The largest number of young people ever are now studying at University Technical Colleges, enrolment figures for the 44-strong network of technical education schools have revealed.
The Baker Dearing Educational Trust has confirmed the number of students enrolled at UTCs has hit a record high of 20,800 for the 2024/25 academic year.
This is a 6.5% increase on the 2023/24 academic year and follows a steady increase in UTC student numbers over the past five years.
Baker Dearing, which founded and supports the UTC network and each year gathers enrolment figures from each school, has also found:
- Half of all UTCs are oversubscribed for at least one age of entry – Years 7, 9, 10, 12.
- Over 5,000 young people missed out on a UTC place this year.
- Capacity utilisation – number of students divided by the number of UTC places – is 75% this year. Five years ago, it was 50%.
- Census data for last year shows a rise in the percentage of female students at UTCs to 34%, from 30% three years ago.
‘UTCness’ and Baker Dearing support key to increased recruitment
Students are attracted to a UTC by the availability of technical and creative subjects, the opportunities to engage with employers, and because they want to progress onto an apprenticeship, according to survey data from last year.
Employer engagement, high-quality technical and creative education, as well as strong destinations are all hallmarks of ‘UTCness’ – the ingredients that Baker Dearing argues make for a strong UTC education.
Baker Dearing has supported UTCs to deliver on those ingredients and students leaving at 18 are now five times more likely to progress onto an apprenticeship than the national average.
The pipeline of apprentices that UTCs provide for employers is increasingly important, as the British Chambers of Commerce found in June that 62% of organisations are currently facing skills shortages. Apprenticeship starts by under-19s have also plummeted by 37% since the Apprenticeship Levy was introduced.
Baker Dearing has also provided significant advice to UTCs on recruitment, partly by creating avenues for staff to exchange best practice, and further boosted the reach of UTCs by working with the Department for Education on the letter sent by local authorities to parents, advising them about their local UTC.
The Baker Clause, which is a UK law requiring schools to allow technical education providers to speak with students about non-academic routes, has supported UTC recruitment. The clause was made law in 2017 after Baker Dearing’s chairman Lord Baker successfully lobbied minsters.
Amount of applications ‘overwhelming,’ UTC says
Ron Dearing UTC, an Ofsted ‘outstanding school in Hull, has seen a 10% increase in its student numbers this academic year.
Although the UTC has been oversubscribed since it opened, principal Sarah Pashley said that this year, the applications have been “overwhelming – we could have filled three schools, not just one!
“We are absolutely delighted with our student numbers this year – it’s great that so many young people have bought enthusiastically into our employer-engaged model of learning.”
Last year, the UTC also opened its new STEAM Studios at an old fire station near to its original building. STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.
The state-of-the-art equipment in this facility, such as 3D printers, laser cutters, virtual and augmented reality equipment, has meant the UTC’s new A Levels in 3D, fine art, graphic communications and photography have proven “extremely popular,” Pashley explained.
She added: “We have always been passionate about our ‘STEAM’ curriculum and the extremely close working relationship we have with our university and employer partners.”
Every UTC was founded with the support of local employers and sponsorship by a university. Ron Dearing UTC’s founding partners include engineering company Spencer, medical technology business Smith+Nephew, wind turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa, health and hygiene company Reckitt, and IT services provider KCOM. The UTC is sponsored by the University of Hull.
A UTC’s partners help design the curriculum to ensure it is radically different from mainstream schools, continually delivers the qualifications, technical and personal skills that industry needs, and that it leads to positive student destinations.
Employers and the university have also worked with the UTC to deliver work-based projects and placements for students, to further their technical and employability skills.
“In line with all UTCs, the philosophy of applying theory to real projects underpins everything we do and it’s incredibly gratifying to see that this approach appeals to so many people,” Pashley said.
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