Mulberry UTC

Mulberry UTC is a good school overall, with outstanding personal development and good quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. It is a 14–19 university technical college within the Mulberry Schools Trust, sponsored by Goldsmiths, Barts Health NHS Trust, the National Theatre and the British Film Institute, and this was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. The school is particularly successful in preparing pupils for work through specialist facilities, industry partnerships, careers activity and work experience, and pupils generally conduct themselves professionally. Leaders, trustees, governors and staff are committed and caring, and the curriculum is ambitious and well tailored, with strong support for pupils with SEND and for reading. Many pupils join in Years 10 and 11 with negative previous experiences of education, and the school helps most to improve their behaviour, confidence and attendance through personalised support. The sixth form is a notable strength, with mature students and strong preparation for adulthood and independence. There are two main areas for improvement. Curriculum implementation is not consistently strong across all subjects, which leads to variable attainment at the end of Year 11 and in the sixth form. A small number of pupils remain disaffected, with poor attendance, punctuality and attitudes to learning, and the school needs to support these pupils earlier and more effectively. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Prepares pupils well for the world of work through specialist workplace-style facilities
• Achieves ambitious destinations for most Year 11 pupils and sixth-form students
• Builds a culture of professionalism and mutual respect
• Offers a rich enrichment programme that broadens pupils' horizons
• Provides high-quality careers education, employer engagement and work experience
• Delivers an ambitious curriculum enhanced by successful industry providers
• Tailors subject curriculums to pupils' needs and starting points
• Provides regular staff training and draws on external expertise
• Uses regular checks to identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge
• Has thorough processes for identifying and supporting pupils with SEND
• Supports pupils who struggle with reading and writing
• Maintains calm classrooms and generally good behaviour
• Provides personalised support that helps most pupils improve behaviour and attendance
• Plans PSHE carefully to meet pupils' needs and experiences
• Has committed and caring leadership, trustees, governors and staff
• Staff feel well supported by leaders and enjoy working at the school
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent in some subjects
• Pupils' attainment is variable at the end of Year 11 and in the sixth form
• A small number of pupils do not develop positive attitudes to learning quickly enough
• Poor attendance and punctuality affect learning for some pupils
• The school needs to support disaffected learners at an earlier stage

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 Mulberry UTC attended 83.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 58.3% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Mulberry UTC were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 Mulberry UTC had 18.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.2% 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, 8.6% of pupils at Mulberry UTC were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.9% 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 Mulberry UTC received £9,050 and spent £8,492 for each of its 510 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £923,000 (£1,812 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of Mulberry Schools Trust, income was £9,786 and spending £9,651 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 Tower Hamlets · Tower Hamlets local authority: places and applications

Mulberry UTC is part of Mulberry Schools Trust, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• Mulberry Stepney Green Mathematics and Computing College London
• Mulberry Academy Shoreditch London
• Mulberry School for Girls London
• Mulberry Canon Barnett Primary Academy London
• Mulberry Wood Wharf Primary School London
• Mulberry Academy London Dock London
• Mulberry Academy Woodside London
• Bexhill High Academy Bexhill-On-Sea
• Mulberry Silverdale Primary St Leonards-On-Sea
• Mulberry West St Leonards Primary St Leonards-On-Sea

What is Mulberry UTC's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Mulberry UTC is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Mulberry UTC last inspected by Ofsted?

Mulberry UTC was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Mulberry UTC have?

Mulberry UTC has 536 pupils on roll.

What age range does Mulberry UTC cover?

Mulberry UTC for pupils aged 14 to 19.

Where is Mulberry UTC?

Mulberry UTC is at 64 Parnell Road, London, E3 2RU.