A NEW £40million science and engineering school for central Salisbury has been given the go-ahead by the Government.

School pupils in south Wiltshire, Hampshire and north Dorset will have a new option from September 2014 after the Government approved an application to set up a University Technical College (UTC) in Salisbury.

The South Wiltshire UTC will be a state school sponsored by the University of Southampton, open to 14- to 18-year-olds.

A search is now under way to find a suitable site for the school, which it is hoped will be as close to Salisbury railway station as possible.

Students at UTCs work “business hours”, attending from 8.30am to 5pm for 40 weeks per year, the equivalent of around half a year of extra teaching each year compared to most schools.

The extra teaching time allows students to gain industry-recognised engineering and science qualifications alongside more traditional academic qualifications such as GCSEs and A levels.

Carolyn Godfrey, director of children’s services at Wiltshire Council, said: “The UTC will provide an exciting and very different option for young people and their parents in south Wiltshire.

“The defence industries are crucial to the Wiltshire economy and there are tremendous job opportunities in science and engineering for young people with the right skills.”

The successful partnership behind the UTC includes the University of Southampton, 43 (Wessex) Brigade, Wiltshire College, Wiltshire Council and major employers including QinetiQ, the Health Protection Agency, Tetricus Science Park, the Defence Scientific and Technology Laboratory, Wallop Defence Systems and Chemring Countermeasures.

Local employers from the defence and protective science industries will provide guest lecturers and work placements to ensure that students have the skills and attitudes which employers value. The Army will also provide support in areas such as leadership and team-building.

Professor Don Nutbeam, the vice chancellor of the University of Southampton, said: “The UTC will offer an exciting new option for young people, giving them the skills and understanding to progress to science and engineering courses at top universities and to take advantage of the huge job opportunities in the region. We will work closely with the UTC to ensure that it offers a relevant and stretching curriculum.”

The school will open for the first time in September 2014 with an initial intake of 14 and 16-year-olds and will be fully open for all 14 to 18-year-olds the following year.

The UTC will not accept applications until early 2014 but parents and potential students can register to be kept in touch with developments at wiltshire-utc.co.uk.