THE principal of UTC Warrington has reassured students and parents that the technical school will not be closing.

Rumours had been circulating that the UTC in Dallam Lane was making a large number of staff redundant and there were fears that it may close altogether.

Parents had reported that a number of staff members had left the school.

Lee Barber, principal and chief executive of UTC Warrington, said the UTC is excelling after a recent Ofsted report and there have been no discussions about closing the site.

He said: "We are not making any redundancies.

"A small number of staff have secured other posts that commence in the new year, which isn’t atypical.

"In some cases, we have not chosen to replace some posts as there is an opportunity to find internal efficiencies.

"Some posts are being replaced.

"As you are aware, all school and academy budgets are tight and the UTC is no different.

"The UTC is absolutely not going to close; we recently received a fantastic Ofsted report and smash the national averages for students gaining apprenticeships and university places at their end of their studies with us.

"The UTC is an outstanding social mobility success story for Warrington.

"I speak with the DfE and ESFA on a regular basis and they categorically have no desire to see the UTC close; it has never even been discussed."