Sarah takes on top job at new skills college

Sarah Driscoll has been part of Central Bedfordshire UTC since it opened in September 2012 and has now stepped into the top chair vacated by Bob Shore.

Lord Baker, who served in the Thatcher administration, was delighted with the announcement. He said: “Sarah has been involved since the very beginning and has already contributed a great deal to the planning and its curriculum. I am sure that she will make this UTC very popular and very successful.”

Central Bedfordshire UTC is part of a technical skills-led educational movement promoted by the Baker Dearing Trust and funded through the Department for Education. The college, in Parkside Drive, Houghton Regis, was one of the first to open.

Sarah said: “The UTC provides a fantastic opportunity for the young people of Central Bedfordshire and Luton to get qualifications rooted in employer and university learning to set them up for these careers. It’s an incredibly exciting opportunity to lead a school which provides students with such advantageous progression routes.”

Central Bedfordshire UTC promotes technical learning for 14-19 year-olds in engineering, design and technology,

Sarah herself comes from a family of engineers and her husband Mark is a designer at Formula One world champions Red Bull Racing, based in Milton Keynes. She has worked in a senior educational leadership capacity since becoming Director of Teaching and Learning at Mellow Lane School in 2007. In 2009 she was appointed Assistant Principal at the Rosedale Hewens Academy Trust in Hillingdon, and in 2012 was made Assistant Principal at the Central Bedfordshire UTC.

The UTC has close ties with local employers and the University of Bedfordshire and Cranfield University to ensure students leave with a clear vocational path to follow in the fields of engineering or design. The UTCs’ set-up and relationship with industry and education means every student who completes their studies receives support in securing apprenticeship, further education or employment. Its curriculum is jointly written by the school, industry and universities.

Prospective parents and students can find out more about the Central Bedfordshire UTC at www.centralbedsutc.org or contact us via [email protected] or call us on 01582 867756