UTC · Chatham, Kent
Waterfront UTC
Engineering · Construction and the Built Environment
Part of the England-wide UTC network overseen by the Baker Dearing Educational Trust. All figures below are a point-in-time snapshot (Data gathered and cross-checked in July 2026) — how this was gathered.
At a glance
Official name
Waterfront UTC
Location
Chatham, Kent
University partner
University of Greenwich
Technical specialisms
Engineering Construction and the Built Environment
Age range
13 to 19
Roll (pupils on site)
approx 340 (2024/25)
Capacity
250 places
Opened
2015
URN
146648
Academy trust
The Howard Academy Trust
Ofsted
Ofsted: Good (January 2023)
Website
Employer partners
- BAE Systems
- Laing O'Rourke
- National Grid
- Redrow
- Taylor Wimpey
- Delphi Diesel Systems
- Royal School of Military Engineering
- Medway Council
Notable
- Opened in September 2015 as Medway UTC. After being rated 'inadequate' in every category by Ofsted in March 2018, it was rebrokered to The Howard Academy Trust in November 2018 and renamed Waterfront UTC - a rare full recovery-and-rebrand story among UTCs
- Occupies a purpose-built facility in the Chatham Waters development on former Chatham Dockyard land
- Ofsted's January 2023 report (its first full inspection since the rebrand) judged it 'Good' across all areas, noting leaders' 'relentless focus on rapidly improving the school' and strong employer contact for pupils
- DfE's schools database records its official capacity as around 250 places, yet 2024/25 roll figures put it at roughly 340 - suggesting it is operating above its nominal published capacity, or that the capacity figure is stale following the post-rebrand shrinking of the site from its original ~600-place design