UTC Sheffield City Centre students are celebrating moving onto top universities and employers after receiving their academic and technical results today – Tuesday, August 10th, 2021.
At the Ofsted graded ‘good’ technical school for 13 to 19-year-olds, students complete A Levels and technical qualifications in engineering and advanced manufacturing or creative and digital media.
This summer, students are progressing to a range of destinations including apprenticeships with leading employers such as Arup, Gripple, Nifylift, Atomising Systems and Sherwin Williams and university places including the University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University, University of Surrey, University of Brighton and Bristol University.
Alex Reynolds, principal of UTC Sheffield City Centre, said: “I am immensely proud of our students who are progressing to some great university and employer destinations despite experiencing another tough year due to the pandemic.”
He added: “The regional and national economy needs people with the right technical skills to support a skills-led pandemic recovery. Our students have worked very hard to achieve their qualifications and I’d like to thank our staff for their fantastic commitment and support.”
Case study – George Kirby 
George Kirby is jetting off to a career in aerospace engineering and aspires to work for the American space agency NASA. The 18-year-old has achieved three A* grades in A Levels chemistry, maths and physics gaining grades.
George also has an engineering diploma that he achieved last year gaining a distinction* grade. He said: “I feel very pleased with my grades. I was hoping to do well but there’s still an element of uncertainty until you see how you have got on.”
He is going on to study a Degree in Aerospace Engineering, which involves the design, construction and maintenance of aircraft and spacecraft, at the University of Sheffield. His fascination with engineering and space links to current global issues and concerns about sustainability and climate change.
George said: “I think given the environmental challenges that we are facing on Earth, we need to explore other planets to give us a few more options. It would be amazing to visit Mars.”
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, George feels that the UTC has prepared him well for his future.
He added: “My teachers were very supportive. The online classes worked well and whenever I had any questions, my teachers were always extremely helpful.”
Case study – Maisie Rotheram
UTC Sheffield City Centre student Maisie Rotheram is looking forward to a career in the marketing and advertising industry.
Maisie, 19, has achieved distinction* distinction* in a digital media technical qualification at Level 3 and a grade A in A Level art. Maisie said: “I am very happy with my results. I feel absolutely over the moon.” Now she is looking forward to studying a Degree in Marketing Communications and Advertising at Sheffield Hallam University.
Shejoined the UTC in September 2016. She said: “I chose to study at the UTC because I enjoy being creative and I wanted to study in a place that is tailored to those skills. In my experience, the UTC has so much more to offer than a traditional school if you’re interested in the technical specialisms provided. I immediately felt comfortable and welcome when I moved to the UTC.”
At the UTC, creative and digital media students develop the skills for multi-media projects such as creating radio, music, television, social media, advertising and games content with briefs set by employers.
Maisie explained: “I’ve really enjoyed the creative freedom at the UTC, being able to try different skills and using the industry standard equipment, such as Adobe software, which has involved making advertising materials to music videos as well as websites. My favourite project was working on a client brief for a start-up company where I had to create a brochure, a radio advertisement and an email campaign.”
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Maisie is very positive about what she has learned at the UTC. She added: “My teachers have been absolutely amazing and I couldn’t have got to where I have without them. I’ve grown in confidence and communication as well as technical skills. I used to be scared of public speaking and giving presentations but I’ve learned how to do that because of the projects that we have worked on.”
“During the height of the pandemic, our teachers prepared us well and moved swiftly to online classes. They did a survey to check if students had access to the right equipment. Our days were still very structured and followed the timetable. Our teachers made the best of a difficult situation and I am very grateful to them for that.”
