Hot line to the DES

Binary or tertiary? At present the country has a “binary” system not only for students of 18+ but also for the 16–19 age group for whom responsibility is divided between school sixth forms and further education colleges. Do you think it desirable to perpetuate this division indefinitely? In some areas and for some courses, the binary system widens the choice open to students, but it also undoubtedly leads to tensions and to some waste of resources, particularly staff. A more rational use of resources could provide better opportunities for a greater number of young people. Such rationalisation has been attempted in a number of areas, including Devon, Somerset, Lancashire and Derbyshire, by the establishment of tertiary colleges which provide in a single institution all the courses previously provided separately in school sixth forms and further education colleges. Do you favour this sort of development? If so, would you be prepared to look again at some of the decisions made by the previous Secretary of State, as for instance at Darlington, where the Authority's proposal to establish a unitary system was rejected and the retention of the existing binary system insisted on by the Secretary of State? If, on the the other hand, you are not in favour of the development of tertiary colleges, what measures do you envisage might be taken to make sure that the resources available are used to increase the opportunities open to young people rather than maintain the status of institutions?