Commenting on the report of the Education Policy Institute (EPI)
on University Technical Colleges (UTCs), Geoff Barton, General
Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:
“The intention behind UTCs, and studio schools, was laudable – to
provide young people with a technical education which provided a
pathway to work and supported key industries. However, the
execution of this policy has been lamentable.
“The decision to make these institutions 14-19 meant they were
always likely to struggle for numbers of students in an education
system where the entry points are commonly at the ages of 11 and
16. In addition, there was no coherent government strategy over
how they would fit into the wider eco-system of educational
institutions in the areas in which they were located. The result
is that UTCs and studio schools have been very difficult to
sustain, and the closures which have taken place will have been
extremely disruptive to the staff and students concerned.
Millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money have also been wasted in
the process.
“We now need to do the best that we can to support the remaining
UTCs and studio schools. We note with interest the EPI’s
recommendation that the government should consider changing the
admissions age of UTCs from 14 to 16. This suggestion is
certainly worth examining. But it might have been a lot easier at
the outset simply to have provided additional funding and places
in further education colleges which already run very successful
technical education programmes.”
