£800m scheme for university technical colleges failing as many half empty, watchdog warns

The Department for Education has spent nearly £800m on a scheme for technical schools in England but the majority of them are half empty, the government spending watchdog has warned.

University Technical Colleges (UTCs), part of the government’s flagship free schools programme, often secure lower grades and poorer Ofsted ratings than other schools, investigation finds.

The National Audit Office (NAO) says one in six of the UTCs, first set up in 2010 to improve technical education, have since closed – despite the government spending £792m on the scheme.

Of the remaining 48 open UTCs in England, which typically take students from the age of 14 to 19, they are operating at less than half (45 per cent) of their capacity on average, the report says.

And some individual UTCs are less than 15 per cent full despite ministers championing the programme.

Meanwhile, just more than half (52 per cent) of UTCs have been rated as good or outstanding, compared with more than three-quarters (76 per cent) of all secondary schools, the report finds.

In 2017-18, 28 per cent of UTC students gained a grade 5 or above – the equivalent of a high C – in English and maths GCSEs, compared with 44 per cent of students in all state schools.

The report also highlights financial concerns about some UTCs, adding that 13 UTCs forecast in-year deficits totalling £2.9m and 18 forecast cumulative deficits totalling £11.2m in 2019-20.

Meg Hillier, chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), said: “£792m has been spent but UTCs are running under capacity, often perform less well than other secondary schools and just under half of those inspected either require improvement or are inadequate.

“UTCs were set up to improve technical education but 17 per cent of UTCs that opened have since closed, leaving hard-pressed local authorities to find alternative places for the students affected.

“This report provides further evidence as to why the Department for Education (DfE) is my top department of concern.”

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “Introducing institutions with an age range of 14-19 into an education system where the entry points are typically at 11 and 16 was always going to prove challenging and so it has proved.

“The result has been the closure of several UTCs with resulting disruption to staff and students, doubts over the future sustainability of other UTCs, and an eye-watering bill for the taxpayer.”

He added: “There is merit in providing these 14-19 programmes of study but the government could have achieved this objective simply by working with existing further education colleges, many of which have a long tradition of taking students at 14.

“Instead it has failed to properly fund further education while spending scarce resources on the UTC programme despite the manifest difficulties with this approach.”

Conservative peer Lord Baker, who founded the Baker Dearing Educational Trust to promote UTCs, said: “UTCs should be judged by the success of their students becoming apprentices, studying Stem subjects at a university and getting a job as a technician or an engineer. For that, we have the best destination data of any schools in the country.”

He added: “While Baker Dearing recognises that more can be done to increase student numbers at some UTCs, the strong track record of students destinations after leaving all UTCs is proof that the programme is working.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We have been clear that the department is committed to ensuring people have access to high-quality technical education across the country. UTCs are helping to deliver on that, with 21 per cent of pupils progressing into apprenticeships after completing their post 16 education, more than double the national average.

“As this report recognises, we have taken significant action to support and raise the profile of UTCs to make sure they continue to play a role in our diverse education system and provide the skills that employers need.”