The Trustees of UTC South Durham are consulting relevant stakeholders and partners on a proposed change to its admissions arrangements from September 2021.
UTC South Durham is a specialist technical school and 6th Form based on the Aycliffe Business Park in the south of Durham County. It opened in September 2016 and focuses on engineering, technology science and maths education for those who want to move on to careers in those sectors, either via university or directly into apprenticeships or employment.
Currently, the UTC recruits up to 150 students into Year 10 (aged 14), as well as recruiting to the 6th Form, from across a wide region including 7 local authorities. The proposal is to recruit up to 100 students (two-thirds of the intake) at age 13 (the start of Year 9) and to recruit the remaining students at age 14 (the start of Year 10).
There are significant educational advantages for students starting earlier and this has been demonstrated in several other UTCs around the country:
- Students arriving into Year 10 at the UTC have five terms before their GCSE exams and an additional three terms with us will mean that they are better prepared for this important phase of their education.
- It will allow them to build a core of key technical knowledge and skills and to sample specialist areas which are new to them before choosing option subjects.
- Students will have time to settle into the UTC and teachers will have longer to assess their starting points and ensure consistency of academic subject coverage before starting GCSE content.
- They will also be introduced earlier to the workplace skills and careers opportunities which mean that they are better informed and more focused when it comes to post-16 career routes.
A dedicated webpage has been set up, where you can find further information about the proposal, the proposed admissions policy and links to sign up to a consultation event. This can be found at https://www.utcsouthdurham.org/useful-information/year-9-consultation.
The consultation lasts for 6 weeks, starting on Monday 4th May and will close on Monday 15 June 2020.
In order to make your views known please email Year9consult@utcsouthdurham.org or write to:
Consultation on Admissions 2021
c/o Clerk to Trustees
UTC South Durham
Aycliffe Business Park
Durham, DL5 6AP