ABSTRACT
There has been dramatic growth in the further education colleges since they were given their independence in 1993, and the sector now caters for nearly four million students of all ages and abilities. Seven years on, it is possible to claim that the sector is the largest provider of full-time education for sixteen-year-olds1 as well as continuing to be their main route to part-time training (DfEE, 1998a), that it continues to play a key role in the education and training of adults2 (FEFC, 1998a), that all this has been achieved at a time of great financial stringency3 (FEFC, 1998a), while maintaining a good record on quality4 (FEFC, 1998b).
