FOLLOWING the announcement that Swindon is to get two free schools, work is now set to start in earnest to bring a second University Technical College to the town.

In September the first UTC opened in Bristol Street, offering an engineering-focused education to students aged between 14 and 19.

Working closely with local employers such as Thames Water and Honda, the UTC develops a curriculum which aims to give students skills they will need in the workplace.

Swindon Borough Council leader David Renard (Con, Haydon Wick) has previously declared an interest in having a second UTC but now says early talks have started with the organisation behind the schools.

He said: “We needed to wait for the outcome of the free school bids, but certainly officers have done some preliminary work.

“We are at an early stage but we have had conversations with the Baker Dearing Trust.

“Everyone would welcome another bid but we would need to work out where to put it. I would favour a town centre location. We also need to decide on what the specialism would be.

“A lot of the young people who come to the existing UTC come from Chippenham or Stroud so having another UTC in Swindon would help us deal with the demand for school places both here and further afield.”

School Reform Minister Nick Gibb was in Swindon earlier this week to formally announce Swindon’s successful free school bids and confirmed the government would support a second UTC for the town if application were to be made.

“The Baker Dearing Trust’s vision is that there are some young people who know what they want to do and have a very clear vocational frame of mind and they want to get started,” said the minister.

“So whether it’s a UTC like here which focuses on engineering or on something else I think it’s widening the choice that young people have. And what’s good about this UTC is it takes pupils from a wide catchment area, so the opportunities are available to a lot of young people.”

He was also full of praise for the existing college, especially its use of historic buildings.

He said: “I think the building is one of the best school buildings I have ever seen. They have preserved and incorporated the historic nature of this building and it’s an ideal site for engineering with its connection to the railway.”