We’re absolutely delighted that Ofsted have judged Ron Dearing UTC to be outstanding in every aspect of its provision.
The school is fortunate to be sponsored by the University of Hull and some of the region’s leading businesses. They’ve been very proactively involved in developing a highly-ambitious vision for the school and holding me to account to deliver on it. Nothing less than outstanding would have been good enough for them!
In addition, we’re acutely aware our students and their parents and carers took a big risk putting their faith in us, moving to a brand new school which hadn’t been tried and tested. We’ll be eternally grateful to them for their support and trust.
We’ve worked tirelessly to ensure their decision to come to Ron Dearing UTC was the right one. It’s fantastic to have confirmation from Ofsted that the education we provide for them is of the highest quality.
Ofsted raised the bar when it introduced its new Education Inspection Framework in September 2019. It is now even more difficult to achieve an Outstanding judgement.
I believe we’re only the sixth school in the country to have been judged outstanding since the new inspection framework was introduced. This makes the achievement even sweeter.
There are a number of reasons why Ron Dearing UTC is an outstanding school.
Firstly, I’m exceptionally lucky to lead a highly-experienced, well-qualified, creative and dedicated team. Their enthusiasm for our unique, employer-led curriculum and their commitment to implementing it engages our students effectively, encouraging them to fulfil their potential and make outstanding progress, both academically and personally.
Our staff have embraced completely our exciting philosophy of ensuring our students apply the theory they learn in the classroom to real projects designed and delivered by our university and employer partners. This methodology is one of the many things which sets Ron Dearing UTC apart from other schools and colleges in the region.
Secondly, we couldn’t implement our unique educational approach without the incredible support of our university and employer partners, who bring an exceptional level of expertise to the design and delivery of our curriculum.
This partnership between educators and industry experts ensures our curriculum produces young people with the qualifications, skills and personal attributes which businesses are looking for. It is the bedrock of our educational offer.
We have extremely supportive parents and carers who completely understand what we’re striving to achieve. They take an interest in their children’s education and let us know what they think is working and what could be improved. They back us 100% to implement our policies and trust us to act in the best interests of their children.
We’re privileged to work with the most amazing set of young people. Our students have made a deliberate choice to come to Ron Dearing UTC in the full knowledge that our expectations are exceptionally high and that they will work harder and for longer than they would anywhere else.
They respond exceptionally well to the demands we place upon them and the support we give them. They recognise that staff will always go the extra mile for them, to enable them to achieve their potential and feel safe and happy at school. In return, they go the extra mile for us.
We’re a very caring and happy community at Ron Dearing UTC where staff and students are able to be themselves and thrive. This is the aspect of our school that I’m most proud of.
Finally, Ron Dearing UTC wouldn’t exist without the vision and support of Hull City Council, our Patron Alan Johnson and our Chair of Governors, Charlie Spencer. Everyone at our school owes them a huge debt of gratitude for bringing a UTC to Hull.
I’m extremely excited about working with them, our university and employer partners, our staff, students and parents to take Ron Dearing UTC to even greater heights.
Sarah Pashley
Principal