Now say sorry

TONY HARRISON

A TEACHING union is demanding an apology from former Education Secretary Michael Gove for "squandering" millions on failed university technical colleges.

UTCs which combine technical and academic education for 14 to 19-year-olds were introduced by Mr Gove as one of his flagship education policies.

But The GM UTC in Oldham announced last week that it is to close in August following appalling GCSE results and problems recruiting pupils.

The National Union of Teachers says it will be the ninth UTC to close, be turned into a school or not even get as far as opening in the first place - despite costing the taxpayer £82.9 million in set-up costs alone.

Writing in The Times last week, Mr Gove admitted that the experiment had gone wrong and that the majority of UTCs had not been a success.

Twice as many UTCs are inadequate as outstanding according to Ofsted, he said. UTC pupils also have lower GCSE results, make less progress academically and get fewer qualifications than their contemporaries in comprehensives. UTCs have struggled to recruit pupils at the age of 14 and Mr Gove said other schools had seen them as destinations for their under-performing children, while warning off higher-performing students.

Tony Harrison, joint branch secretary of Oldham NUT, said: "Admitting failure does not go far enough.

"Michael Gove should apologise to the people of Oldham and the other towns where UTCs have failed for the near £83 million squandered on them at a time when schools are having to put their hands down the back of the sofa to find the money to pay for basic education provision.

"The NUT warned the Government that the UTC model was flawed and would be unable to attract sufficient numbers of pupils. It was never a realistic proposition for young people to transfer out of school to a UTC at age 14.

"This was a policy that was doomed to fail from the start yet Mr Gove refused to listen to educationalists and instead championed UTCs at the expense of building new secondary schools where they were most needed. The current Secretary of State should learn the lesson of her predecessor's policy failure and recognise that what parents want for their children is a rounded education in a good local school that provides a broad and balanced curriculum with both high quality academic and vocational options for students to choose from."

The GM opened in a new £9m building in Middleton Road in September 2014. But despite being built for 600 pupils, it had just 90 when it announced its closure and is not financially viable.

It was also described as "an abject failure" after not a single pupil managed to get at least a C grade in both GCSE English and maths last year.

Year 11 and 13 sitting exams this year will continue at The GM until the summer. Alternative school and college places are being sought as soon as possible for Year 10 and 12 children.

Nicola Jones whose daughter is in year 10 said she only found out about the closure on social media and added: "I haven't a clue where she is going to go, I don't know what's happening."

She said that her daughter has been head-hunted by The GM because she was doing well at school: "She gave it a try because she wants to be a vet and she thought it would help her but I feel she has been let down. They have failed her."