Henry Morris' idea evolved from what was initially seen by many in the government as a radical, liberal, paternalistic approach to delivering secondary education; to a system of education that was adopted by many other counties within the United Kingdom and abroad, due to its proven success in Cambridgeshire. By the time of his death in 1961, there were many village colleges successfully delivering education to both secondary school students (11- to 16-year-olds), and members of their local communities of all ages.