studio schools | Schools Week

Another studio school considers closure over poor recruitment

Leaders of a studio school in Liverpool are “strongly considering” closing their institution next year, after poor recruitment affected its financial viability. Studio@Deyes has a capacity of 300 but just 196 pupils, and accounts show it ended the last academic year with a deficit of almost £600,000. Twenty-one studio schools have closed to-date, and a […]

Pupil destinations will trump Progress 8 as headline measure for UTCs

The Department for Education is changing the way it judges the success of university technical colleges and studio schools, by moving its focus from the Progress 8 accountability measures to pupil destinations. In a letter to the Office for Statistics Regulation, Neil McIvor, chief data officer and chief statistician at the DfE, explained changes that will be […]

Allow UTCs and studio schools to select pupils, argues Toby Young

University technical colleges and studio schools should be allowed to select pupils on the basis of aptitude, a controversial new report authored by Toby Young has argued. Furthermore, such a move would be legal and would only require a change in policy, according to ‘Technically gifted: How selection can save technical and vocational education’, published […]

DfE spent more than £23m on failed studio schools

The government has spent more than £23 million on studio schools that have either closed or never opened but the price tag total won’t be known until the much-delayed publication of its final costs. Twenty-six studio schools have closed or announced plans to close since the scheme was introduced in 2010. In the past week […]

Studio schools to work more closely with MATs

The controversial studio schools programme has announced a dramatic shift in focus after the tally of those closed or due to do so rose to 24. Studio schools, small 14-to-19 institutions with a vocational focus, will now be incorporated into multi-academy trusts, rather than running as standalone schools with backing from the further education sector. […]

Government doubles cash for letters promoting UTCs and studio schools

The Department for Education has more than doubled what it pays councils to write letters promoting University Technical Colleges and studio schools. In 2017-18, councils will each get a share of £226,934.80 to write to parents informing them of alternative post-14 education options, after a new rule was introduced in February requiring local government to inform […]

UTCs excluded from EBacc target, but not league tables

University technical colleges and studio schools have been excluded from the government’s EBacc entry target, but the measure will still be included in the institutions’ league table scores. On Wednesday, the Department for Education finally published its long-delayed response to its consultation on the EBacc, which closed nearly 18 months ago. Justine Greening announced that she […]

Pupils to book lessons via app at new studio school

An unconventional 14 to 19 school with an eight-hour day, no homework and a system that allows pupils to use their laptops to book extra lessons will open in Cheshire this September. Christleton International Studio will open on the site of Queen’s Park High School in Handbridge, near Chester, and is planning new systems to […]