Warwick announces new University Technical College

Senior figures at Warwick University have identified three possible sites for a new University Technical College (UTC).

Two of the potential sites are greenfield areas of the campus located in Gibbet Hill, Coventry. The third is alongside the Westwood Academy in Canley, close to the University Campus. Bosses at the Westwood Academy, which itself specialises in technology, are backing the plans for the UTC.

Warwick Manufacturing Group’s (WMG) Academy for Young Engineers will lead the UTC, which when opened, will provide for young people who have shown an aptitude for engineering. Despite being a business-led institution, the WMG Academy for Young Engineers is still required to deliver the national curriculum; however the school plans to adopt a unique approach to the task. It is hoped that it will help the young people to realise their ambitions by gearing the national curriculum towards engineering through a variety of disciplines.

The WMG Academy for Young Engineers aims to offer places to 640 students, aged between 14 and 19 years from the Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull areas. Teaching is scheduled to begin in September 2014.

The UTC was one of 15 UTCs to be approved by the government, which are due to open over the next two years. This brings the total number of UTCs across the country to 34.

Commenting on the approval, Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, WMG Chairman, said: “It will reach a younger generation, engaging them in an innovative new learning environment and exciting them from cradle to grave about the opportunities in engineering and the creation of the high value products of tomorrow.”

Although no light could be shed on whether the University has any provisional preferences amongst the three sites, Head of Communications at the University Peter Dunn told the Boar “The University, and WMG in particular, are always keen to encourage young people who have an interest in engineering.”

“It will provide a rich array of educational and employment opportunities to young people and to our local economy. Many of these young people will be inspired to become students at Universities (such as Warwick), particularly in Engineering disciplines.”

If there were any concerns about how it would be funded, Peter Dunn assured the Boar “it is expected that there will be no or very little cost the University.”