A specialist technical school, due to open in September next year, has appointed Geoffrey Fowler as its founding principal.

The London Design and Engineering UTC is for students, aged 14-19, who are interested in specialising in Engineering and Design. The school in East Ham will take young people from Newham and the surrounding boroughs.

It was created through a partnership involving the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, the University of East London and the Department for Education.

Geoffrey Fowler, Principal Designate said: “I am delighted to be in a position where I can offer a learning environment that will deliver to the students of today the chance to gain outstanding academic qualifications, enhanced by industry led experiences providing the students of the LDE UTC the competitive edge in the future employment market.”

The school will have first class facilities and specialist equipment and a curriculum delivered through a ‘learning-by-doing’ approach, making learning relevant and memorable, to boost students’ academic achievement.

Students will get the chance to be involved in employer-led challenges such as building affordable housing, led by Costain and Alpha building services and sustainable water pumping solutions led by Thames Water and UEL.

Helen Newman, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Thames Water and employer sponsor of LDE, said: “Through access to Thames Water staff and sites, and those of our enthusiastic partners, we will make the formal learning, needed to attain GCSE excellence, interesting.”