Medway's first university technical college, launched to get young people the skills needed to get a job, opened eight years ago amid a blaze of publicity.

But Medway UTC's first Ofsted report was highly critical plunging it into special measures and branding it "inadequate" across the board.

It was clear drastic action was needed if the flagship £12 million specialist secondary at Chatham Waters was to survive.

Within months of the inspectors' findings, its management was taken over, a new principal was parachuted in and it underwent a name change to Waterfront UTC - all in a desperate bid to shake off its shocking start.

The Howard Academy Trust, which oversees five schools across Medway, threw the college for 14 to 19 year-olds, the lifeline to put it on the road to recovery.

The UTC has just received its second Ofsted report - and remarkably it has scored "good" ratings in all categories.

Inspectors said:"Since joining The Howard Academy Trust (THAT), Waterfront UTC has gone from strength to strength.

"The trust has given the school intensive support over the last few years.

"Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and staffing changes, leaders’ ambitions for the school have not dampened. Leaders have continued to have a relentless focus on rapidly improving the school. More pupils now choose the UTC because of its increasing popularity in the local area."

Owen McColgan, the trust's chief executive said when it took over they started to write a "to do" list and the answer was "everything".

The former Howard School teacher, said: "No matter how horrific a report is, every school is fixable".

Mr McColgan said priority was given to the curriculum which it was felt was "too hands-on".

He said:"It was regarded as a place to go if you were not academic and wanted to be a bricklayer, but UTCs are places to achieve high-end jobs and for that you need to be quite academic."

The trust introduced a "discovery year" for new year 9 pupils so they can "sample" the whole range of subjects on offer. These focus on vocational specialisms in construction, engineering and design, as well as the more traditional 3 Rs.

Mr McColgan said some of the former Medway UTC staff left ahead of the bad Ofsted so as the trust worked behind the scenes before coming officially on board they were able to take on a new team.

Paul Cotham was brought in from the Howard as interim head and the current head of school Fiona McClean took up her post in April last year.

Mrs McLean said:"If I'm honest, if the trust had not backed the college I don't think it would have survived.

"In the early days there appeared to be a lack of knowledge on how UTCs works, perhaps even a bit of naivety."

Mrs McLean feels that such a specialist college was particularly important to the Medway area with its history of heavy engineering and construction based companies.

She said: "The pupils here know the landscape, the politics and the people.

"We work the the sponsors to make sure the right people get the right jobs."

The main sponsor is the University of Greenwich but it works with a wide range of employer partners including BAE Systems, Royal School of Military Engineering, MidKent College, National Grid, Taylor Wimpey, Redrow and Peel Land Property.

Ofsted commented that:“Pupils have plenty of opportunities to explore future careers. Importantly, they benefit from the regular contact they have with local employers who come into school. This helps to inspire them and helps them to think about the types of jobs they could pursue."

Inspectors also highlighted the progress made by students at the college.

They said: "Pupils have positive attitudes towards learning. Tellingly, for some pupils, this was not always the case at their previous schools. Many pupils praise the UTC for improving their learning, reflecting that they are glad that this is their school. While many pupils attend well, there is more to do to ensure that all pupils attend school every day."

There are currently about 270 pupils on the roll, mostly from the Medway area. On leaving, 35% go on to university and 35% get jobs. The remainder go into the Armed Forces and take on apprenticeships.

The school has four key values that all pupils work to develop and exhibit in every day school life known as “PIER” – Professional, Inquisitive, Engaged, Resilient.

The values are embedded into everyday school life to ensure that well rounded, employable young people are ready to enter future employment and training.

UTCs are government-funded and unique in that they develop employer links that give pupils an insight of working in the real world.

Among the raft of criticisms highlighted in the March 2018 Ofsted report were: curriculum too narrow, culture of low expectation, development plans not fit for purpose, poor behaviour in lessons, declining attendances and parent and pupil dissatisfaction.

Medway UTC was officially opened by Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Lord Baker. Waterfront UTC is still accepting applications for its September 2023 Year 9 and Year 12 (sixth form intake) to find out more visit the website or call the school on 01634 505800 or email the school on office@waterfront-that.org.uk.