The passing of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, has brought fundamental changes to the post-16 age sector. The important elements in this era are flexibility of response, open access, equality of opportunity, and valuing and accrediting alternative ways of learning. These should all be linked within the concept of providing life-long learning opportunities. Michael Field focuses on these developments, taking as his theme the accreditation of prior learning. The provision by a college of APL, along with the support services needed to ensure its success, can be used as the acid test...