HRH the Duke of York has praised Britain’s University Technical Colleges (UTCs) as an environment which provides “the most useful” knowledge of any type of school.

 Speaking at the annual Duke of York Awards for Technical Education ceremony in St James Palace, the Duke said: “This country needs well-educated, technically minded people.

“It doesn’t always need philosophers. It doesn’t always need people who can write perfect English. It needs people who are going to be able to use their skills.”

UTCs specialise in vocational education and technical training for pupils aged 14-19.

The Duke, present to give out awards to students from five UTCs including Central Beds, Medway, Leigh, Oxfordshire and Reading, went on to say: “The velocity of change in the workplace is only increasing, which means that many of you aren’t going to be doing what you are doing now.

“But the basis of knowledge that you have gained whilst at the UTC is probably the most useful basis of knowledge in any school system that we have in the UK. It gives you the greatest flexibility in being able to cope with that velocity of change.”