ABSTRACT
The 1960s were the most marked watershed in the history of British universities since the rise of the civic colleges in the 1870s and 1880s. The real factors behind the need for university expansion and a rebalancing of their activities more in favour of science and technology were manifold. First, there was the already manifest phenomenon of the 'trend' to staying on in the sixth form. In 1961, 6–9 per cent of the university entrance age group had the entrance qualifications, but only 4 per cent actually got in. In Northern Ireland the university at Coleraine was started on the recommendation of the Lockwood committee. The University of East Anglia was similarly rooted in a region not noted for industry and its chief connections have been with food science, agriculture, and fisheries. The City University was important in civil engineering associated with fluids and in advising on the Morecambe Bay barrage.
