Three revamped University Technical Colleges on list of free schools opening next week

No new studio schools are on the DfE's list as opening next week, after closures such as Manchester Creative, above, which shut in June.

Four “new” University Technical Colleges are on a list of 59 free schools opening at the start of term next week, though only one appears to be starting from scratch. And, for the first time since the policy launched in 2012, there are no new studio schools revealed as planned to open.

The North East Futures UTC, in Newcastle, is the only genuinely new UTC or studio school appearing in the government’s official spreadsheets as opening next week, following a battering for these two policies in recent years, with a succession of institutions having closed. UTCs and studios are types of free schools.

Three other UTCs are listed in the DfE database as opening as “new” institutions next week, though all of these – Sir Charles Kao UTC, in Harlow, Essex; Heathrow Aviation Engineering UTC, in Harrow, west London; and UTC@MediaCityUK – are existing UTCs which appear to be being relaunched.

Putting all three of their names into a search engine in the government’s “Get information about schools” website brings up the information that they are “open, but proposed to close.” Replacements with similar or identical names are then listed, on the government’s “Get information about schools” spreadsheet, as opening next week.

At least two of the three have faced serious challenges over the past 12 months, with Sir Charles Kao having announced plans to rebrand itself under the local Burnt Mill (BMAT) academy chain and Heathrow’s latest accounts listing student numbers being, as of last year, only just over a third of its predictions.

UTC@MediaCityUK is making its relationship with the Aldridge Education academy chain more concrete: the UTC has been sponsored by Aldridge and lists Sir Rod Aldridge, founder of the outsourcing firm Capita as well as the academy chain, in its latest accounts as a member. It has now joined the Aldridge multi-academy trust, with the DfE spreadsheet listing its official new name as “AldridgeUTC@MediaCityUK”.

The North East Futures UTC was described last year as part of a £24.5 million project in Newcastle City Centre which would “drive forward the workforce of the future”.

The “Get information about schools” spreadsheet lists only 59 free schools opening next week – including the four UTCs above. Most new schools open at the start of the new academic year so – if this the extent of new institutions to be created next month - this would leave the government well short of the 100 new free schools a year promised in both the Conservatives’ 2017 election manifesto and by Theresa May herself at last year’s Conservative Party conference.

However, it may be that more free school names will emerge next week, with the government likely to promote the new institutions.

Six mainstream primary and secondary free schools closed over the summer. This was comfortably the highest number of closures of any year since the policy was launched in 2011. Two other free schools are being technically re-opened in the new academic year under a “fresh start”, having been transferred to larger academy chains.  

The government’s database lists 302 mainstream primary and secondary free schools as open as of the end of the 2017-18 academic year.

A total of 15 studio schools – almost one in three of the 48 created since 2012 – have since closed, the DfE data shows, with one having been relaunched another a new academy sponsor and two others due to be revamped.

Among UTCs, 11 of the 57 which have been opened – almost one in five – have either since closed or been subject to a “fresh start”.

The list of new free schools opening includes two schools and a sixth form college for the Harris Federation, while the Reach2 and Laurus Trust chains are identified on this list as opening two free schools each.

And Turner Free School, in Folkestone, Kent, about which this site has been very interested in recent months given that its sponsor, Turner Schools, runs another secondary academy in the town, is also on the list of new openers. 

The full list of mainstream free schools which either closed or were relaunched over the summer  

Closed:

St Anthony’s School, Cinderford, Gloucestershire

Discovery School, Newcastle upon Tyne

The Minerva Academy, Westminster, London

Robert Owen Academy, Hereford, Herefordshire

Floreat Brentford Primary School, west London

Trafalgar College, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

“Fresh start”, in new academy chain

Parkfield School, Christchurch, Dorset (moving to REAch2 academy trust)

Seva School, Coventry (moving to the Nishkam trust)