UTC Swindon is a

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) in

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

, England that opened in September 2014 for students of ages 14–19. The college specialises in

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 ...

and is sponsored by

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

and

Johnson Matthey Johnson Matthey plc is a British multinational speciality chemicals and sustainable technologies company headquartered in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History Early year ...

Fuel Cells. The campus is on the northwestern edge of Swindon Railway Village, built in the 1840s for workers at the Great Western Railway's

Swindon Works Swindon Works was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1843 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It served as the principal west England maintenance centre until closed in 1986. History In 1835, Parliament approved the construction of the Great ...

. The college is partly newly built and partly in a single-storey building of c. 1845 which was formerly part of the GWR School. Also on the site is a preserved cast iron water tower of 1870, which served the Works. The college has capacity for 600 pupils.

History

The college opened in September 2014, and was formally opened by

Prince Andrew Prince Andrew, Duke of York (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a younger broth ...

in December of that year. An

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

inspection in January 2017 rated the UTC as "inadequate" in almost every area. At that time the college was being led by the deputy principal, and had an enrolment of 153. Later that year Joanne Harper, Principal of

UTC Reading UTC Reading is an Ofsted 'Good' rated university technical college (UTC) that opened in Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Berkshire, England in September 2013. The University of Reading, Reading College and Oxford and Cherwell Valley College are the ...

, was appointed Executive Principal and the UTC came under the sponsorship of Activate Learning Education Trust. The college's most recent

inspection was in 2020, with an overall judgement of 'requires improvement'. Leadership and management were rated Good but the quality of education was judged not yet good enough.

Academics

Students enter either at the start of Key Stage 4, in year 10, or at the start of Key Stage 5, the sixth form. Every student has an entitlement to work experience. Key Stage 4 students follow a core curriculum of

GCSE 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 ...

English, Mathematics and

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

, together with specialist study of engineering and

cyber security Computer security (also cybersecurity, digital security, or information technology (IT) security) is a subdiscipline within the field of information security. It consists of the protection of computer software, systems and networks from thr ...

, and further optional subjects. At Key Stage 5, the college offers a choice of

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 ...

and BTECs in a variety of subjects, including a Level 3 extended diploma in Engineering.

References

External links

*
Department for Education information
for UTC Swindon between September 2014 and August 2017, when it was re-brokered. {{Schools in Wiltshire University Technical Colleges Secondary schools in Swindon Educational institutions established in 2014 2014 establishments in England Oxford Brookes University