New role for technology colleges

Specialist schools, set up by the previous government, will have a new role in future, it was announced yesterday. Estelle Morris, a school standards minister, said she hoped that specialist schools such as technology and language colleges could be used to revitalise the inner cities. Ministers also want the benefits of such schools to be shared by all schools in a neighbourhood.

Ms Morris announced that another 21 schools had successfully applied to become technology or language colleges, bringing the total to 252. The schools have to raise pounds 100,000 in sponsorship from business which is matched by the Government which also provides an extra pounds 100 per pupil for three years.