Britain: An official handbook > 1959

BRITAIN: AN OFFICIAL HANDBOOK
l62
There is a growing demand for courses of postgraduate standard in technical
colleges for students who have already obtained a first degree, a diploma, or a
Higher National Certificate. A wide range of advanced short courses of a very
specialised nature is also offered for senior technical staffs engaged in industry. A
considerable amount of research is also carried on in the technical colleges: the
arrangements vary very widely and frequently take the form of a contract between
the college and a local industrial concern.
Under this system there is great flexibility in the provision of courses. As a result,
young people can start courses at various ages on leaving school and can attain the
highest qualification to which their abilities entitle them.
Technical colleges in England and Wales vary greatly in size, range of subjects,
level of work and type of course. The largest has a total of some 14,000 students on
the roll. The large colleges usually offer a wide range of subjects, covering the
basic technologies and the fundamental sciences. The colleges are organised in five
broad groups:
(1) Local Colleges, providing mainly part-time courses, some (lasting two to
five years) leading directly to craftsman and technician qualifications such
as Ordinary National Certificates and City and Guilds of London Institute
Certificates;
(2) Area Colleges, providing also some advanced courses from two to four
years in duration for students starting at 18 or 19 years of age, and leading
to Higher National Certificates and Diplomas;
(3) Regional Colleges, covering wider areas than the local and area colleges, and
doing a substantial amount of advanced work, including full-time and
sandwich courses;
(4) Colleges of Advanced Technology (eight in number), which concentrate
entirely on advanced work, including postgraduate and research work; and
(5) National Colleges, of which seven have been established to provide advanced
courses for the work of particularly specialised industries. These include
the National Colleges such as those for Rubber Technology and Food
Technology and the National Foundry College; they are managed by
independent bodies with grants direct from the Ministry of Education.
At present, in England and Wales, there are over 340 technical colleges (other
than art colleges) that provide for full-time students, besides some 220 others
which take part-time students only. Over 175 technical colleges provide instruction
in one or more technologies at an advanced level, that is of Higher National
Certificate standard.
Scotland has 16 Central Institutions for further education, of which seven are
technical colleges. Five of these have full-time courses leading to their own diploma
or associateship and, in some, the greater part of the work is full-time. The full-time
courses are of three or four years’ duration and comparable in scope and standard
with university degree courses. There are close ties between the central institutions
and the universities. The central institutions, working on a regional basis, are
supported by some 50 local technical colleges, providing full-time and part-time
day courses, and by evening classes at local centres.
In Northern Ireland, the system of technical education is similar to that in
England and Wales and includes courses leading to national certificates. The
Ministry of Education for Northern Ireland awards junior and senior trade scholar¬
ships to apprentices, to enable them to follow full-time courses of study at the