Principal, 1892-1922.
David Breyer Singmaster (b.1939) was a Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at London South Bank University. A self-described metagrobologist, Singmaster became famous for his solution to the Rubik's cube, known as the "Singmaster notation" and his large personal collection of mechanical puzzles and books of brainteasers.
Principal of South Bank Polytechnic (1987-1992) and Vice-Chancellor of South Bank University (1992-1993).
Vice-Chancellor of South Bank University (1993-2001). He became a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1984.
In November 2004 he was made an honorary Doctor of Education of the University.
Hubert A. Secretan was Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Borough Polytechnic Institute 1954-1969. He was also Chairman of the Board of Governors of the National College for Heating, Ventilating, Refrigeration and Fan Engineering 1948-1962.
Vice-Chancellor of South Bank University (2001-2003) and Vice-Chancellor of London South Bank University (2003-2009).
Taught art at the Borough Polytechnic Institute (1945-1953).
She was Secretary of State for Education and Science (1970-1974), Leader of the Opposition (1975-1979) and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1979-1990).
He was the Member of Parliament for Chertsey and Walton from 1974 until 1997. He served as Minister for State Procurement and Minister of State for Industry. He was knighted in 1997.
Mayor of London (2008-2014)
Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (2010-2015)
Benefactor to the Borough Polytechnic Institute
Lady Superintendent of the Borough Polytechnic 1892-1919.
Minister of Education (1954-1957 and 1959-1962) and Minister for the Arts (1970-1973).
The College was founded in 1966 from the amalgamation of other educational institutions, including a branch institute of Battersea Polytechnic established in Tooting during 1901. The College specialised in degrees and diplomas in Accountancy, Business and Management Studies. In 1967 a Higher National Certificate and the first full time course, specifically designed for the resettlement of members of the armed services, was introduced in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence. The growth of the College saw work spread to a number of annexes, including a Congregational church in Rookstone Road, Wandsworth, a floor of Smallwood Road School, Garrett Lane, and a further school at 10 Wiseton Road. In 1979 the former site of Battersea Grammar School was secured near Tooting Broadway. The College was designated a Higher Education Centre under the Education Reform Act 1988 and by 1991 offered a range of sub-degree level work and good quality post experience courses in Management. With ongoing accommodation problems and a damning report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate on some of its provision the College's Board of Governors chose in 1990 to amalgamate with Thames Polytechnic. However in November the Secretary of State announced his intention to dissolve the College under the 1988 Education Reform Act and allowing higher education students to choose where they wished to complete their studies. Over 1000 students chose to transfer to South Bank Polytechnic and most of the College's staff followed suit, helping to form the Faculty of Management and Policy Studies. The extra staff were housed in Diary House on Borough Road.
The London County Council School of Building was opened on 26th February 1904 with Mr H W Richards as Principal to provide a specialist training college for the large number of building workers in Camberwell and Lambeth. The Lambeth Polytechnic building in Ferndale Road, Brixton was renovated to contain workshops for painting and decorating, carpentry and joinery and a drawing office. When it first opened, 643 students enrolled on classes covering stone carving, plasterers' modelling, drawing, chemistry and physics of building materials, land surveying and levelling. The School soon gained a world-wide reputation as a centre of excellence in the fields of town planning, building technology, estate management and building architecture.
In 1906 a school of architecture was added which was organised by Professor Beresford Pite of the Royal Academy of Art. Demand for courses increased rapidly so that in 1908 the School added a Junior Day Technical College for Boys and then a Senior Day Technical School as well as a new extension in 1909. In 1910 five-year courses were introduced in all trade subjects, followed in 1911 by a four year course in reinforced concrete and in 1912 a course in structural engineering all examined by the City and Guilds of London Institute. In 1921 Mr A R Sage became Principal (the Sage Medallion was in the possession of the former Vauxhall College). In 1922, Sir Robert Blair (LCC Education Officer) wrote, 'the Brixton School is easily the first and most complete school of building in the world'. In 1927 until 1943 Mr F E Drury became Principal. The Board of Education classified the School as a College of Further Education in 1928 and the following year a three year day course was introduced leading to the Ordinary and Higher National Diploma in Building or the Intermediate Examination of the Royal Institute of British Architects or the Chartered Surveyors Institute.
In 1943 it became the Brixton School of Building, in March 1945 Mr D A G Reid CBE became Principal and after the Second World War the School rapidly expanded so that by 1949 the number of full time students exceeded 400, studying courses in architecture, surveying and structural engineering. In 1956 Brixton was designated a regional college, and the governors decided not to concentrate on work at higher levels, but to retain its craft work and lower level teaching. Under the government's policy for higher education, given in the White Paper 'A Plan for Polytechnics and Other Colleges', published in 1966, the higher level studies at Brixton would have to be continued within a new institution based on the polytechnic model. Brixton School of Building became part of the Polytechnic of the South Bank in 1970, along with the Borough Polytechnic, City of Westminster College and the National College for Heating, Ventilating, Refrigeration and Fan Engineering. The last Principal wrote, '1970 marked the end of the beginning; the School of Building had faithfully served many days and generations of students but to the work it was doing there is no end'.
Five of the six departments from Brixton became the new Polytechnic's Faculty of Construction, Technology and Design. The sixth department, along with some work from other departments formed the Vauxhall College of Further Education. The Faculty moved into the new purpose-designed Wandsworth Road building, on the Wandsworth Road, during the summer of 1973, a decade after the first draft schedule of accommodation was made. The building was officially opened on 17 April 1975 by Anthony Crosland MP. The Faculty became the largest and most comprehensive Built Environment faculty in Europe covering subjects such as Property Development, Waste Management and Architecture. In the summer of 2003 the Wandsworth Road building was sold by London South Bank University and students and staff transferred back to the University's main Southwark campus to form the Faculty of Engineering, Science and the Built Environment.
City of Westminster College has its origins in an evening institute established in the First World War providing lip-reading classes for deafened servicemen in the vestry of St George's Church in Hanover Square, Westminster. The institute, which became known as St George's Institute, only ran evening classes and moved to a number of different sites, successively St George's Row School, Ebury Bridge and Dean Farrar Street. A further move was made to the Burdett Cookery School, with some classes held in the Townsend Foundation School, Rochester Row. The institute grew rapidly during the 1930s, becoming one of the largest commercial institutes in London, with classrooms and chemistry laboratories in Westminster City College. In 1936 an arrangement with Westminster Training College was made enabling the institute to provide more student hours than any comparable institute in London and replacing the link with Westminster City College. The institute moved again to the Millbank School, Erasmus Street.
In 1939 two social studies courses were introduced, whilst languages and commercial, administrative and social studies were all well established.The Waterloo Road School site was taken over by the institute in 1951, shared with the Law Department of Kennington College. By 1959 there were 41 full-time staff, more part-time lecturers and over 30 rooms used. Full-time courses were offered in 1959 in the institute's three departments of Civil Service, Commerce and University Entrance, with part-time and evening work. In 1954 the institute moved to Francis House, renting space from the Army and Navy Stores. Further space was rented from them in 1955, enabling matriculation work to be transferred from Regent Street Polytechnic. New departments of Science, Social Studies and Day Release work were created. Awards and courses were rationalised following the 1959 McMeeking report 'Further Education in Commerce', with the introduction of national certificates in business studies, and establishment of new departments of Economics and Arts and Science and Maths. By 1962 there were over 6000 students associated with the institute. In 1965 the work of the Arts Department was transferred to the West London College of Commerce.
In 1959 the institute was renamed City of Westminster College. In the early 1960s the first courses in Hospital Administration were organised, and part of the college moved in 1966 to Blackfriars Road where housing laboratories and the Social Studies Department were accommodated (later to become part of Southwark College). In the mid 1960s new departments of Professional Studies, later renamed Accountancy and Finance, and Business Studies were established. The publication of the White Paper 'A Plan for Polytechnics and Other Colleges', published in 1966, had announced the creation of some 30 polytechnics throughout the country to form what became called the public sector of the binary system of higher education. The 13 existing colleges managed by ILEA were to be reorganised into five. City of Westminster College joined with Borough Polytechnic, the Brixton School of Building, and the National College for Heating, Ventilating, Refrigeration and Fan Engineering to become the Polytechnic of the South Bank in 1970.
The premises were used by the new Polytechnic for a short time after the merger to house the Department of Accountacy and Finance, the Department of Business Studies, the Department of Languages and the Department of Management and Administration.