University of Buckingham Press is delighted to be publishing another important education-led book, UNIVERSITY TECHNICAL COLLEGES: The First Ten Years by David Harbourne with a preface by Lord Kenneth Baker, due for publication on 14th February 2022.
It represents the only book specifically about University Technical Colleges and will be of particular relevance to researchers with a special interest in secondary and post-secondary education, university libraries and other research organisations in the UK and internationally.
UNIVERSITY TECHNICAL COLLEGES: The First Ten Years - A brief outline
The former Secretary of State for Education, Lord Baker, crossbench peer Lord Dearing and industrialist Sir Anthony Bamford shared a vision. They imagined a new type of secondary school that would prepare young people for careers in science, technology and engineering.
University Technical Colleges (UTCs) offer a curriculum linked to key sectors of the economy and deliver it in partnership with employers, using real-world projects and industry-standard equipment. UTC students go on to fast-track apprenticeships, higher education and rewarding careers. Conceived under a Labour government, UTCs were expected to off er qualifications called Diplomas as part of a new 14- 19 phase of education. After the 2010 general election, Conservative ministers had other priorities. UTCs opened just as policy shifted in favour of traditional academic subjects, strict accountability measures, multi-academy trusts and competition – not collaboration – at the local level.
This account of the first ten, turbulent years of UTCs is based on contemporary records, meetings with people who run them and interviews with some of the young people they were set up to serve.
About the Author
David Harbourne has extensive experience of developing, promoting and researching technical education. He was chief executive of the Hotel and Catering Training Company in the mid-1990s, joined the Learning and Skills Council in 2000 and later combined two roles: research director at the Edge Foundation and senior education advisor at the Baker Dearing Educational Trust.
UNIVERSITY TECHNICAL COLLEGES: The First Ten Years is set to be released on 14 February 2022 and is available to pre-order here.