Agenda item

1.       That the forming of the Academy Trust Company be approved.

2.       That the submission of a bid by the Academy Trust Company for a University Technical College (UTC) in Guildford by the founding members of the trust be approved.

3.       That Surrey County Council be approved as one of the founding members of the UTC with Linda Kemeny, Cabinet Member for Schools and Learning, acting on the Council’s behalf.

Reasons for decisions:

The UTC will be designed to provide high quality education for 14-18 year olds in Surrey, developing the skills employers need. Through the support of Royal Holloway, Guildford College, Guildford Education Partnership, CGI Group and other leading employers, the UTC will provide real world learning experiences that blend academic and technical education. As well as helping to address need for an increase in secondary school places the curriculum design of the UTC has been informed by employers and evidence from the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership to address local skills gaps and support future economic growth.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Children and Education Select Committee]

The Cabinet Member for Schools and Learning said that the development of the first University Technical College in Surrey was an important new initiative for Surrey and a brand new learning opportunity for young people.

She said that the County Council, with key partners, were forming a University Technical College (UTC) Academy Trust to submit a bid for a University Technical College (UTC) in Guildford. The key partners, who would be the Founding Members of the Academy Trust, were Royal Holloway - University of London, Guildford College, Guildford Education Partnership, CGI Group and Surrey County Council.

She thanked officers within the Children, Schools and Families Directorate who had been working on developing this initiative for a year. She said that the UTC would focus on key skill shortage areas of computing and engineering, and these areas have been selected with employers and the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership. She also informed Cabinet that the development of the UTC would be funded through a bid for capital funding, upto £10m, from Central Government and the bid was being prepared for submission to the Department for Education (DfE) in October 2014.

She also raised the issue of the impact of the UTC on local schools, stating that some schools had seen the proposed UTC as a threat and may discourage young people from joining. However, Guildford had been chosen as the place for the first UTC because it had good transport links and could recruit students across Surrey and Hampshire. It would also help to meet the need for school places in this area and had support from George Abbot School.

Other Cabinet Members stated their full support for the development of this UTC. They asked about the admission arrangements and the publicity for the UTC. They also considered that it would widen the opportunities for young people and liked the focus on computing and engineering.

Finally, the Cabinet Member for Schools and Learning acknowledged and thanked the Children and Education Select Committee for their comment s and support for the UTC (set out in item 5), following their consideration of the UTC at their committee meeting in July. She said that she had tabled a written response to them.

RESOLVED:

1.       That the forming of the Academy Trust Company be approved.

2.       That the submission of a bid by the Academy Trust Company for a University Technical College (UTC) in Guildford by the founding members of the trust be approved.

3.       That Surrey County Council be approved as one of the founding members of the UTC with Linda Kemeny, Cabinet Member for Schools and Learning, acting on the Council’s behalf.

Reasons for decisions:

The UTC will be designed to provide high quality education for 14-18 year olds in Surrey, developing the skills employers need. Through the support of Royal Holloway, Guildford College, Guildford Education Partnership, CGI Group and other leading employers, the UTC will provide real world learning experiences that blend academic and technical education. As well as helping to address need for an increase in secondary school places the curriculum design of the UTC has been informed by employers and evidence from the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership to address local skills gaps and support future economic growth.