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.