ABSTRACT
The sector consists mainly of colleges providing education and training for two groups: young people who have left school, but are still entitled to state-funded initial education (that is, aged between 16 and 19); and people over that age who are commonly returning to education or training. Most colleges offer both vocational and academic courses across a broad range of subjects, but the sector also includes specialist institutions devoted to, say, agriculture or fine art. It further includes separate sixth-form colleges, as well as tertiary colleges (where sixth form and further education colleges have been combined into single comprehensive institutions).
