HC Deb 01 February 1994 vol 236 cc733-4
7. Mr. Mans

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools have now expressed an interest in obtaining technology college status.

Mr. Patten

There has been a very encouraging level of interest from schools and businesses. More than 200 schools have made inquiries to my Department or the City Technology College Trust on the technology college initiative.

Mr. Mans

Bearing in mind the particular need of industry in my part of Lancashire for training in technology, science and maths, may I ask my right hon. Friend to give special consideration and support to St. Aidan's school in my constituency if it decides to apply for technology college status?

Mr. Patten

Two hundred schools have already shown an interest in acquiring such status. We will certainly consider any application from the school in my hon. Friend's constituency, but it had better get a move on: there is a pretty long queue.

Mr. O'Hara

Does the Secretary of State recall that when the programme for the establishment of city technology colleges was first conceived in the late 1980s, two principal claims were made for them—that they would attract sponsorship from private industry and that they would become beacons of excellence in the system? As the House well knows, the first claim quickly foundered and the taxi meter has been working overtime ever since. Tens of millions of pounds of taxpayers' money was put into the city technology colleges. Moreover, according to the latest Ofsted report, not a single college has established itself as a beacon of excellence. Is not it time for the Secretary of State to apologise for squandering taxpayers' money, which could have been better spent on meeting the wider needs of the education service, on a misguided experiment?

Mr. Patten

Technology is vital. We have 15 excellent city technology colleges. Has the hon. Gentleman ever visited one of them? Unfortunately not, I think. I should very much like to take him along to one. We are attempting, in co-operation with business and industry and with a large number of schools, to ensure that the good practice of the city technology colleges is more widely disseminated. I hope that, when money allows, this idea will be extended to schools specialising in languages, schools specialising in business and—who knows?—schools specialising in the performing arts, one of which might be named after my hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (Mr. Dicks).