About Us
Welcome to UTC Derby Pride Park!
We are a University Technical College offering specialist courses designed with employers in the exciting areas of Engineering and Health & Life Sciences. These are all regional, national and international growth areas that will offer strong career opportunities in the future.
University Technical Colleges (UTCs) are government funded academies offering careers-focused education for students aged 13-19, working with employers and universities.
We are part of the Sheffield UTC Academy Trust, which is at the forefront of UTC developments nationally.
The Sheffield UTC Academy Trust already runs two UTCs graded Ofsted ‘Good’. The first was opened in 2013, one of the first UTCs to open, offering two technical specialisms, Engineering & Advanced Manufacturing and Creative & Digital Media. Given the strong recruitment and positive progress of students, a second UTC was opened in Sheffield in September 2016 offering three additional specialisms, Health Sciences, Sport Science and Computing to develop young people for jobs in the growing health tech sector.
These highly skilled young people will be the innovators and enterprising employees of tomorrow, helping to create new industries and providing much-needed talent for existing businesses and public services in this region and beyond.”
Students can join UTC Derby Pride Park from age 13, in Year 9, or at age 16, in Year 12, and study an academic curriculum – GCSEs and A Levels – alongside their technical specialism. We are also taking expression of interests in Year 10 places. The difference is that all academic study relates to employer-led projects. Students gain the skills and qualifications to open up opportunities for jobs, apprenticeships and university courses.
The UTC student experience is enjoyable and purposeful. With capacity for maximum 600 learners on campus, there is scope to nurture and support individual talent so that each student can reach their potential and achieve their ambitions.
A message from our Executive Principal: Nick Crew
“I am delighted to be leading a University Technical College that is part of one of the foremost UTC Academy Trusts in England.
UTCs are all about employer-led education and we are fortunate here to have the support of some of the world’s best known companies including Rolls-Royce, Alstom and Toyota. We also enjoy the support and input of one of the UK’s leading universities, University of Derby, nominated for ‘University of the Year Award 2019’ in the Times Higher Education Supplement.
Our specialisms reflect growth areas of the economy where there is an urgent need for highly skilled young people.
I share the Trust’s vision to create a centre of excellence, working closely with local businesses, public services and the University of Derby, to meet this demand and improve the life chances of students.
Our mission is to equip our students with the technical, professional and personal skills to prepare them for high quality careers in their chosen field. With the help of our employer partners, we will enable them to learn up-to-date skills for the current workplace, as well as preparing them to adapt to the future world of work which could look very different.
Our students will have the choice to progress to high quality apprenticeships, the best college courses and a wide range of degree opportunities at top universities.”