Language Colleges were introduced in 1995 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 ...

(SSP) in the United Kingdom. The system enabled

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

s to specialise in certain fields, in this case, modern

foreign language A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a given country, and that native speakers from that country must usually acquire through conscious learning - be this through language lessons at schoo ...

s. 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 Language Colleges received extra funding for language teaching from this joint private sector and government scheme. Language Colleges act as a local point of reference for other schools and businesses in the area, with an emphasis on promoting languages within the community. They are also encouraged to develop links with schools and other institutions in foreign countries. There were 216 Language Colleges in the country by 2010. The specialist schools programme was discontinued by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in April 2011. Since then schools can become Language Colleges either through academisation or through the Dedicated Schools Grant.

LC-SE project

The LC-SE project was a joint Franco-British educational programme conducted by the SST,

DfES The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) was a United Kingdom government department between 2001 and 2007, responsible for the education system (including higher education and adult learning) as well as children's services in England. Th ...

French Ministry of Education French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and the Centre International d'Études Pédagogiques (CIEP). Specialist schools, usually Language Colleges, formed partnerships with

European section European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

schools in France. The project began in 2001 when French Minister of Education, Jack Lang, met with the SST. Partnerships between 100 Language Colleges and

Lycées In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

soon followed. Specialist Science Colleges were invited to join the project in 2006 and by 2007 all other SSP schools could take part.

References

{{Specialist schools Educational institutions established in 1995 Educational institutions disestablished in 2010 Language education in the United Kingdom 1995 establishments in the United Kingdom Specialist schools programme