BY Sam Walker | Thursday 2 January 2025
Hull’s employer-led school has once again recorded a clean sweep with every single Year 13 student going on to a positive and exciting destination, paving the way for future success at leading businesses across the region and beyond.
A total of 47 of Ron Dearing University Technical College’s (UTC) 143 Year 13 sixth form students secured apprenticeships, including 27 with the school’s Employer Partners.
A further 53 students went to university, including nine at one of the prestigious Russell Group of universities, 30 went into employment and 13 moved on to further or higher education colleges.
The apprenticeships cover a wide range of roles, including aerospace engineering, research and development, IT, Computer-Aided Design (CAD), pipe fitting, wind turbine service and maintenance and more.
Global medical technology business Smith+Nephew, one of Ron Dearing UTC’s Founding Partners, has taken on four apprentices from Ron Dearing UTC this year.
Heidi Porter, Charlie Pepper, Ethan McGowan and Reuben Hiley (main photo), all 18, have hit the ground running in their respective roles.
Heidi is an apprentice project engineer, Ethan is a manufacturing apprentice, Charlie is an apprentice electronics engineer and Reuben an operations engineering apprentice, all of them based at the company’s site in Hull.
Former Ron Dearing UTC student Imogen Connolly, 18, has also secured an aerospace engineering degree apprenticeship at BAE Systems in Brough, East Yorkshire, and will be an Aerospace Engineer when she completes her four-year course.
BAE Systems provides some of the world’s most advanced, technology-led defence, aerospace and security solutions. The business develops, engineers, manufactures and supports products and systems to deliver military capability, protect national security and people, and keep critical information and infrastructure secure.
The Brough site plays a key role in the air sector as a centre for digital engineering excellence and Imogen could potentially be working on exciting projects from the Global Combat Air Programme to the Dreadnought Submarines Programme.
Jon Milner, Capability Lead at BAE Systems, a Major Partner of Ron Dearing UTC, said: “Many of our senior leaders across the business started their careers as apprentices and they are very valued. We ask a lot of our apprentices, but we give them a lot of support, help and knowledge too.
“Imogen’s apprenticeship is more than just engineering. We’re supporting her to develop as a person and she will also have the opportunity to travel as part of her role in the future.
“We’re delighted to be a Major Partner of Ron Dearing UTC and it’s a great opportunity to shape our future workforce and develop the talent pipeline needed to deliver engineering capability.”
Rolls-Royce Submarines is another major business which has taken on a former Ron Dearing UTC student as a Nuclear Scientist and Nuclear Engineer Degree Apprentice.
Oliver Moss, 19, works at the company’s Operations Centre in Derby while also studying at the University of Derby. He is the second Ron Dearing UTC student to be taken on by the company after Evie Hadfield began a Project Management degree apprenticeship at Rolls-Royce in Derby in 2022.
Opened in 2017, Ron Dearing UTC caters for students aged between 14 and 19, offering a unique model of employer-led education with a specialist focus on creative arts, digital technology, computing and engineering.
Glenn Jensen, Senior Assistant Principal at Ron Dearing UTC, said: “We’re so proud of all of our students moving on to amazing destinations and carving out such brilliant futures for themselves.
“Working with our fantastic Employer Partners who help to shape our unique curriculum, we equip our students with crucial skills and opportunities to set them up for life.
“We love hearing the many success stories from our alumni and the incredible feedback from the employers who open the door for them to excel in their chosen careers.”
