JCB Academy Report

THE JCB Academy YEAR ONE A report to celebrate the first year of The JCB Academy the first University Technical College

By Jane Ware Published by the Baker Dearing Educational Trust

The Baker Dearing Educational Trust 4 Millbank, Westminster, London SW1P 3JA Telephone: 020 7960 1555 Email: director@utcolleges.org Website: www.utcolleges.org

The UTC movement Objectives of Baker Dearing Educational Trust To promote the University Technical College concept and secure the opening of 100 UTCs across the country.

To support University Technical Colleges so they provide a high quality education ensuring excellent outcomes for their students.

To protect the concept of University Technical Colleges against erosion and contamination, maintaining and sustaining the brand.

Key Values of University Technical Colleges Technical and academic education are integrated.

Progression routes are planned and understood by students.

The curriculum is responsive to the needs of employers and universities.

Practical work is as highly valued as academic work.

Students are given responsibility and accorded the respect which will prepare them for employment.

Contents Foreword

4

Mission

5

Building blocks of success

6

Process and structure

8

Pen portraits of four students

12

Everything new: residential week at Harper Adams University College

18

Enabling students to achieve more

20

Employer challenge partners

24

Case Studies: Rolls-Royce and Network Rail

26

Awarding body support: OCR

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A report to celebrate the first year of the JCB Academy

| The first University Technical College

Foreword

by Kenneth Baker, Lord Baker of Dorking CH

Five years ago, JC Bamford Excavators Ltd had an unmet need for more engineers.

University Technical Colleges (UTCs) have been developed by the Baker Dearing Educational Trust (BDT) in response to repeated demands from industry for an increased number of well-educated, high status technicians. UTCs are demand-led but have support from all three main political parties.

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There was clearly a need for many more young people of the right calibre and attitude who would be interested in careers with JCB and other successful regional manufacturers. This was the catalyst for the Chairman, Sir Anthony Bamford; he took action and set up a specialist academy under the structures prevailing at the time within state schooling provision, to focus on engineering and business. Although it was begun under the previous academy programme it fulfils the requirements of a UTC and by mutual agreement between myself and Sir Anthony it became the first UTC. The terms academy and UTC are used throughout this report.

Parents, students and staff demonstrated interest in technical skills and engineering by applying to The JCB Academy. After just one year, the students are making significant progress and the second year is significantly oversubscribed. The sponsor believes the academy was a timely development and looks forward in four years’ time to its 18 year olds having an in-depth knowledge of engineering and understanding of it as a desirable career.

The JCB Academy has set a helpful template for future UTCs; the Black Country UTC opens in 2011 and will be followed by many more in 2012 and successive years.

Published by the Baker Dearing Educational Trust

2011

Mission The recruitment of trainees at the JCB Group had hit an all time low five years ago and the Chairman was reluctantly considering having to leave the UK to manufacture elsewhere. With 15 vacancies for apprentices, for three consecutive years the company could only recruit eight applicants. There were plenty of applicants but it seemed their aptitude for engineering was non-existent. They were applying because they hadn’t achieved results in English, mathematics and science to an adequate level for higher education. The company had long been involved in schools work in the local area but this was clearly not enough. Keen to find a solution, Sir Anthony visited inspirational examples of academies transforming educational opportunities in deprived areas of the country. In a letter to Lord Adonis, Education Minister at the time, Sir Anthony explained his vision to regenerate engineering through the academy programme. Government reports also highlighted the need for an increase in skills, Lord Adonis agreed the plans and the feasibility study began for a new kind of academy.

Engineering involves a sound grasp of mathematics and physics but also an enquiring mind. Attitude and aptitude are important in the selection of JCB employees and the mindset required is naturally part of the academy’s DNA: Never content (with the status quo); Can do, will do; Humility (recognizing that you don’t know everything, you are always learning); Urgency (no procrastination).

The vision of the sponsor JCB is to develop employable young people with positive attitudes, emotional intelligence, intellectual horsepower and appropriate competencies; to achieve excellence in acaI am demic and vocational edupassionate about cation; and then provide the importance of a stimulus to improve manufacturing to Britain provision across the region for engineerand the JCB Academy shows ing, manufacturing we are prepared to invest in and business skills. creating the next generation

of young engineers Sir Anthony Bamford Chairman, JCB Group

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A report to celebrate the first year of the JCB Academy

| The first University Technical College

Building blocks of success The impact of the academy on the students has been immense. A successful beginning has flowed from the following elements:

A defined purpose for attending The JCB Academy The defined purpose is of course to find out about engineering. A secondary purpose, however, has emerged. Certain students who have misused their time at a previous school have taken the opportunity of the non-standard age of transfer at 14 for a second chance. At the academy they are treated in a more adult way. There is a singleness of purpose and a greater amount of the learning is done in a practical way. This has suited those “second chancers” and the students agree with parents and staff that it has transformed their outlook and prospects.

A clear ethos

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The clear ethos is about responsibility and hard work, having a goal and a path for future education and work.

It involves encouragement, recognising achievement and preparation for adulthood and the world of work.

And yet The JCB Academy is a still very much a school, the Principal and staff are well aware that there must be occasions for fun, competition and sport.

A carefully prepared programme of studies Fundamental to the creation and purpose of a UTC is the unique curriculum with the mapping of subjects across the engineering core. Close collaboration between employers, teaching staff and awarding bodies ensured the sound design of The JCB Academy’s programme of studies.

The JCB Academy Awards Evening

An environment in which to achieve The environment that is created when a UTC is founded is also integral to the concept. The mentoring, the facilities and the interaction with professional engineers and academics has proved a potent combination for success at The JCB Academy.

The first year was demanding for several reasons.

The long day, short holidays and very concentrated working day was new for teachers and students. To design and implement a brand new curriculum and style of education was challenging. A new building with new equipment brought snagging issues. It was a totally new start in every aspect – building, staff group, students, curriculum and ethos.

The JCB Academy overcame these difficulties in a variety of ways; primarily through the strong commitment of the sponsor JCB who brought encouragement, knowhow and connections; the ambition of all involved to enhance educational and technical provision; imagination and determination; and last but not least, the wise use of standard government funding common to all other state schools.

Published by the Baker Dearing Educational Trust

2011

Student success The success of the first year is seen in many areas: a unique and carefully designed curriculum has proved to be timely, welcome and appropriate; excellent results with English and mathematics modules taken so far indicating extremely good progress significantly in front of national expectations; the method of integrating GCSE subjects into the engineering core has been appreciated by students and has contributed to results overall; enjoyable and beneficial extension activities have led to success in competitions including the RAF Aerospace Challenge, Academy Excellence Award for Technology, Greenpower best rookie team, 4x4 regional competitions, five a side football; The JCB Academy has been oversubscribed for 2010 and 2011 entry. Students from a wide range of backgrounds and abilities applied and all work together well; There is a responsible attitude to work and behaviour, with “second chancers” transformed; very few students have left, with reasons being mainly to do with travelling time; attendance rates are good. Some students who persistently truanted at their previous school now have much better rates of attendance;

JCB is pleased to be seeing young people begin to gain an in-depth knowledge of engineering and looks forward to employing young engineers such as these in due course; the Principal and excellent staff team overcame many challenges. Although a completely new group from very different career paths in teaching and industry, they have complemented each other’s skills and experience well, to the benefit of the students; the House system which was quickly and firmly established is vibrant and competitive, leading to good teamwork and high aspirations for each House; pastoral care is thoughtfully provided with an excellent mentoring system developed by skilled staff; enthusiastic and participative employer challenge partners are pleased with the challenges they have developed and keen to continue their involvement as well as extend their provision to other UTCs; there is a strong governing body which is well trained, dedicated, wise and experienced; the Government acknowledges the achievements of The JCB Academy and is committed to at least 24 new UTCs; the UTC movement has gained an excellent example for an increase of UTCs nationwide.

Students, parents and staff celebrated the first year of The JCB Academy with a splendid Awards Evening in July 2011 held at the JCB World Headquarters.

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A report to celebrate the first year of the JCB Academy

| The first University Technical College

Process and structure The JCB Academy is very near to the world headquarters of JCB in Rocester, Staffordshire. It is a full-time state maintained school for students of all abilities who come from all over the local region, from Stone to Stoke, Matlock, Derby and Burton. Attendance is free and the age range is from 14 to 19 years. It opened in August 2010 with 120 Year 10 students and 50 students in Year 12.

The academy is designed to deliver the Level 2 and 3 Engineering Diploma and Business Diploma alongside academic qualifications. Employers are involved in designing and delivering engineering topics. University support is provided by Cambridge, Derby, Harper Adams and Staffordshire.

The facilities are second to none and a series of visits ensures interaction with professional engineers, from regular sessions with graduate engineers at the academy, to day and residential trips by students to learn from engineers at work. Students are immersed in many facets of engineering and brought into contact with real engineers enabling them to make more informed choices than in an ordinary school.

1 Mill race: the channel of the stream for conducting water to or from a water wheel or other device for utilizing its energy.

2 The Archimedes Screw - popularly believed to have been invented by the ancient Greek philosopher Archimedes - is a mechanical way to lift water uphill.

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The academy is housed in a refurbished Arkwright Mill, an inspirational conversion of a former manufacturing building. It has high quality modern extensions and state of the art equipment. The sponsors believed in incorporating sustainable design wherever possible and therefore used an existing building; the Mill race1 is used to generate electrical power using an Archimedes Screw2 which is just one of the “green� methods JCB is using to generate power, alongside a wind turbine and solar panels.

2011

Published by the Baker Dearing Educational Trust

Governance The governing body represents employers, local authority and educationalists from secondary and further education. All have busy lives and their time at the academy must be used as efficiently and effectively as possible. Governor training is important; there is a thorough induction programme and a continuing professional development session is held at the start of every governors meeting. They meet once a term, i.e. five times a year. All governors are allocated a function for which they are responsible, receiving reports from the appropriate member of the senior management team. A starred system is used so that if an item on the agenda is starred it is not discussed at the full meeting.

Appointment of Principal The early appointment of a Principal is crucial to the development of a UTC. The Principal-Designate of a UTC must forge collaborative relationships with industry and higher education partners to begin working together as early as possible to ensure the curriculum design is sound. Extensive marketing is essential to ensure students and parents are clear about the curriculum offering and the culture of the UTC. The selection board of The JCB Academy was willing to consider an engineer or an educationalist, knowing a balance of each set of skills would be required in the senior team. They chose an existing headteacher which has been the right choice for The JCB Academy, not least because he is someone who has thorough knowledge and experience of curriculum matters and the management of large groups of 14 year olds.

A crucial part of the approach at the academy is the delivery of modules by corporate challenge partners, a combination of partner-delivered sessions and visits, taught lessons, practicals and controlled assessments.

Students thereby gain experience of both practical and theoretical engineering. Recruitment of these partners is a crucial task to be assigned to a senior person during the development stage of a UTC.

Key Stage 4 modules with employer challenge partners Off Road Challenge Harper Adams University College Engineering Applications of Computers Network Rail Engineering Design Rolls-Royce The Engineered World and Electronic Systems Royal Academy of Engineering The Institution of Engineering and Technology The Institution of Mechanical Engineers Parker Vansco Producing Engineered Solutions Rolls-Royce Maintenance JCB

The curriculum The bespoke curriculum was designed with the help of employers and OCR, to align diploma modules with industry partners in a way which focuses students and makes them aware of engineering opportunities at a younger age.

The JCB Academy (University Technical College)

Engineering and business are the core of the curriculum.

English, mathematics, science and German are taught both by integrated methods and in discrete lessons.

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Innovation, Enterprise and Technological Advance Bombardier Manufacturing Engineering Toyota

Developing engineers and business leaders for the future

9

A report to celebrate the first year of the JCB Academy

| The first University Technical College

The academy teaching day The teaching day at The JCB Academy is from 8.30am until 4.00pm. There is one week of work experience each year for all students and this takes place outside the 40 weeks of term. All school work takes place during the academy day and there is no homework for Years 10 and 11. The extra time allows for more practical and technical activity as well as preparing students for the world of work. A wide range of extension activities is provided on three days per week from 4pm until 5pm and these are compulsory for all students. A variety of activities is offered including rugby, dance, football, music, cycling, computer animation, Spanish, art, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, additional science.

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“Never mind the buzzwords” English competition.

The GCSE subjects and two diplomas amount to the equivalent of 19.5 GCSEs. In Year 10 all students take the same subjects; an engineering core as well as mathematics, science, English, German and ICT. They also cover citizenship, RE, physical education, enterprise, careers education & guidance and Personal, Social and Health Education. Sixth form students undertake the Advanced Diploma in Engineering or Business. A range of A levels are also being offered by the academy and by Thomas Alleyne’s High School nearby, to complement the Diploma programme.

It should also be realised that the length of day gives 32.5 hours per week standard teaching but with the compulsory extension periods there are 35.5 hours per week of core contact time which over a two year period gives an extra year’s worth of schooling. This is how the students are able to cover such a spread of subjects.

In making the choice to come to The JCB Academy the student is making their curriculum choice. If at age 16 they choose not to pursue engineering they have a broad base of qualifications with which to join another school or college.

Staff The JCB Academy employs staff from many different career backgrounds and it is a tribute to the success of the academy that they all work well together, complementing the skills and experience of each other.

A small cross-section of the staff shows the diversity: one joined from an engineering and mentoring role in the Royal Navy; the Finance and Operations Director is entirely new to education; one Engineering Team Leader has a degree in industrial design and has taught design technology for several years; another was an engineer with Proctor & Gamble for many years; another was Head of Department at a local high school. There is a flat management structure and a single pay scale for administrative and teaching staff.

Money is not the driving force for staff who have joined from industry. They all believe that change must be brought about in engineering education in the UK and this is a practical way to play their part.

The JCB Academy (University Technical College)

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Developing engineers and business leaders for the future

The National Grid challenge really helped me understand how power is distributed.

Student

A report to celebrate the first year of the JCB Academy

| The first University Technical College

Pen portrait:

Aiden Rogers

Year

12

How did you hear about The JCB Academy?

I live in Derby and heard about it through my younger brother. I came because the opportunities here seem better. I’m interested in going to a higher apprenticeship3 with Rolls-Royce and my experience here should help with that.

Was the longer day difficult?

The length of day was hard at first but now it just seems normal.

Blended wing aircraft design by team Impulse.

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What was your favourite engineering challenge of the year?

The Engineering Education Scheme which involved a team of four of us working for six months on a challenge assigned to us by JCB. The emergency steps of a JCB loadall were being taken off by the users to enable the machine to be driven more easily over rough ground. A solution was required which would comply with Health & Safety requirements. We had to design and make a prototype. Ours was 65 cm high, made from MDF and steel. There was a residential stay at Loughborough University where we worked on it with a materials expert and two JCB engineers. We will be presenting the idea in August to JCB and hope the company will adopt it as the solution.

What have you done in extension sessions?

Three of us entered the Schools Aerospace Challenge promoted by Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and supported by the RAF. We were selected to go to the Finals at the Cranfield Summer School along with 11 other teams and our team Impulse won the UK national competition. The challenge was to suggest how blended wing technology might transform RAF tactical and strategic transport and ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) aircraft designs. Our idea was to use drones, unmanned combat aerial vehicles which would be taken to the combat zone in the “mothership”, be released to carry out their tasks and then be refuelled and rearmed in the mothership without having to return to base. We had help from Mr Starkey, Science Team Leader at the academy and did further work at Cranfield with RAF engineers.

Are you glad you came here?

Yes. For me the biggest change has been in my confidence in what I do.

3 Rolls-Royce: “Our Higher Apprenticeship is for aspiring engineers who are keen to start building up practical work experience while progressing academically to graduate level.”

Published by the Baker Dearing Educational Trust

2011

Pen portrait:

Megan Aucott

Year

12

Why did you come to The JCB Academy?

My grandad works at JCB and he handed me the prospectus because he knew I wanted to become a civil engineer. I lived in Leicester at the time but now I live in Stafford so that I can come here. At my old school I would still have done maths and physics but also design and PE. Here I do maths, physics and the Engineering Diploma.

What has interested you in particular?

Our visit to the London Eye which was part of our maintenance module. Rexroth Bosch Group provide the complete Drive & Control System for the London Eye and also maintain Tower Bridge. We had a ride on the Eye but the best bit was being shown how the hydraulics work.

Did you have a favourite Corporate Challenge?

Yes, the design project with Parker Vansco. We were asked to re-design the dashboard of a fast track JCB loadall. They gave us a design brief and I did market research of competitors such as Caterpillar.

I also looked at cars and aeroplanes to see if there were common ideas. The shape had to be the same but the components needed to be moved around so that the dashboard could be seen by everyone, long arms, short arms, tall person, short person. We also had to take account of the electrical components at the back. I fed the initial ideas back to the Parker Vansco engineer. We talked about the selection of materials and how it would be manufactured. I did a mock-up in cardboard, then used a 3D cutter. I had to record the whole process in my portfolio and that will be marked by OCR. Next week I am going with other Year 12s on the Cambridge University summer school which will help with our university applications.

HRH Prince Charles greets Megan at the official opening.

Is there time here for anything else?

Yes, I play badminton and softball. On Tuesdays I do Student Council. I have also used the extension time for an extra hour of maths.

Do you mind that there are only a few girls here?

No, it is fine and we are happy to be treated just the same in the workshops. I have organised a “Girls into Engineering” event for Year six girls. Women engineers from our corporate challenge partners are helping and we will have 25 ten year old girls coming over two days.

It is to make them aware of what engineering is. We’ll be doing a couple of little projects in teams, build a carrier for an egg and roll it down a hill and make a simple crane.

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A report to celebrate the first year of the JCB Academy

| The first University Technical College

Pen portrait:

James Gratton

Year

10

How did you find out about The JCB Academy My friend’s mum noticed an article in the paper which she handed on to me. The application process involved induction days and tours which were held at JCB. What are the lessons like?

The corporates come in and I enjoy that. Rolls-Royce are in at the moment and we are going to make a little piston. A toleration of about 0.5mm is required and you have to start again if you get it wrong. I find this quite challenging. I had to start again and managed to get it within 1% tolerance so I got away with it. But tolerance at Rolls-Royce is more like 10 microns. I prefer to do computer-controlled engineering, it is easier to control the measurements. We are also learning about marketing and selling.

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What was your favourite Corporate Challenge?

The 4x4 Challenge. I’ve done the Schools 4x4 Challenge4 here as well where we use a shell. But at Harper Adams we were building it from scratch with a few components. We were given a couple of batteries, a receiver, a steering wheel.

James examining the display at The JCB Academy.

When we came back to the academy we started our designs working within the Houses. The way everyone did it varied a bit. Arkwright made theirs in plastic. In Royce we used plywood. We used the laser cutter to cut out the chassis. It was stressful because out of eight teams in our House only two teams had their models properly working. Ours worked until somebody stepped on it. When we fixed it, it seemed to be working much better, strangely.

Did you like working in teams?

We were just put into the teams on that occasion, because everyone was new. But our teams are a bit more strategic now because we know how people work.

What do you do in the extension time?

I’ve done computer animation, rocketeering, extra study. The laptops are very useful.

What do you want to do in the future?

Designing. The art and technical side of engineering.

4 4x4 in Schools Technology Challenge, www.4x4inschools.co.uk

Pen portrait:

Ella Pilsworth-Straw

Year

10

How did you find about The JCB Academy?

Through a friend and I saw a bill board on the roadside.

What was your favourite Corporate Challenge?

The 4x4 Challenge. I had a bit of knowledge but it was helpful that they started from scratch at Harper Adams.

We learnt about surface area, what shape we were going to have it and steering.

At first our team thought we would make the vehicle quite simple. But we did a presentation and the lecturer suggested that, if we made the chassis as small as possible, it would make it better so we decided to have the battery pack on an angle to make the chassis smaller. This meant it would have a smaller turning circle and it would be easier to manoeuvre. So it was quite different to most of the other groups.

And do you think it produced a better product?

I think it might have done if our car worked completely properly but our steering mechanism broke. We did a lot to make it stronger and it just made it worse in the end. But we tried to make it not too expensive too. Some people used the laser cutters to make it in really thick acrylic and it took them forever and it was the most expensive material to use. But they got the furthest because it was stronger. We used plywood.

Was that your first experience of working in a team?

I had worked in groups before but not in one where we had definite roles.

Are you glad you came here?

It’s been good and I enjoy it a lot. In most Challenges we have had team working and it involves more competition than I thought it would, especially in the Houses. I do like going in the workshops for practical work but I am glad it is not every single day.

Ella in the foyer of The JCB Academy.

How do you spend the extension time?

Netball. Art & drawing - which is good practice because you have to do a lot of sketching, particularly for the Rolls-Royce challenge. I do triple award science on a Thursday night.

Plans for the future?

I’m interested in bio-medical engineering and fake limbs. I’ve just been on a taster course at Manchester University in material science where we looked at x-ray machines, learnt about selecting materials and did group projects.

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A report to celebrate the first year of the JCB Academy

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What we are doing with The JCB Academy is encouraging people at a younger age to take an interest in engineering in its broadest sense. I’m particularly excited that young people will join us at the age of 14 and at the age of 18, four years later, they’ll have a really in-depth knowledge of engineering.

Sir Anthony Bamford Chairman, JCB Group

| The first University Technical College

I will be very interested to see where the students end up. I am sure they will go on to contribute a great deal to the country’s future success.

HRH Prince Charles 12 February 2011 at the official opening of the academy

The delivery was a thoroughly enjoyable process and something that I was very keen to do. It was amazing to see the students enthusiasm and ability to learn at such a young age.

During my visit to The JCB Academy I saw students following a programme of study that they had chosen – and that they clearly found highly relevant and engaging.

The Engineering Diploma that The JCB Academy offers mixes high quality academic and practical learning, and can help open the doors to apprenticeships and university.

Aaron Ledwidge Graduate Engineer, Network Rail

Andy Burnham MP Demos speech, 12 July 2011

Published by the Baker Dearing Educational Trust

2011

I’m seriously impressed by JCB’s plans for the academy and their vision for the future.

Engineering keeps career options open rather than closing doors to future progression.

Dr Geoff Parks Director of Undergraduate Admissions, University of Cambridge

Not only do they get a subject-based education that every other student in the country gets but on top of that they get the fantastic, inspirational engineering context that allows them to explore their learning in a multi-disciplinary way and prepares them for the world of work afterwards.

Professor Matthew Harrison Royal Academy of Engineering

When they apply for jobs they will have there on their CV that they have worked with bluechip companies.

Andrew Hayes JCB Attachment

Things move quickly in industry; techniques, tools, applications change all the time and it is not difficult for an academic syllabus to become out of date. Past techniques, in fact, fade into the mists of time. So this should help keep it very real, very up to date, very current for the young people.

Trevor Smith Director HR, Bombardier UK

We believe that providing real life engineering problems that actually exist will give the students an exciting subject to study and will also give them a true taste of what life within engineering is really like.

Jim Crosbie Director HR, Toyota UK

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A report to celebrate the first year of the JCB Academy

| The first University Technical College

Everything new: residential week at Harper Adams University College A very special first week has been designed so that each September new Year 10 students are immersed in the practical hands-on way of learning that is integral to The JCB Academy. The first challenge is presented during a residential week at an agricultural college in Shropshire.

The week staying away from home at Harper Adams University College involves an intensive programme of teamwork, communication skills and developing the students’ interaction in the quickest possible way. The intention is so that they can make a good start to the curricular year rather than being confused or worried about strange places and new people.

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The morning activities are technical, knowledge-based with teaching sessions prepared by Harper Adams lecturers at a level suitable for Year 10 students.

The afternoons are practical and involve a degree of physical exercise and putting the students under team based stresses to solve problems and gain solutions.

It’s just something I’ve never done before.

It’s amazing!

Ben Jackson

My favourite part was going in the track vehicle. We’ve learnt how to work in teams with lots of practicals, and how to make chassis and transmissions. I’d like to be able to service my own tractors Charlie Herridge

Published by the Baker Dearing Educational Trust

2011

At Harper it wasn’t just work; after tea we had different things to do, like go round and search for things with a map and clues.

We had to perform something in front of the year which was quite scary because we didn’t know anybody. But by the end of the night it was quite fun. One night it was a game about numbers. It was always about gaining points and that is the way we do a lot of work.

Ella Pilsworth-Straw

We have come to the University College for the whole experience - the staff, the equipment and the team building. The students have been able to learn about technical skills such as suspension, construction, chassis design etc. They then have six weeks back at the academy to complete a challenge set by Harper Adams, to design and build a radio controlled off road vehicle. University staff will then choose the winners and award prizes. So far the whole experience has exceeded our expectations.

Mark Henshaw | Diploma Director of The JCB Academy

JCB Academy (University Technical College)

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Developing engineers and business leaders for the future

19

A report to celebrate the first year of the JCB Academy

| The first University Technical College

Enabling students to achieve more Jim Wade, Principal, explains that students came from 38 different secondary schools and the assortment of subjects studied pre-14 was huge. There is a variety of home backgrounds and mixed abilities.

The prospectus and marketing events make it very clear that The JCB Academy is about engineering. Emphasis is placed on self-discipline, good behaviour, smart uniform, teamwork and co-operation. For the students who join a certain mindset is involved and a conscious choice made.

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I like it much better than my previous school because we are treated in a more business like way; people just get on with it.

Everybody’s here because they have chosen to do a certain thing. Moving schools is not as hard as you think it would be, if you want to concentrate and have come because you want to do it.

Seven students joined because of behavioural issues at their previous school. Some of the issues have disappeared; others have to be managed through the processes the academy has put in place. These students are making progress. The students themselves report that they appreciate being treated in a more adult way and enjoy the different way of learning.

One of the parents was amazed and delighted at the transformation in her child; at the previous school she heard only negative things but at The JCB Academy parents’ evening, every comment was positive.

36% of students have special educational needs. A larger than usual proportion is dyslexic but this perhaps simply mirrors the situation in the engineering profession as a whole. There are seven or eight dyslexic students per class which is twice what was expected. Training materials are provided for staff, student resources are printed on different paper, and the laptops help with read/write software.

Technical skills and academic subjects are taught under one roof and integrated where possible. Students are obtaining positive outcomes in mathematics in a way they might not have done at their previous school. This is due to a combination of reasons: some have taken the opportunity to turn from their previous patterns of poor behaviour; there is also the fact that students make use of practical mathematics skills on a daily basis in the practical challenges.

2011

Published by the Baker Dearing Educational Trust

English results are also encouraging. There are natural opportunities for integrating the teaching of English with the engineering subjects, as the English teacher Ms Piper discovered when she introduced the students to the work of her favourite poet, Seamus Heaney. She was aware that their initial perception of poetry might be negative.

But, like engineering, poetry requires creative thinking, attention to detail and analytical skills. To their surprise, they are better at it than they ever imagined.

Ms Piper The JCB Academy

Independent learning and mentoring The system of mentoring instituted by the Principal is crucial to the daily life of the academy. Each student benefits from an Engineering Learning Mentor (ELM) who attends, with their mentees, all engineering lessons and workshop sessions and also all English, mathematics and science lessons. As well as this, each group eats lunch with their ELM and the students have an individual academic mentoring session of ten minutes every fortnight. The ELM reports home to parents by email every second week. High aspirations are encouraged and the mentoring system helps students achieve more than they have ever done.

We want the students to leave a better person; to develop their personality. In a way, it’s all about understanding youngsters and what they can do.

Mark Spooner ELM

Another staff member from an engineering background is Engineering Team Leader, Paula Gwinnett. Although on course for ‘A’ grades in mathematics and science, she felt compelled to pursue engineering and left school at 16 to join a small machine shop. She then went to technical college and on to Sheffield University to study mechanical engineering. Determined to make a difference in engineering education in the UK, she joined the academy to lead a team of mentors and a learning support assistant to deliver the diploma curriculum to a House year group, 40 Year 10 students.

To encourage independent learning, she has developed a formula which helps students understand how to proceed if they don’t immediately know the answer.

Try yourself

Brain

Look in a book, ask the person next to you

Book

After 23 years as an aircraft engineering mechanic working on radars and radio systems, Mark Spooner is an ELM who brings to the academy an understanding of engineering as a career and experience of mentoring.

The JCB Academy (University Technical College)

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Developing engineers and business leaders for the future

Buddy

Ask an adult

Boss

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A report to celebrate the first year of the JCB Academy

| The first University Technical College

Encouraging independent learning The Team Leaders are creative and inventive with their lesson plans.

Part of the “Engineered World” Challenge was to examine environmental issues in engineering.

An “Environmental Menu” was introduced at the beginning of the week and students were occupied during the rest of the week’s lessons in choosing one item from each “course” of the “meal” and were supported by the Team Leader, two ELMs and a Learning Support Assistant. The tasks varied in difficulty enabling each student to work to their ability and be stretched appropriately. One member of each team was appointed as ambassador to visit the groups and choose the best pieces to take to the Team Leader. Feedback was given to peers and improvements were made to the work.

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This sort of activity is extremely productive and students make great strides in achievement.

Compared to normal school work, it is very different and it is pretty good. The teaching style is very different. They put a lot of effort into it. We hardly ever use text books and the activities are interesting.

Student

The standard of work completed, and the enjoyment the students report, shows this has played a distinct part in them learning how to be more self-reliant.

At a university taster week, with the experience I had from the academy, I was comfortable working in teams but other people did not seem used to it, they were quite shy and dependent on others to give them the answers.

Student

The JCB Academy (University Technical College)

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Developing engineers and business leaders for the future

2011

Published by the Baker Dearing Educational Trust

Environmental Menu Starter A report on six environmental effects and their causes A presentation on the depletion and conservation of three fossil fuels A booklet on how pollution is caused and controlled by industry Main Course An investigation into how engineers can help save the planet A collage of pictures and words describing recycling of six materials A table with a list of seven renewable and seven non-renewable resources Dessert A poster on Sustainability A one minute speech on why green issues matter to EVERYONE An advertisement for alternative energy Entertainment A poem on why we should all be greener A crossword of ten clues on waste reduction A quiz on five scarce materials and the alternatives that we can use

The JCB Academy (University Technical College)

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Developing engineers and business leaders for the future

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A report to celebrate the first year of the JCB Academy

| The first University Technical College

Employer challenge partners

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A vital component in the development of a new UTC is enlisting corporate challenge partners. Bob Pendlebury is a Visiting Professor at Loughborough University and former JCB Research Director. He was appointed as Associate Director of Engineering for the academy, to steer the engineering development and establish the extremely important programme of corporate challenge partners. Bob explains the importance of knowing whom to approach in a company. Many will say, initially, that they are already fully stretched with schools work. It needs to be made clear that the UTC is a totally different route. The thing that wins their interest is the “challenge”. To ensure engineers understand the link is the key. It is a strong lever for the UTC if the Chairman or Chief Executive is on record as having said there will be a shortage of engineers in this country. In medium and large companies, HR and the personnel side run the schools work and Bob contacted those he knew in different local companies.

And he explains, “if you can’t get the HR people, then try PR because it is their job to get good publicity.

Involvement with a ground breaking and worthwhile movement such as UTCs is obviously beneficial to the company’s public image”.

National Grid representatives at the Careers Carousel.

Discussions with Network Rail give a flavour of the learning material developed: students would be asked to increase the capacity of the line between A and B. The signalling system was so archaic that currently the trains must be kept five miles apart. This meant that if the signalling was improved then twice as many trains could run. This would double the capacity of the line but would also involve buying more rolling stock. The project involves signal and computer programming, materials, examining tensile and fatigue strength. Mathematics, business analysis and presentation skills are all involved as students explore whether it is better to buy expensive points which last twice as long or cheaper points which can be purchased with the current constrained budgets and replaced later. Students learn they cannot just decide on something without being aware of the cost.

Richard Earp of National Grid also appreciates the rounded education students receive at the academy.

Persuasion and presentation skills are needed in business alongside engineering skills, for example, if solar panels are to be installed and local farmers object; or capital equipment needs to be justified before the company’s capital approvals board.

Bentley Motors engineer at the Careers Carousel.

The JCB Academy (University Technical College)

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Developing engineers and business leaders for the future

2011

Published by the Baker Dearing Educational Trust

25

Toyota and JCB employees installing an engine in The JCB Academy reception.

The companies often use young engineering graduates to work with The JCB Academy. With recent university and industrial experience they can refresh the knowledge of teachers at the academy and bring the Engineering Diploma to life, showing how things work in the real world. Involvement with the academy is not just altruism for the partner company; it is good training and continuing professional development for their own staff. The students feel they can identify with the young graduate engineers and are excited to learn about what their job involves such as working in engineering which they love, having opportunities to travel and work abroad and being well paid.

The JCB Academy (University Technical College)

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Once on board, a bit of competition arises between the corporate challenge partners to make sure the equipment they provide is at least as good, if not better, than other companies. Bob also made it clear to companies that the academy is a DfE establishment and other schools should be able to benefit in time from the pioneering work done there. Existing relationships of schools and companies must not be soured by UTCs demanding more time and a larger helping of the company’s time available for school involvement. The JCB Academy and corporate challenge partners are looking at specific ways to make the materials available to other schools.

Developing engineers and business leaders for the future

A report to celebrate the first year of the JCB Academy

| The first University Technical College

CASE STUDY:

Rolls-Royce

Year 10 student starting work on a piston pump.

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The Rolls-Royce challenge is to do with the design and manufacture of a small piston pump.

Rolls-Royce graduate apprentices designed and manufactured a pump rig which has a series of interchangeable parts. This allows the students to change the bore and stroke of the piston pump and to prove the best design.

Student adding the finishing touches to the piston pump.

The pumps are then modelled using Siemens NX7.5 software. This allows full 3d modelling and animation.

From this, students can check parts and produce drawings. Following a visit to the factory to see how the real ones are made, students are helped by Rolls-Royce engineering apprentices in the workshop to realise their pumps. All pumps are tested and must be within tolerance.

The unit is supported by senior Roll-Royce staff who present not only how a jet engine works but also responsible business practice, planning and aspects of local and international business.

Rolls-Royce use the link as an opportunity to develop their staff by giving them projects and asking them to make presentations to the students. The benefits for Rolls-Royce include CPD of engineers, graduates and apprentices, increased learner awareness of Rolls-Royce as an employer, helping to shape education in the region and making an impact in the local and regional community.

Published by the Baker Dearing Educational Trust

2011

CASE STUDY:

Network Rail Promoting engineering to young people forms an important part of both the Network Rail company values and the graduates’ development to professional status.

Network Rail’s Challenges for both Years 10 and 12 ran from October to January. The company provided a life size display and train set showing key railway components.

Students visited the East Midlands Control Centre and Derby Power Signal Box. The graduate team from Network Rail produced the curriculum material to the awarding body specification and facilitated the teaching sessions in order for the students to undertake the challenges. This both provided important CPD experience to help them towards chartered status and helped to show students where their career might take them.

system for the level crossing; and a review of the project and lessons learned.

The Level 2 Challenge for Year 10s was based around level crossing technology and safety, and involved project and administrative skills. It was aligned to the Engineering Diploma module ‘Engineering Applications of Computers’. Controlled assessments included organising a stakeholder meeting for a Level Crossing conversion; a summary of the role of computers in the design, manufacture and maintenance of a level crossing; the design of the level crossing’s control system; designing, testing and improving a fault-finding

A ‘lessons learned’ process was undertaken to improve the module for the second year. This involved a student survey as well as feedback from the academy and Network Rail presenters. The key output from this was understanding the need to produce a more accessible module if this were to be rolled out to other UTCs. The underlying trends were that challenges should be more closely linked to the seminar sessions, a visit to a level crossing would be beneficial, and the initial seminar should be shortened and more pictures and videos added.

Network Rail visit to Cromford Railway Station.

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A report to celebrate the first year of the JCB Academy

| The first University Technical College

Awarding body support: OCR Working in partnership In December 2008, awarding bodies were invited to meet with The JCB Academy Trust Board to propose how they saw themselves working with the academy.

The academy elected to work in partnership with OCR5 to develop innovative ways to integrate assessment into curriculum delivery.

This came at a time when OCR had committed to creating a step change in the way qualifications were developed, implemented and evaluated. OCR acknowledged that to achieve this, working in a more enterprising way with industry, universities and practitioners plus those responsible for curriculum and pedagogy was required.

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It became clear that with the knowledge of staff within The JCB Academy, industry partners and subject and assessment experts, a very exciting and innovative curriculum could be developed.

These groups worked together over a number of days to build real life business challenges. OCR was able to support this work with in depth understanding of the subject criteria, specifications and assessment requirements.

Following on from the industry partner sessions, OCR continued to work in partnership with The JCB Academy staff over several months to identify teaching opportunities for academic subjects within an engineering context and to build model assignments for Engineering and Business qualifications that supported the project based challenges.

OCR was also able to support the staff development and training of academy staff. This activity was key to ensuring that staff who may not have come from teaching backgrounds had a full understanding of the delivery and assessment requirements.

Work between OCR and The JCB Academy is on going.

The curriculum has been reviewed and strengthened since first delivery and discussions continue on how future qualifications can be improved to support the curriculum.

5 OCR is part of the Cambridge Assessment Group, a not-for-profit organisation. The exam boards incorporated within the Cambridge Assessment Group deliver tests, qualifications and associated services in over 150 countries around the world. OCR provides

Thursday evening Heritage Club.

qualifications for UK schools, colleges and training providers.

The JCB Academy (University Technical College)

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Developing engineers and business leaders for the future

The Baker Dearing Educational Trust would like to thank Jim Wade, his staff and students for their contributions to this report.

About the author Jane Ware is Director of Programmes at the Baker Dearing Educational Trust.

A graduate of Sheffield University, she was Head of Policy and Research at the Specialist Schools & Academies Trust and is also Founder Director of Chosen Ltd a marketing communications company operating in the sphere of education.

Designed by chosenlimited.com Š The Baker Dearing Educational Trust 2011