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Four of our budding roboticists travelled to Nottingham Trent University recently to showcase their incredible work with XRP and FIRST robotics systems, presenting at both the Baker Dearing Trust National Conference and the Engineering Conference.

The trip featured an absolute highlight during lunchtime when Lord Baker, Life President of the Baker Dearing Trust and the driving force behind the University Technical College movement, took the time to speak directly with our students. He chatted at length with the team about their UTC journeys and future career ambitions, and was incredibly impressed by the innovation, technical skills, and professional attitude on display.

As a long-standing champion of technical education, Lord Baker’s praise reinforces the vital importance of the hands-on curriculum we provide here at UTC Warrington. Our students were excellent ambassadors for the college, and we hope their success inspires many more UTCs to join them in next year’s competitions!

Our thanks go to Michael Howey for supporting the students at the event and making this fantastic opportunity possible.

We are thrilled to announce that Ashlyn Higham has been nominated for the Higher Horizons Teacher of the Year for Cheshire award!

Since taking on Careers Leader responsibilities in January alongside her Cover Supervisor role, Ashlyn has brought fantastic energy to the position. Her dedication has ensured that every single Year 10 and Year 12 student has had access to a university experience this year, opening doors and inspiring future pathways.

Please join us in congratulating Ashlyn on this incredibly well-deserved recognition!

The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker… well, not quite! However, our fantastic Year 10 students have been out across the region experiencing an incredibly diverse range of employment sectors for their formal Work Experience Week.

Stepping out of the classroom and into the professional world, students have been placement-bound in engineering firms, digital agencies, laboratories, and local businesses. This invaluable week gives our young people a genuine taste of the workplace, helping them connect their current technical studies with future career pathways. We have already received glowing feedback from employers praise-singing the maturity, punctuality, and enthusiasm of our students. A huge thank you to all the local businesses who hosted placements and supported the next generation of professionals.

Our cadets recently returned from an action-packed and highly successful annual camp at Altcar Training Camp.

Throughout the week, the group progressed from mastering essential fieldcraft, camouflage, and tactical paintball drills to executing advanced platoon-level manoeuvres across the Formby sand dunes. Alongside these intensive military exercises, the cadets enjoyed a thrilling day of water sports at the Liverpool Docks—tackling an inflatable assault course, paddleboarding, and kayaking—before taking in the sights of Liverpool city centre during a cultural afternoon.

The camp was also defined by outstanding competitive achievements that brought major trophies back to UTC Warrington:

We are incredibly proud of the resilience, teamwork, and elite skills our cadets demonstrated. What a phenomenal week!

Giving back is a core value for our students, and a dedicated team of Year 10 students recently volunteered their time to support St Paul’s Church at the Oaks Centre.

Braving the outdoors, the team spent the day clearing and tending to a heavily overgrown area of the garden at the centre. Their hard work has completely transformed the outdoor space, helping support a vital local hub and ensuring it remains a welcoming environment for everyone who uses it. This project demonstrated excellent teamwork and citizenship, making us thoroughly proud of how our Year 10 cohort represent our institution in the wider community.

We are incredibly proud to celebrate the outstanding success of Year 13 Civil Engineering T Level student, Lucy Taylor, who has turned a work experience placement into a paid summer role with Read Construction.

Lucy’s journey began following an inspiring careers presentation delivered by Read Construction right here at the college. Hooked by the presentation, Lucy joined their team at the Peace Centre project for an initial one-week placement. After making a stellar impression, she returned for a further three weeks to complete her T Level industry placement requirements. Thanks to her exceptional hard work, enthusiasm, and positive attitude, Read Construction has now offered Lucy a paid three-month summer placement at the Peace Centre site.

Reflecting on the opportunity, Lucy said: “Read Construction came to my college to deliver a presentation about the company and Read instantly stood out as a company I wanted to work with. My previous placement has already helped me expand my site knowledge and develop an understanding of the many responsibilities involved in managing a construction site. I’m looking forward to continuing to learn and develop during my paid placement.”

This brilliant outcome perfectly illustrates how our curriculum bridges the gap between education and employment, providing students with direct pathways into industry. Huge congratulations to Lucy, and our sincere thanks to Read Construction for their continued commitment to investing in future talent.

This week, our staff team have been busy developing their own technical skills with Autodesk and the North West Tech Talent Consortium. Learning from top industry experts ensures our team remains at the cutting edge of design and engineering technology, directly benefiting our students by bringing industry-standard practices straight into our workshops and computer labs.

Our engineering instructors have been refining their Fusion 360 skills, whilst our digital team have been learning firsthand from premier industry leaders including Siemens, BAE Systems, and Arup. Investing in this high-level professional development ensures our curriculum directly mirrors the fast-paced demands of modern industry.

We are thrilled to have been awarded the prestigious CyberFirst Gold Award by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). This highly sought-after certification recognises excellence in cyber security education, highlighting our exceptional computing curriculum and the fantastic opportunities we provide to inspire the next generation of digital defenders. Remarkably, we are the only school or college in Cheshire and Warrington to hold this Gold status.

To celebrate this achievement, our Digital Team had the unique opportunity to collect the award directly from the team at GCHQ during a special event hosted at the BT Openreach headquarters in Manchester (though strict security meant absolutely no photos of GCHQ personnel were allowed!). Further completing a brilliant day, our Head of Digital was invited to join the expert panel to share professional insights into how our team successfully advanced our accreditation from Silver to Gold status.

Securing this exclusive recognition is a real credit to the team for their hard work and dedication, firmly placing our institution at the forefront of digital and cyber education regionally.

During British Grand Prix week, two of our budding engineering students enjoyed the opportunity of a lifetime by attending a STEM Experience Day hosted by Mission 44 at the iconic Silverstone circuit.

The event featured a special appearance by seven-time Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton alongside elite engineers from Ferrari. Our students engaged in high-energy, hands-on science and engineering challenges, gaining invaluable insight into the elite world of motorsport and the incredible career paths available within STEM industries. It was an inspiring experience that brought the world of high-performance engineering directly to life for our young people.

Inclusivity sits at the very heart of our community, and we are delighted to have officially achieved the Warrington Committed to Inclusion Award. Run by Warrington Borough Council, this prestigious quality assurance mark is designed to drive continuous improvement in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision across local schools.

Endorsed by the University of Chester and recognised by Ofsted, the framework challenged our team to meet rigorous standards. We achieved specific credits through intensive teacher training, peer-to-peer reviews, and deep evaluations of our SEND strategy. This award is a fantastic testament to our staff’s dedication to ensuring that every single student has the tailored support they need to thrive.