UTC Reading is an Ofsted 'Good' rated

university technical college A university technical college (UTC) is a type of secondary school in England that is sponsored by a Universities in the United Kingdom, university and has close ties to local business and industry. University technical colleges specialise in su ...

(UTC) that opened in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, England in September 2013. The

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

Reading College Reading College is a further education college based in Reading, Berkshire, England. It has over 8,500 local learners on over 900 courses. The Kings Road site that is the principal location of Reading College has been used for further education ...

and Oxford and Cherwell Valley College are the lead education sponsors of the UTC, while business partners include

Agilent Technologies Agilent Technologies, Inc. is an American global company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, that provides instruments, software, services, and consumables for laboratories. Agilent was established in 1999 as a spin-off from Hewlett-Packar ...

CGI Group CGI Inc. (Consultants to Government and Industry Incorporated) is a Canadian multinational information technology consulting and Software Development company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. CGI went public in 1986 with a primary list ...

Cisco Systems Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, m ...

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

, Peter Brett Associates LLP and

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...

. In 2025, Ofsted marked the school and sixth form as "Good" in all categories.

Admissions

UTC Reading has an annual initial intake of students aged 14 and 16 (academic years 10 and 12). The primary catchment area of the UTC includes Reading,

Wokingham Wokingham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is the main administrative centre of the wider Borough of Wokingham. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 38,284 and the wider built-up area had a populati ...

West Berkshire West Berkshire is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England. It is administered from Newbury by West Berkshire Council. History The district of Newbury was formed on 1 April 1974, as a merger of the borough of Newbur ...

South Oxfordshire South Oxfordshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. Its council is temporarily based outside the district at Abingdon-on-Thames pending a p ...

, Basingstoke & Deane,

Bracknell Forest Bracknell Forest is a unitary authority area in Berkshire, southern England. It covers the two towns of Bracknell and Sandhurst and the village of Crowthorne and also includes the areas of North Ascot, Binfield, Warfield, and Winkfield. The b ...

, Windsor & Maidenhead, Wycombe and

Hart Hart often refers to: * Hart (deer) * Hart (surname) Hart may also refer to: Organizations * Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer * Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer * Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department store ...

. Where the number of applications for admission to the UTC is greater than the number of places, a set percentage of places are allocated for students living in each part of the catchment area.

Curriculum

UTC Reading specialises in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

and

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

. Pupils aged 14 to 16 study a core number of

GCSEs The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

and also choose a BTEC First Extended Certificate in either engineering or ICT.

Sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

students choose between the specialisms and then take a programme of related study which can include

A Levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational a ...

, BTECs and GCSEs.

Co-Curricular

UTC Reading established a

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, sub divided into Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to ...

(RAF section) in January 2019, which has become very active. The UTC has good links to the British Army (REME) and Royal Navy, taking part in a number of Service challenges each year including the Royal Navy's annual Junior Field Gun Challenge. The UTC is active with

F1 in Schools STEM Racing (formerly F1 in Schools) is an international STEM competition endorsed by Formula One, Formula 1 for students aged 9–19. Groups of 3–6 students have to design and manufacture a miniature F1 car using Computer-aided design, CAD/C ...

, Greenpower and has a number of STEM clubs such as a "Drones Club". UTC pupils have had some success in the local TeenTech competition. The UTC previously operated the now defunct student run online radio station, UTCR.Live. This provided students with leadership experience as well as usage of industry standard equipment. The UTC also strengthens its co-curricular activities by collaborating with local branches of some of the Professional Engineering Institutions (PEIs), most notable the

Institution of Engineering and Technology The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is a multidisciplinary professional engineering institution. The IET was formed in 2006 from two separate institutions: the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE), dating back to 1871,Engin ...

, the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a Charitable organization, charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters ar ...

, the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 110,000 member ...

and the

Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest Aeronautics, aeronautical society in the world. Memb ...

References

External links

* {{coord, 51, 26, 52, N, 0, 56, 23, W, type:edu_region:GB_dim:400, display=title Secondary schools in Reading, Berkshire University Technical Colleges University of Reading Educational institutions established in 2013 2013 establishments in England