UTC Derby Pride Park

About UTC Derby Pride Park

UTC Derby Pride Park sits within Derby local authority, ranking 13th out of 15 secondary schools in the area on Progress 8. That puts it in the bottom half of the local league table, some distance behind the top-performing peers nearby. The three highest-ranked schools in the same LA are Littleover Community School, Saint Benedict, A Catholic Voluntary Academy, and Murray Park Community School. For families looking at the strongest academic performers in the city, those schools are the ones to beat. UTC Derby Pride Park is a different proposition entirely: a specialist technical school for students aged 13 to 19, focused on engineering and technology. It is smaller than many secondaries, with 458 pupils against a capacity of 600, and a third of its students are eligible for free school meals. The school has a Good rating from its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, a significant improvement from the Inadequate grade it received in 2018.

Academically, the school’s results are mixed and sit well below local averages. Its Progress 8 score of -0.73 is notably lower than the Derby LA average of -0.31, meaning students leave with weaker GCSE results than peers with similar starting points. Attainment 8 sits at 34.5, and just under half of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths. No students entered the EBacc suite of subjects. At A-level, the picture is similarly challenging: the school’s value-added score of -1.09 is classed as well below average, and the average points per entry of 20 equates to a D grade. Only ten students were in the sixth form cohort, reflecting the small size of the post-16 provision. On the positive side, Ofsted rated behaviour and attitudes as Outstanding, and leadership, personal development, and sixth-form provision all scored Good. The school clearly has strong pastoral foundations, even if exam results are not its headline strength.

Facilities are a real draw for a technical school: science labs, a theatre, art studios, music rooms, an astro turf pitch, and a sports hall are all on site. The school also offers a chapel, which is unusual for a non-religious state school. There is a wide range of clubs including the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Model United Nations, and Young Enterprise. SEND provision covers specific learning difficulties, moderate learning needs, social and emotional mental health, hearing impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. The school is oversubscribed in terms of its current roll, with 458 pupils against a 600 capacity, so places are available. This is a school that will suit families who value a specialist technical curriculum, strong behaviour and pastoral care, and a smaller, more focused environment over traditional academic league table performance.

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