In September 2003, the university underwent its most recent name change to become London South Bank University (LSBU) and has since opened several new centres including the School of Health and Social Care, the Centre for Efficient and Renewable Energy in Buildings (CEREB), a new Student Centre, an Enterprise Centre, and a new media centre Elephant Studios. The university has 16,840 students and 1,700 staff.[1][4][5]
In November 2016, the university was named the Entrepreneurial University of the Year at the
Times Higher Education Awards.[6][7] In the inaugural 2017 Teaching Excellence Framework, London South Bank University was awarded a Silver rating and maintained the rating in the 2023 assessment.[8][9]
London South Bank University was founded in 1892 as the Borough Polytechnic Institute. It has since undergone several name changes, becoming the Polytechnic of the South Bank in 1970, South Bank Polytechnic in 1987, South Bank University in 1992 and London South Bank University in 2003. The university has also merged with a number of other educational institutions.
United Kingdom legislation
South London Polytechnic Institutes (Borough Road Site) Act 1890
In 1888, Edric Bayley, a local solicitor and member of the
Sir Lyon Playfair. The committee was successful in persuading the Charity Commissioners to pledge to match whatever could be raised from the public, up to the sum of £200,000 to establish polytechnics in South London. A public meeting at Mansion House kick-started the public appeal and by 1891 enough money had been raised to establish polytechnics at Battersea and at Borough Road, Southwark, now LSBU.[citation needed][10]
During 1890, the former buildings of Joseph Lancaster's British and Foreign School Society were purchased for the Borough Polytechnic Institute. In May that year, the South London Polytechnics Institutes Act was passed, so that by June 1891 the governing structure and general aims of the new Institute had been created. These aims were "the promotion of the industrial skills, general knowledge, health, and well-being of young men and women" and also for "instruction suitable for persons intending to emigrate". W. M. Richardson was chosen to be clerk to the governing body, C. T. Millis was appointed as Headmaster, Miss Helen Smith was appointed Lady Superintendent and Edric Bayley was appointed the first Chair of Governors.[11]
On 30 September 1892, the Borough Polytechnic Institute was officially opened by
Lord Rosebery's speech on the banning of smoking in the new Institute. One of the speeches made included the hope that "the Polytechnic would do its share towards perfecting many a valuable gem found in the slums of London".[12]
Borough Road Entrance
The Polytechnic specialised in courses that reflected local trades including leather tanning, typography, metalwork, electrical engineering, laundry, baking, and boot & shoe manufacture. Instruction was also given in art, science, elocution, literature and general knowledge and the Polytechnic held public lectures by the likes of
On 10 October 1894, the National School of Bakery and Confectionery (later the National Bakery School) was opened with 78 pupils. In 1897, the Polytechnic was let to sightseers who wished to see the Diamond Jubilee parade for Queen Victoria.[citation needed]
In 1902, the Borough Road building was once again let to sightseers who wished to see the Coronation parade of
] Through a donation from Edric Bayley, the Edric Hall was built in 1908, along with the Lancaster Street extension buildings which gave the Polytechnic new bakery rooms, gymnasium, workshops and its triangular campus site.
In 1911, the Governors commissioned Roger Fry to create a set of seven murals to decorate the student dining room with the theme of "London on Holiday". These comprised:
farriery was dropped as it was too difficult to bring horses into the building.[15]
During the
Second World War, a third of the Polytechnic's campus was destroyed or damaged from the Blitz. Southwark was bombed seven times and its population halved by the end of the War. At the start of the War the boys and girls from the Polytechnic's Trade Schools were evacuated to Exeter. From 1940 to 1941, the Polytechnic was bombed five times but continued to provide hundreds of meals a day to the homeless of Southwark during this period.[citation needed
]
From 1945 to 1953, British painter David Bomberg taught art at the Polytechnic forming the 'Borough Group' of artists with his pupils in 1946.[16] In 1956, the Polytechnic was designated a Regional College of Technology and Dr J E Garside was installed as the new Principal until 1965, when Vivian Pereira-Mendoza took over. Further extensions to the buildings were made during the 1960s with the opening of the National College Wing in 1961 and the extension buildings and Tower Block in 1969, which were officially opened by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
In 1970, the Brixton School of Building (founded in 1904), the City of Westminster College (founded in 1918 – and not the same institution as the current
Thames barges set above a pentagon surrounded by five other pentagons. An official designation service took place the following year, at which Margaret Thatcher was the guest speaker. In 1972 the purpose-built Wandsworth Road site opened, providing space for the Polytechnic's Faculty of the Built Environment, which at the time was the biggest and most comprehensive faculty in Europe for teaching built environment subjects such as surveying, town planning, architecture and other property related professional disciplines. In 1975, the extensive London Road building was opened, providing space for expanding business courses and the library. In 1976 the Battersea College of Education merged with the polytechnic, bringing sites at Manresa House, Roehampton and Manor House, Clapham Common. Battersea College of Education was previously known as Battersea College of Domestic Science (1948 to 1965).[17] Also in 1976, part of Rachel MacMillan College of Education merged with the Polytechnic.[citation needed
]
In 1985 South Bank Technopark opened on London Road and in 1987 the Polytechnic changed its name again to become South Bank Polytechnic. In the same year, the British Youth Opera (BYO) was founded and made a home at the Polytechnic's Southwark campus. In 1987, Pauline Perry, Baroness Perry of Southwark was appointed Director, who oversaw the conversion of the Polytechnic into a flagship university.[citation needed]
In 1990, the Polytechnic was accredited for Research Degrees and in 1991 the Central Catering College at Waterloo and South West London College merged with it. In 1992, the newly created Baroness Perry (August 1991) became the University's first Vice-Chancellor.[citation needed]
In 1992, the Polytechnic was granted university status and accordingly changed its name to South Bank University. That year also saw the new university celebrate its centenary and adopt the marketing slogan, "the University without Ivory Towers". In 1993,
Havering and Whipps Cross (which closed in 2011).[citation needed
]
21st century
In 2001, Deian Hopkin became Vice-Chancellor and the Wandsworth Road site was sold.
Inside London South Bank University
On 1 September 2003, the university underwent its most recent name change to become London South Bank University (LSBU)[1] and in that year officially opened the Keyworth Centre. Martin Earwicker was appointed Vice-Chancellor in 2009, the year in which another major building on their Southwark campus, the Grimshaw-designed K2, was opened to house the School of Health and Social Care and the Centre for Efficient and Renewable Energy in Buildings (CEREB).[4] The building also houses skills laboratories for the University's nursing students. Further campus developments included a new Student Centre in 2012, followed by an Enterprise Centre in 2013. In 2016 LSBU opened its new media centre, Elephant Studios at LSBU.
Schiller International University had a campus in the Technopark Building on the London South Bank University property.[22][23] In August 2011 Schiller stated that it was closing its London campus and will not start the Autumn 2011 semester there, due to stricter student visa requirements in the United Kingdom.[24]
There is a smaller satellite campus in east London: at
Harold Wood station. A central Croydon campus is due to open in September 2021: it will be at Electric House in Wellesley Road.[25]
Organisation
The university has seven Schools, they are;
School of Applied Sciences
School of Arts and Creative Industries
School of the Built Environment and Architecture
School of Business
School of Engineering
School of Health and Social Care
School of Law and Social Sciences
Contraction
The University announced in April 2021 that in 2021 they were not admitting students to study history or human geography.[26]
In November 2016, the university was named the Entrepreneurial University of the Year at the Times Higher Education Awards.[6][7]
Sunday Times' league table, measuring a number of different factors including teaching quality, research quality and employment rates, ranks the university 120th.[35] However, The Guardian rated LSBU joint 13th for law students.[36]
In the inaugural 2017 Teaching Excellence Framework assessment which ranked the quality of undergraduate teaching across UK universities and applied either a bronze, silver or gold ranking, LSBU was awarded a "Silver" ranking.[8]
Admissions
70% of UK students at London South Bank University are Londoners. Students primarily come from the South London Boroughs of
mature (21 or over when they start their course).[38]
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations.(April 2019)
