The Trustees of UTC South Durham are consulting relevant stakeholders and partners on a proposed change to its admissions arrangements. The proposal is to admit Year 9 students to the UTC from September 2021.
The consultation period has now closed. We hope to start taking applications for Year 9 in September, please see our Apply page for further details.
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 a 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.
Further details on the proposal and the proposed admissions policy are available to download below.