Future engineers will soon be able to learn their trade as UTC Portsmouth hosted its ground breaking ceremony.
The Lord Mayor of Portsmouth broke the ground alongside other special guests to mark the major milestone for the £10m school building, which is being built in the grounds of Trafalgar School in Hilsea.
“This marks another tremendous milestone on the journey to create what will deliver an ongoing legacy of high quality young engineers for Portsmouth and the wider region,” said Fiona Haynes, project manager for UTC Portsmouth.
The ceremony was called 'a momentous day' by Portsmouth City Council chief executive David Williams.
He said: "The UTC will give another dimension to the opportunities young people have in Portsmouth."
"It is a real breakthrough for the city. For us, and for Portsmouth the UTC is a tremendous fit and we are delighted to be at this stage. A huge amount of work has gone into this and our partners have been really helpful to the city in making sure the UTC is a reality."
The £10m school is set to open in September next year for students living in the Portsmouth area as well as further afield to the New Forest, Winchester and Chichester. It will start taking applications for admission this September for Year 10 and Year 12 students.
Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt said: "It is absolutely brilliant to see the ground breaking ceremony. There have been several attempts to get a UTC up and running and now we have finally done it."
"The reason so many businesses have been wanting to start a UTC is because it fills a gap that we currently have in the education provision in this city."
UTC Portsmouth gives students aged 14 to 19 the chance to gain qualifications fit for careers in electrical and mechanical engineering and advanced manufacturing. Pupils would work around an 8.30am to 5pm daily timetable so they get familiar with a normal working day at the college and will not take any homework home with them.