Humanities Colleges are a type of

specialist school Specialist schools, also known as specialised schools or specialized schools, are schools which specialise in a certain area or field of curriculum. In some countries, for example New Zealand, the term is used exclusively for schools specialis ...

introduced in 2004 as part of the

Specialist Schools Programme The specialist schools programme (SSP), first launched as the Technology Colleges programme and also known as the specialist schools initiative, specialist schools policy and specialist schools scheme, was a government programme in the United ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The system enabled

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

and

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s to specialise in certain fields, in this case,

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

(English, geography, history and RE). Schools that successfully applied to the

Specialist Schools Trust SSAT (The Schools Network) Limited (branded as SSAT, the Schools, Students and Teachers network) is a UK-based, independent educational membership organisation working with primary, secondary, special and free schools, academies and UTCs. It p ...

and became Humanities Colleges received extra funding from this joint private sector and government scheme. Humanities Colleges act as a local point of reference for other schools and businesses in the area, with an emphasis on promoting humanities within the community. Since the discontinuation of the Specialist Schools Programme schools must academize or manage a Dedicated Schools Grant if they wish to specialise as a Humanities College.

References

Department for Education and Skills
Humanities education 2004 introductions 2004 in education Specialist schools programme {{UK-edu-stub