The success of the University Technical College movement, as attested to by last year’s Policy Exchange report, was highlighted in the Financial Times newspaper over the 2025 festive break.

The article mentions:

• Work by UTC Leeds with Siemens Mechanical Drives on a solution for improving the supply of oil into gear units, which is now saving the company tens of thousands each year.
• UTC South Durham alum Jack Clarke’s and Leigh UTC Dartford alum Thomas Mason’s already successful education technology company, about which the two spoke at Baker Dearing’s recent UTC Winter Conference.
• Plans for the new UTC Southampton which were rejected by the Department for Education late last year, though a new Doncaster UTC was approved.

It reads as follows:

“The faces of the youngsters, in the resulting video [regarding work placements organised by Futures For All], are infused with the joy of the real — the excitement of seeing a creative task well done. It’s transformational.

“I’ve seen the same look among 14- to 19-year-old pupils at the University Technical Colleges, where the courses are run with employers and offer ands-on learning in specialist areas — everything from robotics to film.

“Parents have been wary of technical education, fearing that a straightforward academic curriculum is more valuable. But a recent report by the Policy Exchange think-tank found that UTCs have the highest proportion of exam entries in Stem (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects at GCSE level, above any school type in England. About half of pupils at these institutions go on to university, and around a quarter do apprenticeships.

“These success stories suggest that employers are genuinely benefiting from the collaboration. In Leeds, Siemens asked UTC students to help improve the supply of oil into gear units. The company has implemented their solution, which it says is saving it £24,000 a year.

“Two former UTC students, who met at university, have founded a business selling electronics kits that help children to learn.

“There should be a UTC in every town. Skills England has estimated that in priority sectors alone, 900,000 more skilled workers will be needed by 2030.

“But while the Department for Education talks about the importance of T-levels and industry placements, it has just halted plans for a proposed new UTC in Southampton, which had been backed by the previous government. This is short-sighted, and partly a product of Labour’s assault on free schools. Meanwhile the government’s recent review of the curriculum barely looked at work experience.”

Contributing Editor Camilla Cavendish’s article can be accessed through this link, but is paywalled.

Thank you to Baroness Cavendish for highlighting the success of England’s UTC network.