures. A former apprentice, he understands the value of building a strong foundation and learning the skills needed to get a foothold in the engineering and manufacturing industries.
As part of the original Great Western Rail works, the UTC Swindon site creates a link between the historic engineering and the engineering 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 opened its doors in September 2014. It caters for 600 students aged 14 to 19, providing courses for young people who aspire to a career in engineering. Students at the college can gain the skills necessary across all sectors of the engineering industries.
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 a place at UTC Swindon in 2015, email info@utcswindon.co.uk or download the application form at www.utcswindon.co.uk.
For more information, call UTC Swindon on 01793 207920.
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For media enquiries, please contact Emma De Maio, redheadPR, 07921 160 134, emma@redheadpr.co.uk.