Get up to high speed with newest secondary school thanks to the Bloodhound Project

Excitement is mounting with less than 10 months until the completion and opening of Gloucestershire’s newest secondary school, the SGS Berkeley Green University Technical College (UTC).

The UTC will open in September 2017 for starts in years 10 and 12 for individuals with a passion for a science and technology rich curriculum focussed on engineering, digital, cyber security, manufacturing and sports science.

To support the launch of the UTC, the renowned Bloodhound Project is also getting on board. The Bloodhound Project is a global engineering adventure, using a 1000mph world land speed record attempt to inspire the next generation to enjoy, explore and get involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The Bloodhound team are offering a free workshop at Berkeley Green on Saturday 14th January 2017 to promote the options available at the new SGS Berkeley Green University Technical College which opens in September 2017.  The free workshop is open to all current years 9 and 11.  The event will run from 9.30am – 12.30pm and to register please visit http://www.berkeleygreenutc.org.uk/events/bloodhound-workshop.

Sara-Jane Watkins, Chair of the UTC Project Steering Group tasked with overseeing the opening of the new school comments: ‘We are really thrilled to have the involvement of the Bloodhound team with the launch of the UTC.  The event will be a great opportunity to enthuse young people with a passion for engineering, design, cyber and science and will demonstrate how the curriculum at the UTC will come to life through the use of innovative projects and employer designed briefs in order to contextualise theory into practical use.

We are delighted with the interest in places for September 2017. Young people and their parents are really enthused by the design of our curriculum which whilst fulfilling the national curriculum also has the backing and input of major employers in the region who are seeing the UTC as the opportunity to develop their own home-grown talented workforce.  We are also delighted to announce we have developed and agreed a comprehensive transport plan covering the region’.

As with all UTCs, SGS Berkeley Green UTC's curriculum has been developed in partnership with employers who have taken an active role in the development of the UTC. Learners will follow the national curriculum enabling them to achieve the same number of GCSEs that they would in a school, but because of the longer school days they also have an additional forty percent of their time focused on undertaking specialist vocational education and projects led by employers. This really does enable learners at a UTC to become more attractive to employers as they have practical, relevant skills as well as having the same excellent education and qualifications that they would get within a secondary school or sixth form.

For further information on the UTC or to enquire about places, please visit the website. The next full open day will be on Saturday 28th January from 10am – 1pm at the Berkeley Green Campus.