Specialisms

Engineering

The Engineering Faculty at Berkeley Green UTC focuses on preparing our students to become Engineers of the future.

Across key stages 4 and 5 we get to see the impact our subject has on students, giving them the opportunity to be creative and develop their practical skills. As a team we have a love of design and modern technology. Engineering is a high demand subject in the 21st Century and we intend to prepare our students for cutting edge professions within Engineering, empowering them with the qualifications they need and a transferable skill set that will set them apart.

Curriculum

Students join us at the start of either year 10 or year 12.

For those that join at year 10, they are encouraged to see their education with us as a four year programme that flows seamlessly from KS4 to KS5. In years 10 and 11 students are given the option of completing a total of 3 GCSE equivalent Design and Engineering qualifications (GCSE Design Technology, Level 2 Engineering and Level 2 Graphic Design). This provides them with a wide range of both knowledge and practical skills that prepares them for the next step.

When students join in year 12, our main focus is the BTEC Extended Diploma in Engineering where we have selected a wide variety of the optional units to give a depth of breadth of experiences that allows students to make informed decisions about their future, whether that is apprenticeships, further education or employment.

Running in parallel with the full course we also offer the BTEC Extended Certificate (equal to 1 A level ) and the National Diploma (equivalent of 2 A levels) in Engineering as part of a hybrid course that allows students to mix and match them with other STEM courses, including A levels.

Facilities

We provide students with excellent facilities in our Engineering Barn which has been designed to provide a working environment for students to develop their practical skills and embed the knowledge they have gained in the classroom.

All students use the same equipment, this allows us to make the KS4 to KS5 transition seamless. Our  students have the opportunity to work with XYZ CNC lathes and mills alongside the more traditional hand lathes, mills and drills. We are in the process of developing our testing and measuring facilities in partnership with Sempre Group, who are keen to develop metrology within the faculty. The Barn also has a suite of computers that allow students the flexibility to combine written assignments and practical work at the same time, making the most of their time at the UTC and working with the engineering team.

Students have access to high quality computers and programmes such as Solidworks and Flowcode for their theory sessions. When completing independent study there are banks of computers available for use in social areas as well as in the sixth form study space.

Destinations

As a new UTC we only have two years of destination data available but are very pleased with the results so far.  Of our students in Year 13 finishing in the summer of 2019, 25% of the full time Engineering students went onto study at university, with the remaining 74% chose to work with employers and started their apprenticeships. Of the students who chose to complete a hybrid course with us, 71% went onto apprenticeships while a further 14% went to university to study engineering focused subjects.

In 2019 of the Year 11 students at the end of the two year programme 26% of students stayed at the UTC to continue with their Engineering studies whilst a further 21% embarked upon Engineering based apprenticeships.

Our present Year 13 students are following a similar pattern  to last years cohort, although at this stage in the academic year the data cannot be confirmed. Students (36%) have been offered conditional places on a variety of engineering degree courses including Aerospace and Automotive Engineering at Bristol and Birmingham and  Engineering at Bath, Coventry and Southampton. We are also supporting (54%) of students who are in the process of completing applications and being interviewed for apprenticeships at a variety of local and national companies including National Grid and GKN. Of these students 18% have applied for the Higher Apprenticeship programmes with companies such as GE Aviation and the MOD.

Employer Partners

At Berkeley Green we are in the unique position of having the Bloodhound Engineering Team in our building. Our students have been watching the car’s journey and have regular meetings with Mark Chapman (Chief Engineer) to discuss the Teams progress, this has taught them valuable lessons such as that in Engineering it is okay to fail and that you won’t get everything right the first time. The recent time trials of the Bloodhound in South Africa was watched closely by our students and they were impressed and inspired as it  achieved a top speed of 628 miles per hour.

We also work closely with a variety of national and local companies; GE Aviation is a world-leading provider of commercial, military and business and general aviation jet and turboprop engines and components as well as avionics, electrical power and mechanical systems for aircraft. Delphi is a high-technology company that integrates safer, greener and more connected solutions for the automotive sector.  Omega Engineering services provide high quality test solutions and bespoke engineer-led equipment to some of the biggest names in safety critical industries. Versarien utilises proprietary technology to create innovative new engineering solutions that are capable of having a game-changing impact on a broad variety of industry sectors and LB Bentley who specialise in the design and manufacture of small bore subsea valves delivering globally to the oil and gas industry and high pressure filters and desiccant dryers produced for a worldwide market. Our employer partners provide valuable experiences for the students; they set employer based projects, conduct mock interviews, provide work experience and enrich the students experience at the UTC.

To conclude; after a recent visit by one of our employer partners we received this endorsement– ‘you have a brilliant set up there and I think are uniquely positioned to offer engineering and technology education to young people in Gloucester. I think we could develop a great partnership’.