Students Reflect on Their First Term
Students in the first cohort at Bucks UTC, having completed their first term at the new school, have been reflecting on their new education experience.
Jack Leigh, age 14, is in year 10 studying construction. He commented: “I have learned so much already! The course is really enjoyable – I love Maths and Sciences, the teachers are great, more like friends.”
Lead sponsor Taylor Wimpey has been working with construction students on a timber frame project, the building has been planned and designed, and construction has just started. When Chief Executive Pete Redfern visited the students earlier this month, he was delighted to see them hard at work, practising their mortise and tenon joints.
Shola St John-Forbes, age 14, is a year 10 student in IT. Shola talks about her experience: “It is really fun and I have made a lot of friends and become more confident. I enjoy being around computers and the staff are all really supportive and encouraging. There is a large focus on the careers we want to pursue and the work is much more advanced than school”.
The IT students have started on their Cisco IT Essentials course which will teach them how to troubleshoot computer problems and create basic computer networks. Sponsor McAfee has been giving weekly tuition on how to write computer code, with students producing several fully functional programs; Esri UK has been running Geographic Information System sessions; and RM Education organised an E-safety competition.
Bev Flanagan, Principal, adds: “Aside from the usual curriculum programme, students have been outside the UTC building at a recruitment master-class with Morgan Hunt, to the Skills Show in Birmingham and London Fashion Retail Academy. It’s been fantastic to see how they’ve all developed in just a few weeks and I’m looking forward to another action packed term!”
Bucks UTC is now recruiting students for September 2014. For more information visit www.buckinghamshireutc.co.uk