Key meeting to take place on Monday to discuss future of Daventry UTC pupils as parents speak out

Officials from the Department for Education and the Education Funding Agency will meet on Monday to discuss what will happen moving forward in terms of pupils placements.

Daventry UTC, off Ashby Road, announced to parents on Wednesday evening that it would be closing its doors at the end of the academic year in August 2018.

The closure will leave around half the UTC’s pupils needing to move to a new school halfway through their GCSEs or sixth form.

Emily Jane has launched a Facebook page to try and save the UTC – Save Daventry UTC.

Her daughter had only started at the UTC in September after suffering from bullying at her other two secondary schools.

She said: “The school is wonderful, and my daughter has already made up the ground she missed out on.

“But she was in tears on Wednesday night. When we were looking for a new school for her we tried Guilsborough and Southam but they were full.

“Where is she going to go now?

“We’ve been told there might be places at Silverstone UTC, but what about transport costs?

“Then there’s worries about the work she’s done so far. She’ll be halfway through her GCSEs. Will the new school run the same exams, will her coursework still count?

“I set up the Facebook group so that parents affected will be able to talk to each other, and maybe find a way to keep the school open.”

Daventry District Council has said it will ‘ensure’ the building that houses the UTC will remain in educational use.

University Technical Colleges were introduced in 2010, and Daventry UTC opened in 2013.

Around five other UTCs across the UK have already announced plans to close due to a lack of pupils numbers.