Language College
Encyclopedia
Specialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The system enables secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s to specialise in certain fields, in this case, modern foreign language
Foreign language
A foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her...
s. Schools that successfully apply to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Language Colleges will receive extra funding for language teaching from this joint private sector and government scheme. Language Colleges also 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 encouraged to develop links with schools and other institutions in foreign countries. There are currently 216 in the country.
Language Colleges are also part of the National Languages Strategy, which promotes the learning of foreign languages within the UK.