On Thursday 13th May the Minister for the School System visited Doncaster UTC to see firsthand the newest, oversubscribed, addition to the Brighter futures Learning Partnership Trust.
Baroness Berridge was joined on the visit by Carol Gray, the Department for Education’s Regional Schools Commissioner for the East Midlands and Humber. Both met several of our students who showcased a variety of outstanding project work. In Engineering they saw exceptional design work from Year 9, John May; and Abbey Blood was able to demonstrate her remarkable progress in Systems and Control. Gabriel Fenning and Mia McGrath discussed with them the digital skills they were rapidly developing in iMedia and showcased many of their outstanding designs. Year 12 students, Mac Marriott and Ben Dyer also presented their portfolios to the Minister and Mrs Gray.
They were later given a tour of the state-of-the-art facilities by year 12 students Millie Barnes, Louis Turley and Koray Demir. All spoke passionately and enthusiastically about why they chose to join Doncaster UTC. The students discussed the academic qualifications they were working towards as well as the technical skills and experiences they were acquiring. Despite the pandemic the students expressed how positive the numerous encounters with employers have been and their remote learning experiences. Louis said, “it was nice to see a member of parliament visit our new UTC and talk about the great opportunities we now have with the partnerships between employers and education”. The Minister and Regional School’s Commissioner also met with Helen Redford-Hernandez, the CEO of the Brighter Futures Learning Partnership Trust and Garath Rawson, the Principal of Doncaster UTC. Helen Redford-Hernandez said, “We are committed to strengthening our links between employers and universities to ensure that our students are equipped for the modern world”. Baroness Berridge and Mrs Gray also met with Paul Stockhill, Agemaspark and Jack Pendle, VolkerRail who endorsed the positive links between education and employers and their commitment to supporting the students at Doncaster UTC.