University Collegiate School is a mixed

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

in central

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

, England, now classed as a free school. It opened in 2015 on a new site on the

University of Bolton The University of Greater Manchester (legally: The University of Bolton Higher Education Corporation) is a public university in Bolton, Greater Manchester in England. The university is commonly referred to as a 'post-92' institution, which is a ...

campus as Bolton UTC, 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 ...

for students aged 14–19; in September 2020 it was renamed and began accepting students at age 11.

Description

In September 2020, the school became a member of The Keys Federation Academy Trust and reopened as a free school, the University Collegiate School, in response to demand for secondary school places in Bolton. At that time the Principal, Nicola Glynn, described it as a "school and college". Following an Ofsted inspection in September 2024, University Collegiate School is rated 'Good' in all areas. During the 21/22 academic year a number of staff left, including the Principal, Nicola Glynn. In December 2022, the school was inspected by Ofsted and was judged 'inadequate' in every category. Dave Terry was appointed as interim Principal in February 2023.

Predecessor UTC

Bolton UTC was officially opened in November 2015 by

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964) is a member of the British royal family. He is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest sibling of K ...

. It specialised in

health sciences The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to health sciences: Health sciences – those sciences that focus on health, or health care, as core parts of their subject matter. Health sciences relate to multiple a ...

and technology, and its £10million facilities included laboratories for optometry, clinical dentistry, pharmaceutical consulting, medical simulation, robotics and electronics. The UTC used a project-based learning pedagogy. It offered a core

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 ...

curriculum to its 14–16-year-old students which included English Language,

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

, English Literature,

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

, Spanish, French, German,

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, ...

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

Sport Science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sports and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally i ...

and Health and Social Care. At

A-level 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 ...

, students were given a choice of pathways: engineering or health sciences focused. At A-level they could study English Language, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, English Literature, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, Psychology, Computer Science, BTEC Level 3

Applied Science Applied science is the application of the scientific method and scientific knowledge to attain practical goals. It includes a broad range of disciplines, such as engineering and medicine. Applied science is often contrasted with basic science, ...

and BTEC Level 3 Health and Social Care. The UTC entered 'special measures' after it was rated 'inadequate' in all categories at its first

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 2017. The inspection report said there had been "considerable failures at the most senior leadership level", governors had been ineffective, and links with local industry were weak. Pupils said they had little opportunity to use the "outstanding facilities". In 2018, the

Education and Skills Funding Agency Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...

issued a "final notice to improve" to the UTC, after a review found inadequate financial controls and breaches of policies. At the next full inspection in 2019 the UTC was rated 'good' in all categories; at that time 159 were enrolled although its capacity was 600.

References

External links

*
The Keys Federation Multi Academy Trust
{{Schools in Bolton Secondary schools in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton Educational institutions established in 2015 2015 establishments in England University of Greater Manchester Free schools in England