Crewe Engineering and Design UTC

Crewe Engineering and Design UTC is a 14-19 university technical college with engineering, design and manufacturing specialisms, part of The Learning Partnership Academies Trust. Inspectors found it performing well overall across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision, with safeguarding effective. The college has a strong sense of community and a clear 'industry ready' purpose, and pupils benefit from industry-standard resources, employer engagement and pastoral support that helps many re-engage with education. The curriculum is ambitious and leaders have strengthened how they identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge when they join in Year 10. Staff are subject experts, pupils typically behave well and attend frequently, and support for SEND and reading is effective. Sixth-form students are positive role models and those pursuing engineering or design are exceptionally well prepared for their next steps. The main area for improvement is consistency in teaching: some staff are less secure in using the college's agreed learning strategies, so some activities do not help pupils learn the intended content and knowledge is not always built securely over time. The college is also developing equally strong guidance for the minority of pupils interested in subjects beyond engineering. Published 2023 Year 11 outcomes are noted as not accurately reflecting the quality of education because pupils enter with varied prior experiences.

Strengths

• Creates a strong sense of belonging in a distinctive engineering and design-focused community
• Uses industry-standard resources and employer links to make pupils 'industry ready'
• Pastoral care is a strength, supporting attendance, behaviour and re-engagement
• Ambitious curriculum with strong identification of pupils' knowledge gaps on entry
• Effective support for SEND and reading difficulties
• Strong preparation for engineering and design education and careers, including in the sixth form
• Leaders prioritise staff development and workload reduction
• Pupils behave well and sixth-form students act as positive role models

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers are less secure in using agreed learning strategies to deliver the curriculum effectively
• Some lesson activities do not help pupils learn what was intended, and knowledge is occasionally not secured over time
• Guidance for pupils interested in subjects outside engineering is still being developed

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 Crewe Engineering and Design UTC attended 89.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 31.9% 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, 20.0% of pupils at Crewe Engineering and Design UTC were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 pupils were 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 Crewe Engineering and Design UTC had 23.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2023–24, 24.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 16.7%).

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, 14.7% of pupils at Crewe Engineering and Design UTC were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.0% 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 Crewe Engineering and Design UTC received £8,349 and spent £9,049 for each of its 305 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £544,000 (-£1,783 per pupil).

Across all 15 schools of The Learning Partnership Academies Trust, income was £7,536 and spending £7,682 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 Crewe · Cheshire East local authority: places and applications

Crewe Engineering and Design UTC is part of The Learning Partnership Academies Trust, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

• Cheshire Studio School Crewe
• Sir William Stanier School Crewe
• The Oaks Academy Crewe
• Leighton Academy Crewe
• Wistaston Church Lane Academy Crewe
• Shavington Primary School Crewe
• Wheelock Primary School Sandbach
• Dove Bank Primary School Stoke-On-Trent
• Congleton High School Congleton
• Castle Primary School Stoke-On-Trent

What is Crewe Engineering and Design UTC's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Crewe Engineering and Design UTC is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Crewe Engineering and Design UTC last inspected by Ofsted?

Crewe Engineering and Design UTC was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Crewe Engineering and Design UTC have?

Crewe Engineering and Design UTC has 299 pupils on roll.

What age range does Crewe Engineering and Design UTC cover?

Crewe Engineering and Design UTC for pupils aged 14 to 19.

Where is Crewe Engineering and Design UTC?

Crewe Engineering and Design UTC is at West Street, Crewe, Cheshire, CW1 2PZ.