UTC Plymouth, Plymouth

From the headteacher's welcome: "Welcome to UTC Plymouth, part of Reach South Academy Trust and Baker Dearing's University Technical College (UTC)* network: proudly the only University Technical College in the city of Plymouth. We are a thriving community of learners, innovators and future leaders, united by a shared belief in the power of education to transform lives."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include coding, robotics, STEM and Duke of Edinburgh.

The school runs a breakfast club from 8:00am.

In 2026, pupils at UTC Plymouth averaged an Attainment 8 score of 31.5, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 47.3 in Plymouth and 47 across England.

24% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 49% in Plymouth and 47% in England.

That is down from 36.4 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -1.13: pupils made well below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 26.8, against 34.5 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 7.7 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 8 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Information and Communication Technology and Engineering Studies.

For September 2026 entry, 115 families put UTC Plymouth as their first choice and 229 named it as one of their preferences, for 115 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. 3 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to UTC Plymouth are Devonport High School for Boys (0.7 miles, Good, selective, Attainment 8 65.1); Scott Medical and Healthcare College (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 47.2); Stoke Damerel Community College (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 38.3); and Millbay Academy (1.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 37.3).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than UTC Plymouth.

UTC Plymouth is one of 20 schools run by Reach South Academy Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 37.4 in 2024/25.

Of the 64 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 77% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 52% to a further education college, 3% to an apprenticeship and 9% into work.

Of the 24 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 17% went on to university or other higher education, 25% to apprenticeships and 17% into work.

45.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 8.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

UTC Plymouth had 46 teachers in 2026, one for every 13 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical secondary school, at about one for every 17.

The nearest railway station is Devonport Rail Station, about 360 metres away (roughly a 4-minute walk).

18 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is UTC Plymouth (s-bound), 30 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood UTC Plymouth stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 539 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Plymouth (196), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, UTC Plymouth issued 162 suspensions, 27.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 3 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to UTC Plymouth are Morice Town Primary Academy (0.2 miles), Marlborough Primary Academy (0.4 miles), St Joseph's Catholic Primary School (0.4 miles) and Stoke Damerel Primary Academy (0.4 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.