College of advanced technology (United Kingdom) facts for kids

A College of Advanced Technology (often called a CAT) was a special type of school for higher education in England and Wales. These colleges were created in 1956 to focus on advanced technical education. The government wanted to improve how people learned about science and technology.

At first, 24 technical colleges were chosen because they were already doing some advanced work. The government decided that ten of these colleges would become full Colleges of Advanced Technology. Birmingham College of Advanced Technology was the very first one to be named a CAT in 1956.

Initially, local councils managed these colleges. But on April 1, 1962, the CATs became independent. This meant they were no longer controlled by local councils. Instead, the Ministry of Education directly funded them. Later, in 1963, a special report called the Robbins Report suggested big changes. Because of this report, the Colleges of Advanced Technology grew even more. In 1966, they were officially given university status. They are sometimes grouped with other new universities from the 1960s, known as "plate glass universities" because of their modern designs.

The Original CATs and Their New Names

There were ten Colleges of Advanced Technology. Each one eventually became a well-known university. Here is a list of the original CATs and the universities they are today:

• Birmingham CAT became Aston University. This was the first college to be named a College of Advanced Technology.
• Loughborough CAT became Loughborough University of Technology. It is now known as Loughborough University.
• Northampton CAT in London became City University London. It is now called City, University of London.
• Chelsea CAT became Chelsea College of Science and Technology. It was part of the University of London and later joined King's College London.
• Battersea CAT became the University of Surrey.
• Brunel CAT became Brunel University.
• Bristol CAT became the Bath University of Technology in 1966. It is now known as the University of Bath.
• Welsh CAT in Cardiff became the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology (UWIST). It later merged with other schools to become part of Cardiff University.
• Salford CAT, also known as the Royal College of Advanced Technology, became the University of Salford.
• Bradford Institute of Technology became the University of Bradford.

See also

• Polytechnic (United Kingdom)