Science Colleges were introduced in 2002 as part of the now defunct

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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The system enabled

secondary schools 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 '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondar ...

to specialise in certain fields, in this case,

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

and mathematics. Schools that successfully applied to the Specialist Schools Trust and became Science Colleges received extra funding from this joint private sector and government scheme. Science Colleges act as a local point of reference for other schools and businesses in the area, with an emphasis on promoting science within the community. The funding received by such Colleges was dependent on the number of pupils currently attending and was on average approximately £1,600. The funding was often used by schools to upgrade their facilities to a standard befitting a "Specialist" institution. A proportion of the money was used to spread the skills of the school into the local community, often involving outreach centres or adult education schemes. After the Specialist Schools Programme's discontinuation schools can still become Science Colleges through the

Dedicated Schools Grant Dedicated may refer to: Music * Dedicated Records, Dedicated, a British record label whose artists included Spiritualized Albums * Dedicated (ATB album), ''Dedicated'' (ATB album), 2002 * Dedicated (Renée Geyer album), ''Dedicated'' (Renée G ...

or by becoming an

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

References

External links

Specialist Schools and Academies Trust
2002 in education 2002 introductions Science education in the United Kingdom Specialist schools programme {{UK-edu-stub