UTC Sheffield City Centre

UTC Sheffield City Centre is a good school overall, with good judgements across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. The specialist technical curriculum, industry-standard equipment, employer partnerships and strong careers guidance prepare pupils well for work and further study. Pupils benefit from high expectations, effective pastoral care and a wide range of enrichment opportunities, and sixth-form students act as role models for younger peers. The school is particularly strong in supporting pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, improving attendance and reducing suspensions, and promoting literacy and reading. Students in the sixth form develop strong technical vocabulary and are well prepared for ambitious next steps. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and staff, governors and trust leaders are committed to the school’s vision. However, some pupils and sixth-form students have an underdeveloped understanding of the personal development curriculum, which limits how well they are prepared for life in modern Britain. The school’s quality assurance and monitoring systems are not precise or consistent enough to identify why gaps in pupils’ understanding have developed, and this limits achievement in some qualifications. Attendance has improved but is not yet as high as it could be for all groups, including sixth-form students. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it remains part of the Sheffield UTC Academy Trust.

Strengths

• Ambitious specialist technical curriculum prepares pupils well for the workplace
• Industry-standard equipment and knowledgeable staff enhance learning
• Strong employer partnerships and dedicated careers advice support employability
• High expectations for achievement and attitude to learning
• High-quality pastoral care helps pupils feel safe and supported
• Vast enrichment opportunities, including engineering and racing challenges
• Sixth-form students act as role models and are well prepared for ambitious careers
• SEND provision is a priority and most pupils with SEND get the help they need
• Literacy and reading interventions help pupils catch up quickly
• Suspensions, removals and absence rates have been reduced over time

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils and sixth-form students have underdeveloped understanding of the personal development curriculum
• Personal development gaps limit preparation for life in modern Britain
• Quality assurance and monitoring systems are not precise or consistent enough
• The school does not accurately identify why gaps in pupils’ understanding develop
• Some pupils’ understanding of taught content is underdeveloped, limiting achievement in some qualifications
• Attendance is not yet as high as it could be for all groups, including sixth-form students

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at UTC Sheffield City Centre attended 90.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 28.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 5.2% of pupils at UTC Sheffield City Centre were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 UTC Sheffield City Centre had 17.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.6% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 15.3% of pupils at UTC Sheffield City Centre were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 UTC Sheffield City Centre received £7,518 and spent £7,443 for each of its 558 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,637,000 (£2,934 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of The Sheffield Utc Academy Trust, income was £7,453 and spending £7,851 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Sheffield · Sheffield local authority: places and applications

UTC Sheffield City Centre is part of The Sheffield Utc Academy Trust, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park Sheffield
• UTC Derby Pride Park Derby

What is UTC Sheffield City Centre's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for UTC Sheffield City Centre is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was UTC Sheffield City Centre last inspected by Ofsted?

UTC Sheffield City Centre was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does UTC Sheffield City Centre have?

UTC Sheffield City Centre has 543 pupils on roll.

What age range does UTC Sheffield City Centre cover?

UTC Sheffield City Centre for pupils aged 13 to 19.

Where is UTC Sheffield City Centre?

UTC Sheffield City Centre is at 111 Matilda Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S1 4QF.