The University Technical College Lancashire in Burnley is to shut down in August after being open for only three years — due to a lack of students.
The £10.3 million UTC, which focuses on engineering and construction skills, said it had found it very difficult to recruit the number of students necessary to secure “future financial viability”.
At the last count, it had just 113 pupils on its books, despite having a capacity of 800. The college is in a restored Victorian mill and has been praised as a flagship in the re-development of that part of Burnley.
Rod Dubrow-Marshall, a member of the trust board, said: “The decision to close UTC Lancashire is hugely disappointing to the trust, senior leadership team and all those who have worked so hard to give students the opportunity to pursue a technical education.
“Unfortunately, although we have made every attempt to try to find an alternative solution, the board agreed that closure is the only available option due to low student numbers. The well-being and success of students remain our highest priority; we hope that, by announcing this news promptly, we can give students, parents, carers and staff the maximum time possible to make alternative plans for September.”
The UTC added that HR support and guidance will be offered to all staff and that measures will be taken to “ensure student transition is as smooth as possible, with minimum interruption to their on-going education”.
It is not the first UTC to be closed; Hackney UTC in London and Black Country UTC in Walsall both closed last summer, citing problems recruiting pupils, while Central Bedfordshire UTC announced earlier this year that it too will cease operating this summer.
UTCs are Government-funded colleges offering 14- to 19-year-olds an alternative education to traditional schools. They were set up to “teach students technical and academic subjects in an innovative and creative way within a work-based context, aiming to educate the inventors, engineers, scientists and technicians of tomorrow.”