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UK government approves new University Technical Colleges

I hope these new UTC are up to the standard of UMIST and Imperial College. Manchester Technical College was such an UTC type of institution before World War II awarding degrees, often by evening classes. Later Manchester acquired a second University - The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology or UMIST as it was known. Bradford Technical Polytechnic, with it's world-leading Textiles Department, was refused when it applied to become University of Bradford Institute of Technology. Politicians in Whitehall denied permission for a Technical University as something of an unheard of suggestion, ignoring UMIST and Imperial College, London. University of Bradford had to become a general University which diluted its excellence in Engineering and Technology because potential Arts students considered it as inferior place to attend which then reduced it's attractiveness to the parents of future Technologists. The Beverage Report was not implemented properly to the detriment of technical Engineering in UK after WWII. Grammar Schools and Secondary Modern schools were recommended by Beverage, but he also specified Technical High Schools of Grammar School Academic rigour, plus Technical Schools equivalent to Secondary Moderns. Some of the Technical High Schools were superb and complimented local Grammar schools well from my personal experience. The Comprehensive, though commendable, had a real challenge in providing those four forms of schooling envisaged by the Beverage Report and finished up chasing Politicians targets.

30 May 2012

7:40 pm