£9m college without a single good English grade to shut
A SCHOOL where none of the pupils got grade C or above in English GCSE is to close.
Greater Manchester University Technical College, said it was no longer financially viable because of low pupil numbers. It has room to teach 600 pupils but had just 127 on its roll in January last year.
It opened less than three years ago at a cost of £9million. Of its 46 GCSE pupils, 23% achieved grade C in maths and 20% got the grade in science.
The school is in Oldham and local Labour MP Jim McMahon called it a “failed experiment”.
He added: “Children and parents have been let down by poor standards of education.”
Under Government progress measurements the school was “well below national average” and was in the lowest 10% in England. Principal Lee Kilgour admitted: “Our GCSE results are very disappointing, particularly in English.”
The school was said to have a “fresh approach” to vocational learning when it opened in September 2014, catering for 14 to 19-year-olds wanting a career in engineering or technology.
Michael Gove, as Education Secretary, championed UTCs. More than 40 of them opened but Oldham is the seventh to close. Three others were scrapped before a single pupil was taught.
The Department for Education said its priority at the Oldham school was “to work with the local authority to support students and minimise disruption to studies”.
The school will close at the end of the academic year with alternative places found for pupils.