1960 – 1969
Revolution in the air

A time of major change and growth.

The 1960s were a time of massive growth and expansion for Harris College as the groundwork was put in place for its future as a leading provider of higher education in the region. Gradually the College would discontinue its lower-level courses and begin to focus solely on higher-level provision.

1960

Soon after the establishment of Harris College, plans to upgrade buildings and expand the campus got underway.

The new buildings would be designed by the Ministry of Education. Before construction began, the local authority began buying up land around the College, including properties in Corporation Street, Kendal Street, Foster Square and Maudland Road. The Lancaster Canal was drained and filled in.

1963

These shops and houses in Corporation Street were demolished in February 1963 to allow for a major programme of construction and expansion at Harris College.

This photograph shows the corner of Kendal Street which would subsequently become the car park in front of Foster Building. Today the University’s new Engineering Innovation Centre (EIC) – pictured inset – is being built on this site and is due to open in 2019.

1963

Several brand new buildings were opened up to students and staff during the early 1960s. The science laboratories and classrooms of F block (now part of Maudland Building) along with new mechanical engineering workshops were completed ready for the 1962-63 academic year.

1963

Gradually Harris College was making progress in its efforts to be recognised as a renowned centre of higher education.

The 1963 Robbins Report on Higher Education in England and Wales called for a significant expansion in the provision of university-level education nationwide along with Regional Colleges which could one day achieve university status. In its quest for greater recognition as a centre for higher education, Harris College began to place a greater focus on research and the academic qualifications of its staff. The Harris Research Council and Research Fund were established in 1963.

1964

The foyer, refectory, library, main lecture theatre and sports hall in A block (now known as Foster Building) opened in time for the 1963-64 academic year. An extension to Maudland (G block) followed in 1969.

Several other buildings were acquired for the Polytechnic, although for now there was still no separate college for lower-level work. For now this was proving a significant handicap to Harris College in its ambitions to be recognised as a centre for higher-level education.

1966

The future of Harris College came under scrutiny in 1966 with the publication of the paper “A plan for polytechnics and other colleges”, produced by Anthony Crosland, the Secretary of State for Education in Harold Wilson’s Labour government. It proposed establishing just two new polytechnics in the north west region – one in Liverpool and the other in Manchester.

This dealt a blow to Harris College’s aspiration to become a major centre for higher education. The feverish action triggered by this report would define the future of the institution.

1966

Harris College and the Local Education Authorities of Preston and Lancashire drew up a document which argued the case for the institution to be awarded polytechnic status. In recent years the College had been building up its full-time higher education offering, increasing its research output and introducing new facilities such as the Harris Music Club.

It also drew attention to recent extensions to specialist accommodation and the fact that improvements in the College’s infrastructure were underway, with more buildings to provide improved provision in Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics. Elementary-level work was also set to be transferred to a separate Further Education college. In short, things were getting better and better.

Pictured: Staff photo taken in 1960s (A. Arnison; J. Lindley; E.D. Colley; W.S. Hunter; S.R. Cardwell; T.H. Crisp; L.J. Pulford; J. Cross; J.G.V. Proudman; K. Redhouse; A.K. Waller)

1966

There was a convincing demographic and geographical case for Harris College to be afforded polytechnic status.

Given the North West’s population of 6.66m, it meant that there were 3.33m people for each of the proposed polytechnics in Manchester and Liverpool. The national average was 1.68m people per polytechnic. This suggested a compelling need for four (rather than two) polytechnics in the region. This strengthened the case for establishing a further polytechnic in Preston.

Pictured: Students studying in the institution's first purpose-built library.

1966

By the time Harris College published its argument for elevation to polytechnic status it was already running 104 higher education courses.

These included a growing number of Higher National Certificates (HNCs), Higher National Diplomas (HNDs), Graduateships of the Royal Institute of Chemistry and the Institute of Physics, courses recognised by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and many more.

A new Department of Language and Social Studies had been established, running courses that reflected changes in local employment patterns. By 1966 this department was offering a London University Diploma in Social Studies and other courses recognised by the Home Office.

Pictured: The rear of Harris College looking towards E block (later Kendal Building) in the 1960s.

1968

By the end of the 1960s Harris College had made real progress towards becoming an institution focused on higher education.

It's bid to be awarded polytechnic status was strengthened by the introduction of new degree-level courses, including a London University honours degree course in Sociology (1968), HNDs in Business Studies (1967) and Building (1969).

It also began to shed a number of its lower-level courses. From 1967 the Harris was one of just eight major colleges authorised to set its own graduateship examinations by the Royal Institute of Chemistry.

Pictured: The College's first computer, an ICL 1901A, installed in early 1969.

1969

A clear vision for the future of the institution was steering Harris College towards a future focused on higher education. Its ambitions to would eventually be achieved in 1973 when Harris College became Preston Polytechnic.

1950 - 1959
Reaching higher

View Decade

1970 - 1979
Major expansion

View Decade

1950 - 1959 Reaching higher

1970 - 1979 Major expansion

1950 - 1959
Reaching higher

1970 - 1979
Major expansion