WUTC has a curriculum that seeks to prepare students to maximize their opportunities for future careers in Construction and Engineering. The WUTC curriculum provides a blend of academic and technical learning.
This curriculum builds the vital employability skills, that Construction and Engineering careers need locally and nationally. It builds the professional behaviours required by WUTC leavers for rapid progression into their chosen professions. Students’ experience is enriched and stretched by regular exposure to Construction and Engineering companies, other employers and universities.
Our Specialisms and Careers should run, ‘like a golden thread’ through all of our curriculums.
The overall quality of education at WUTC is substantiated by the ambitious progression and destinations secured by its leavers. The building blocks of securing destinations is a key focus of the curriculum. WUTC has unique character and educational contribution. It invests in young people’s enthusiasm and aptitude for Construction and Engineering, facilitated by science and maths, and it accelerates their progression to a career in a technical field. Such progression will feed the talent pipeline into WUTC’s target Construction and Engineering sector. WUTC provides a balanced curriculum which remains as broad as possible whilst meeting, in an age-appropriate manner, its over-arching technical intent. Programmes of study will demonstrate high academic and technical ambition for all students.
WUTC develops in all students those skills and attributes required for progression into a productive technical career. Its curriculum builds students’ research and problem-solving abilities through application of their growing knowledge base to contemporary problems. WUTC provides all students with regular and meaningful opportunities to learn from partner employers and employers play a significant partner contribution to curriculum design, content and delivery. On joining WUTC, all Year 9 students will study the ‘Discovery Curriculum’ which provides them with an in-depth mix of theory and practical approaches to ensure they have the skills and foundation learning in our core technical subjects. The primary goal of this curriculum is to give students knowledge to make educated choices for their GCSE and future employability pathways.
WUTC measures impact and overall quality of education in terms of the profile of high-level and ambitious destinations its young people secure from their respective starting points. Such ambition applies to all students in the WUTC, including those with SEND or disadvantaged, and this is evident in the WUTC’s annual destinations profile. From their various starting points and with their many needs, WUTC’s curriculum endeavours to build resilience and self-belief in all students. So, equipping them to be confident, successful and active citizens in their local and national communities.
Technical Specialisms
Engineering
Waterfront UTC’s engineering specialism enables students to gain a wide range of engineering skills and develop broad engineering technical knowledge.
The UTC’s students will gain from the expertise of engineering sponsors including BAE Systems, Delphi Diesel Systems and the Royal School of Military Engineering and they use the latest engineering technology to equip them to work effectively in this exciting and rapidly evolving sector. Students will develop their knowledge and skills within a broad engineering curriculum including product design and manufacture, mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering and computer aided design and manufacture. This will provide the platform for progression to a wide range of education, training and employment opportunities including further/higher education and apprenticeships.
BAE Systems Rochester is delighted to support Waterfront UTC. It is a key opportunity for the local area to help develop a talent pool of young people in support of the engineering and construction industries in the Medway towns.
Michael Tierney, BAE Systems
Construction and Built Environment
Through the Construction and Built Environment specialism students explore the specialist occupational roles involved in the sector as a whole such as civil engineering, architecture, design and surveying. The UTC will draw from the expertise of leading edge construction industry employers, including Bouygues UK, Redrow Homes and BAM Construct UK to design and deliver extensive, innovative and rich technical learning. There is a focus on green technologies and sustainable construction techniques and students learn about the relationship between construction, the built environment and wider society. There are opportunities to progress within further and higher education programmes, traineeships and apprenticeships, all supported by the close engagement of the University of Greenwich and MidKent College.
Waterfront UTC gives BAM the opportunity to apply our experience and knowledge of construction to a new, exciting and innovative learning environment, where we can embed this knowledge and experience into the curriculum for the benefit of future students
Chris Jones, BAM Construct
Year 9-11 Curriculum
Waterfront UTC offers the best of both worlds: students study in a work-like environment while still experiencing all the benefits that traditional schools offer. Our focused curriculum will prepare you for a career in the Engineering or Construction sectors while keeping other career routes open. Years 9-11 study traditional GCSEs along with a Technical curriculum of L2 BTECs.
Year 12-13 Curriculum
Three routes are available for students studying at Level 3 and they all focus on the UTC’s unique technical specialism and approach to learning. We will discuss with you the programme that meets your own individual needs and supports your future progression.
Programmes of study for A-Level standard courses are for students who have achieved at least five Grade 5s in appropriate subjects (there may be some flexibility in this). Students who have successfully achieved a Grade 4 or better in five or more GCSEs, including English and Maths, will be able to progress to Waterfront UTC’s Years 12 and 13 to follow a programme based on BTEC National (Level 3) qualifications in either Engineering or Construction & the Built Environment and/or A-Levels.
Students who have achieved Grade 4 at GCSE in English and Maths can be given the opportunity to study and retake their GCSE English and Maths exams.