Leicester

Leicester (pronounced {{IPA|}}) is a city in the English East Midlands, on the River Soar. It is the traditional county town of Leicestershire, and since 1997 has been a self-governing unitary authority. It lies on the edge of the National Forest. In 2002 the population of the city proper was estimated at 283,578, with 330,574 living in the urban area. Technically is is the most populous city in the East Midlands, but Nottingham's urban area is much larger.

Education in Leicester

Leicester is home to two universities, the University of Leicester (Royal Charter 1957) and De Montfort University (founded in 1992 from Leicester Polytechnic).

Related Topics:
University of Leicester - Royal Charter - 1957 - De Montfort University - Leicester Polytechnic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It is also home to the National Space Centre, due in part to the University of Leicester being one of the few universities in the UK to specialise in space science.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Leicester City Local Education Authority has had a troubled history since its formation in 1997 as part of the local government reorganisation - a 1999 Ofsted inspection found "few strengths and many weaknesses", and although there has been some improvement since then the LEA's capacity to sustain improvement of education is still judged to be "not secure" (2004 Performance Assessment). While many state schools provide a good standard of education, there have been long-running problems with several of the large community colleges, in particular New College. Current plans to improve the city's education system include the opening of a City Academy part-sponsored by the Church of England and a local Christian businessman, a £260 million "Building Schools for the Future" project using the Private Finance Initiative, the granting of state school status to the Leicester Islamic Academy, and the reorganisation of the city's special schools. All of these measures are controversial.

Related Topics:
Local Education Authority - Ofsted - Church of England - Private Finance Initiative

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~