Waterfront UTC is a University Technical College in Chatham, Kent, England, which opened in September 2015 as Medway UTC on a site between Pier Road and South Side Three Road. After receiving an "inadequate" rating in every category in an Ofsted inspection in March 2018, the college joined the Howard Academy Trust in November 2018 and its name was changed.
s are part of a political decision to reform education. Around the time of planning Medway UTC, the area had a surplus of secondary school places. A 2017 government briefing document contains a Standard Impact Assessment which showed that St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive, Bishop of Rochester Academy and The Hundred of Hoo Academy were likely to be severely impacted by the creation of the UTC, losing pupils. These schools already had surplus capacity of 271, 532 and 436 respectively. Dr Karon Buck, an Ofsted inspector, was the UTC's first principal; she was previously Vice Principal at Leigh Academies Trust. Dr Buck left mid-year, at Christmas 2017, to become CEO of an International School in Abu Dhabi. She was replaced as interim principal by Paul Cottam, formerly of The Howard School. The UTC was inspected by Ofsted on 6–7 March 2018, with findings published in May 2018. The school was rated "inadequate" in all categories, leading to a conclusion that "this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school." In November 2018, the UTC joined the Howard Academy Trust, a multi-academy trust based at The Howard School, Rainham. The change gave the UTC a three-year respite from Ofsted inspections, as it was classed as a "fresh start".
Admissions
Entry is at 14 for Key Stage 4 and at 16 for Key Stage 5. The school has a capacity of 600; only 278 were on roll in 2018.
Curriculum
The prospectus states that students study a broad and balanced curriculum in a building that has been designed and equipped to allow specialist study in Engineering, Construction & Design. The school operates an extended day, finishing at 5.30, which includes supervised study time. At Key Stage 4, students were offered English, Maths and Science. Students could select from the following options: Design & Technology – Resistant Materials, Design & Technology – Systems and Control, Computing, a Modern Foreign Language, Geography, History, Art & Design or Business Studies. These were subjects supplemented by a BTEC first diploma in Engineering, or Construction and the Built Environment. The school has closed the Computing option and does not meet the requirements for the provision of physical education or religious education. Students aged 16–19 can study A Levels and specialise in Engineering or Construction.
Ofsted assessment
Medway UTC was rated 'inadequate', by the OFSTED judgement published 4 May 2018; it was criticised for low expectations, narrow curriculum and poor results in its specialist subjects.
Site
This UTC is in a £12 million purpose built building, in the Chatham Waters development in the former Chatham Dockyard. Full planning consent was granted by Medway Council in July 2014, and Bowmer + Kirkland, the lead contractor started on site in September 2014, and the building was complete in September 2015. The idea is that disaffected teenagers require a different type of school, one that is focused on a future career. The building is to be designed to look less like a school, and more like the world of work, and create a business-like environment.
