The following is an excerpt by Alan Weston from Liverpool Echo. Photo credit to James Maloney.
Liverpool’s newest college for 14 to 19-year-olds presents a striking combination of the old and the ultra-modern.
Behind the facade of a former Victorian warehouse in the city’s Baltic Triangle, the Life Sciences University Technical College (UTC) is at the cutting edge of both its subject and of the latest thinking about how best to equip students for the needs of today’s employers.
Even the terminology may be unfamiliar – “life sciences” covers the scientific study of all living organisms and is essential for a career in, for example, the health care sector or pharmaceuticals. A “university technical college” – a strand of the Academy school set-up – combines practical and academic studies with employers at the heart of shaping the curriculum.
The UTC is sponsored by experts in the life sciences and education field, including the University of Liverpool, Redx Pharma and the Royal Liverpool Hospital.
In many cases the 800 students have uprooted themselves from established schools to pursue their academic and career goals as well as travelling from as far afield as Southport, St Helens, Runcorn and Widnes.