City college scheme ends

The Government's City Technology College programme is effectively over, it emerged yesterday. Robin Squire, Under- Secretary of State for Education, said no more colleges - set up in urban areas with backing from private industry - were planned. Only one, John Cabot college in Bristol, has opened since 1992, making a total of 15.

Ann Taylor, Labour's education spokeswoman, said: 'We are glad to see the end of this expensive experiment . . . (which) cost the taxpayers dearly and deprived school children throughout the country of hundreds of millions of pounds which could and should have been used to improve education standards rather than prop up Tory dogma.'