Language Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, modern foreign languages. Schools that successfully applied to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Language Colleges received extra funding for language teaching from this joint private sector and government scheme. Language Colleges also acted as a local point of reference for other schools and businesses in the area, with an emphasis on promoting languages within the community. They were also encouraged to develop links with schools and other institutions in foreign countries. There were 216 in the country.
The specialist schools programme was abolished by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government when it came to power in May 2010.
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