Consultation of Changes to Admissions Policy
December 2023
Consultation on a proposal to admit Year 9 to Aylesbury UTC for the first time in September 2025 as well as amendments to Admission Policy
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Dear Parent / Carer / Local Resident,
Aylesbury UTC is committed to providing high-quality technical education for students aged 14-19. We are proposing extending our age range to include up to 60 Year 9 students each year from September 2025.
This consultation document follows the procedure set by the Admissions Code 2021 and seeks the views of parents/carers, community members, educational institutions, the local authority, and other stakeholders.
Why are we considering admitting Year 9 students?
We believe that admitting Year 9 students would provide several benefits, including:
- A smoother transition to UTC education: students would have an extra year to settle into the UTC environment and familiarise themselves with our unique curriculum.
- More opportunities for personalised learning: se would be able to identify and support students’ individual needs at an earlier stage, providing them with the tailored support they need to succeed.
- A stronger pipeline of students for our post-16 programs: se would be able to attract more students to our post-16 programs, which offer a range of vocational qualifications.
- More opportunities for the young people in the local area to work with leading employer partners and to benefit from a UTC education.
What would admitting Year 9 students mean for the UTC?
Admitting Year 9 students would require some changes to the UTC, including:
- Adapting our curriculum and teaching methods: we would need to ensure that our curriculum is appropriate for Year 9 students and that our teaching methods are tailored to their needs.
- Expanding our facilities: in the longer term we may need to provide additional classrooms, study spaces, and other facilities to accommodate the extra students, however, the UTC currently has ample space available.
- Increasing our staffing levels: we would need to recruit additional teachers and support staff to ensure that we can provide high-quality education for all our students.
How would admitting Year 9 students benefit stakeholders?
We believe that admitting Year 9 students would benefit stakeholders in the following ways:
- Parents/carers: Parents would have more choice when it comes to their children’s education.
- Community members: The community would benefit from having a more diverse range of educational options available.
- Educational institutions: Other schools and colleges would benefit from having a stronger pipeline of students for their post-16 programs.
- Local employers: Local employers would benefit by having more pupils taught technical qualifications from industry standard equipment and specialist staff.
- The local authority: The local authority would benefit from having a more efficient use of school places.
The revised policy admission policy can be read in full here. The policy includes changes to reflect the proposal to include year 9 (section 4), as well as slight changes to the oversubscription criteria to include children of the Merchant Taylors’ Oxfordshire Academy Trust (MTOAT) and siblings of current students (section 6).
How to Submit Your Feedback
We want to hear your views on this proposal.
The views of parents, pupils and the wider community will be considered by our Governing Board and Buckinghamshire County Council – when determining whether to publish a Statutory Notice to admit year 9 pupils to the UTC.
- Please submit your feedback by completing the questions below or at the following link by Friday 26th January 2024 at 4pm. https://forms.office.com/e/CNxa66wQhD
Consultation Questions
Please return the completed questions to Principal@aylesburyutc.co.uk or by post to the UTC’s address, Aylesbury UTC, Oxford Road, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP21 8PB, labelled Admissions Consultation by 4pm Friday 26th January 2024.
We would like to invite you to share your views on our proposal.
Please answer the following questions:
- Do you support our proposal to admit Year 9 students and to amend our admissions policy?
- Yes
- No
- I don’t know
- If you have any other comments about the proposal to accept year 9 students to Aylesbury UTC please tell us here:
About you
We will use the information you provide here only for the purpose of this activity. We will store the information securely in line with data protection laws and will not share or publish any personal details.
- Which of the following describe you?
Please tick (✓) all that apply
- I am a parent or carer of a student at Aylesbury UTC
- I work at Aylesbury UTC
- I am a Governor at Aylesbury UTC
- I am a student at Aylesbury UTC
- I live near Aylesbury UTC
- I work at another local school in the area
- I represent or own a business in Buckinghamshire
- I represent a community or voluntary group in Buckinghamshire
- I am an elected representative in Buckinghamshire
- I represent a Parish / Town Council or Town Committee in Buckinghamshire
- I work for Buckinghamshire Council
- Other (please give details below):
- How did you find out about this consultation?
Please tick (✓) all that apply
- Letter from school
- School staff briefing
- Local media (newspaper, radio or TV)
- Buckinghamshire Council website or Your Voice Bucks website
- Buckinghamshire Council newsletter
- From Buckinghamshire Council staff
- Through working at Buckinghamshire Council
- Word of mouth
- Local Community Board
- Local Councillor
- Local Parish / Town Council or Town Committee
- Other (please give details below):
- Are you responding as an individual or on behalf of an organisation (e.g. a business or a voluntary group)?
Please tick (✓) one option
- As an individual (go to question 9)
- On behalf of an organisation
- On behalf of an organisation
Please provide the following details:
Name of organisation:
Your job title:
End of survey if responding on behalf of an organisation
More about you
We want to hear from as many people as possible to understand the views and needs across Buckinghamshire. The following questions help us see if the communities we serve have had the opportunity to be heard through this activity.
All questions are optional. You can skip any questions you do not wish to answer, or you can skip all the questions.
- What is your postcode?
We want to understand the views of people living in different areas. You don’t have to provide your postcode, but it helps us plan and make considered decisions.
- What is your age?
Why we ask this: We want to understand the experiences and views of different age groups.
Please tick (✓) one option
- Under 16
- 16 to 24
- 25 to 34
- 35 to 44
- 45 to 54
- 55 to 64
- 65 to 74
- 75 to 84
- Over 85
- Prefer not to say
- Are you:
Why we ask this: We want to understand the experiences and views of different sexes.
Please tick (✓) one option
- Female
- Male
- Prefer not to say
- Do you consider yourself to have a disability / disabilities, impairment(s) or long term health condition(s)?
Why we ask this: We want to understand the experiences and views of disabled people, people with impairments and people with long-term health conditions.
Please tick (✓) all that apply
- Disability / disabilities
- Impairment(s)
- Long term health condition(s)
- No
- Prefer not to say
- How would you describe your ethnicity?
Why we ask this: We want to understand the experiences and views of different ethnicities.
Please tick (✓) one option
- Asian – British
- Asian – Bangladeshi
- Asian – Chinese
- Asian – Indian
- Asian – Pakistani
- Any other Asian background – Please give details below
- Black – African
- Black – British
- Black – Caribbean
- Any other Black, African or Caribbean background – Please give details below
- Mixed or multiple ethnic groups – White and Asian
- Mixed or multiple ethnic groups – White and Black African
- Mixed or multiple ethnic groups – White and Black British
- Mixed or multiple ethnic groups – White and Black Caribbean
- Mixed or multiple ethnic groups – Mixed or Multiple Ethnic backgrounds British
- Any other Mixed or Multiple ethnic background – Please give details below
- White – English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British o White – Irish
- White – Gypsy or English traveller
- White – Irish Traveller
- White – European
- Any other White background – Please give details below
- Other ethnic group – Arab
- Other ethnic group – Arab British
- Other ethnic group – Please give details below
- Prefer not to say
Please give other details here:
End of the survey
Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey
