University Technical College Oxfordshire plans approved

UTC Oxfordshire is due to open in September 2015

Plans for a new school specialising in science and engineering have been approved by councillors.

The University Technical College (UTC) Oxfordshire will be built at Great Western Park, in Didcot, and is set to open in September 2015.

The £10m college will initially have 140 places for girls and boys aged 14-17, but will eventually be expanded to 600 students aged up to 19.

It is part of a development of 3,300 homes, schools and shops.

Outline planning permission was granted in 2008 for Great Western Park, but the college plans were a separate application.

The college will teach students core GCSEs, BTEC qualifications and A-Levels alongside their chosen special subjects.

It will not charge a fee and will have a 15-mile catchment area including Oxfordshire, Newbury, Reading, Aylesbury and West Wycombe.

UTC Oxfordshire is being supported by both Reading and Royal Holloway universities and local businesses.

The plans were approved at a Vale of White Horse District Council planning meeting on Wednesday night, despite objection from Didcot Parish Council.