Sewell Construction starts work on Ron Dearing University Technical College

Sewell Construction has started on site to deliver the £10 million Ron Dearing University Technical College (UTC), which will teach up to 600 students aged 14-19.

The four-storey building will be built on the site of the former fire station offices and John Street car park in Hull city centre, with an entrance onto Kingston Square close to Hull New Theatre.

The UTC will specialise in digital technology and mechatronics but also include traditional academic subjects, with the aim of inspiring young people to become the next generation of engineers and digital technicians.

Funded by the Education Funding Agency (EFA), the UTC is backed by Spencer Group, Siemens, Reckitt Benckiser, Smith and Nephew, KCOM and the University of Hull, and is expected to open to students in September 2017.

Hull City Council, along with Hull Esteem Consortium and Sewell Construction, have been working with the UTC sponsors, University of Hull, the EFA, and the Department for Education (DfE) to develop an affordable, innovative and design solution for the city’s first UTC.

Sewell Construction has started enabling work to expose and archaeologically record an existing church footprint, as the former church foundations are still in place on site. Work will also be done to protect two high voltage cables.

A World War II fire warden’s hut remains on the site, which is of conservational interest, and a survey has been completed and records kept prior to demolition.

Sewell Construction Project Manager Mark Boothby said: “We are absolutely delighted to be working on the Ron Dearing UTC, which is set to revolutionise the face of education in Hull.

“We are also working on the nearby Hull New Theatre, so to be involved in the transformation of Kingston Square is something we are really proud of.

“We will continue to speak to local residents as the scheme progresses.”

As the project progresses, piling work will be carried out before the foundations are laid and steel frames of the building are put in place to support the upper floors and roof.

Concrete floors will be poured to form the upper floors and external walls will be a mix of brickwork and composite cladding systems.

Curtain walling and windows will be fitted, while a partitioning system will be used to form the internal spaces.