On 6 October, Sarah Simons wrote an interesting article in Tes:”.”
UTCs are far from being a “turn off”. In fact, they’re a “turn on”.
Changing schools at 13to 14 years old in a system dominated by 11-to-16-year-olds and 11-to-18-year-oldsis challenging and demanding.Students first need to know that a choice is available and the sort of education they are going to get.
For three years we asked the Department for EducatiDzto require local authorities to write to all Year 9 parents telling them about UTCs.In the spring of this year, letters went out right across the country. As a result, increased by 21 per cent- particularly at Year 10. Last year, we had 10,500 students and this year this rose to more than 13,000.
Over the last seven years, the thousands of students attending UTCstold us that they were quite capable from the age of 13 or 14 of knowing where their interests lay.
If students don’t like the UTC regime of attending from 8.30am to 5pm every day, spending 40 per cent of the time making things with their hands, designing models on a computer, working in teams and problem-solving on the projects with local employers, then they can choose to go back to their previous schools. Very few do.
From the start, are treated as adults. The studentsthinkhard about their future and each principal of a new UTC has to ensure that there are no students at 16 or 18 not in education, employmentor training(Neet).The visitsstudents make to companies, and the work experience that they receive, gives them a chance to assess what sort of career they would like.
To us, the destination of each student-leaver is vitally important. In Julythis year, 1,955 students left UTCs aged 18 and only 43 were Neets. This is too many. Butthisrate of unemployment is 2 per cent-the average for young people nationally stands at 12 per cent.
Some 46 per cent of UTC students go touniversity - this year, three got places at Cambridge.Apprenticeships are now becoming very popular: 25 per cent of our students become apprentices at 18, with more than a third pursuing higher or degree-level apprenticeships.Learning and earning go well together.
Yes, 14-19 technical schools are different, but UTCs have shown that they work.This is the way that Europe is going. Inthe digital revolution, young people will need a range of technical and life skills alongside academic results.
All of these reasons show that a UTC education massively increases the range of options available to an 18-year-old. Going to a UTC is not a “turn off” - it is a “turn on”.
Lord Baker is the chairman of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust
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