[4] Lords Kenneth Baker and Ronald Dearing conceptualised the UTC in 2009 and established the trust in the same year.

[5] Dearing died in February 2009 but he and Baker's ideas were approved by education minister Andrew Adonis of the Labour Party and the incoming Conservative-Lib Dem coalition.

[12] The trust has seen continued political and academic support, with the board of trustees having included Labour's Kumar Bhattacharyya and Andrew Adonis and educators such as Kevin Satchwell, Edwina Dunn and Mike Tomlinson.

[13] Other supporters include Conservative education secretary Gavin Williamson, astronaut Tim Peake, physicist Brian Cox, Rear Admiral John Clink[14] and lords Peter Mandelson and David Puttnam.

BDT chair Kenneth Baker claims that this is because the official data is outdated by two years and disregards exam results from students taking a level 2 qualification or lower.