Anne Marie led the charge to get the funding for our brand new £10 million University Technical College in Newton Abbot due to open this year. This flagship project is part of the Government’s Academies Programme and is the first of its kind in the area. Construction of the new college on the old Blacklers site in Newton Abbot is now well under way.
The college will take up to 600 students aged between 14-18 years old recruited from a 30 mile catchment area which includes Teignbridge, Torbay, Exeter and the South Hams. As a non-selective college, it will enable students to achieve academic qualifications including GCSEs and A levels as well as technical qualifications at levels 1-3. Students will progress to jobs as technicians or apprentices or progress to university, many having secured industry sponsorship to do so. Anne Marie commented:
“Having a UTC in Newton Abbot will mean that South Devon young adults have the opportunity to benefit from access to cutting edge facilities whilst also learning the basic skills all employers are looking for. This is great news for our area and I cannot wait for it to open."
Anne Marie spotted the opportunity offered by the Government’s commitment to create 25 new University Technical Colleges to bring a technical engineering training institution to Newton Abbot. Given the engineering traditions of the area and diverse range of local engineering businesses, she sounded out the local business community and she was delighted to be able to bring together South Devon College, Exeter University, Centrax, South West Water, Galliford Try, the Federation of Small Businesses, Devon County Council and Teignbridge District Council to develop a feasibility plan and the successful bid.