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The Language and Literacy Unit (LLU) was founded in 1974 by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) as an advisory centre to the inspectorate in response to the Right to Read Campaign. The Unit led the development of literacy provision for adults across London throughout the 1970s. During this period an ESL (English as a Second Language) co-ordinator was appointed to develop ESL provision in London.

During the 1980s the LLU expanded its work to include specific learning difficulties, adult numeracy and Afro-Caribbean language and literacy. The specific learning difficulties service later became known as adult dyslexia support. The Unit's co-ordinator post was the first in the country to address these problems in adults. The Unit also worked on specific projects, including the Afro-Caribbean Language & Literacy Project (ACLLP), begun in 1984. Funding for the project was made available through Section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966 and the project was shaped around classroom-based staff development. It developed approaches to Creole and Caribbean Languages, encouraging people to value their linguistic heritage and in many cases see their languages written down for the first time. The Language and Maths Project, also run with Section 11 funding, was set up in 1986 to specialise in numeracy and the project developed the first adult numeracy training course in London.

Due to the abolition of ILEA in 1990 the LLU was statutorily transferred to the London Borough of Southwark on condition that 50% of the income be generated by staff, the remaining 50% being covered by Section 11 funding. The launch of the Unit in its new premises, a portakabin in the grounds of Southwark College, took place in June 1989.

During the 1990s the LLU furthered its work in the local community, working particularly with family learning, originally known as PACT work, subsequently developing training for family learning staff. In 1991 the LLU organised the first national numeracy conference and led the first nationwide project: Developing Learning Support for Students with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities. This pioneered the first accredited teacher training course in diagnosing and teaching dyslexic adults.

The 1990s were a period of change. In 1991, after it was announced that the LLU was to lose its Section 11 funding, the Unit began to compete for and win large contracts through competitive tendering. Funding for research and development was also gained from charitable trusts such as the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. In 1992 the LLU became an income generating unit of Southwark College and the following year moved to new premises on Queen's Road where it stayed until a moved to the Southampton Way branch of Southwark College in 1997. In order emphasis the work done outside Southwark in the rest of London and nationally, the Unit changed its name to the London Language and Literacy Unit (LLLU) in 1996. In September 1998 the Unit transferred to South Bank University into offices in Caxton House. The LLLU sat outside the University's faculty structure and was an income generating unit expected to cover its own costs. It provided roughly sixty days consultancy and training to the University in lieu of overheads.

From 2000 the Unit had an increasingly national role as a result of the Moser Report into basic skills in the implementation of a number of government strategies. These included Skills for Life, the government's adult literacy and adult numeracy strategy and Access for All, guidance for students with learning difficulties and disabilities. The Unit was the lead partner in the National ESOL Training and Development project and initiated government funded projects in using learning styles to improve language and learning in further education, work-based and family learning. The Unit also had a growing international reputation, leading to an increasing number of high-level delegations visiting from abroad.

The Unit launched the National Numeracy Centre in 2003 with funding from the Central London Learning & Skills Council and that same year changed its name to LLU+. The plus sign indicated the Unit's many areas of specialism such as numeracy, family learning, community development and adult dyslexia support. 2003 also saw the creation of the Central London Professional Development Centre in the Keyworth Centre at London South Bank University, which included the numeracy centre and a new multi-sensory learning centre. The Centre was re-launched when LLU+ moved to Pocock House in 2005. A final move, this time to Eileen House at London South Bank University occurred in 2010. In 2011 London South Bank University decided to close LLU+, a decision which was endorsed by the Board of Governors and which took effect on 31 July 2011.

In order to carry on the work of LLU+ some former staff members have since set up Learning Unlimited (LU) at the Institute of Education.

In December 1945 the Education Board for the Heating and Ventilating Industry set up a committee to look into the possibility of establishing a National School for the Heating and Ventilating Industries. This was in response to the Percy Report which recommended that National Schools associated with certain industries should be established. In 1946, with the agreement of the National Association of Heating, Ventilating and Domestic Engineering Employers, discussions were opened with the Ministry of Education on the establishment of a National School. These proposals were well received and in January 1947 a memorandum, drawn up by the Ministry on National Colleges, and financial arrangements were discussed by the Ministry and the Board. It was agreed that Industry should pay £50 per student per session with a guaranteed minimum of £1000 per year. The National Association also agreed to this and in April 1947 it was decided that a National College for Heating and Ventilating, Refrigeration and Fan Engineering be formed within the Borough Polytechnic. The agreement of the London County Council was secured in November 1947 and the first meeting of the Board of Governors of the newly established National College for Heating, Ventilating, Refrigeration and Fan Engineering was held on 20 January 1948 at the Borough Polytechnic.The first Chair of Governors was Hubert Secretan and there were representatives from the three industries on the Board of Governors. There were high hopes for the new College and the third annual report of the Education Board for the Heating and Ventilating Industry hoped 'it will be the centre for the highest grade of technological training for the industry and will be in close contact with the most up-to-date development and research' (NC/7/2/3). The College existed to meet the needs of the industries and had two principal aims: to provide a high standard of technological training and to undertake research.In its first session, commencing in September 1948, the College offered full-time Diploma courses in the three industries: Heating and Ventilating Engineering, Refrigeration Engineering and Fan Engineering. The College also offered part-time day or evening refresher courses for those employed in industry. Courses led to diplomas after full-time study for two terms, and later one year, or an Associateship of the National College with post graduate or post HND entry.The College was, from its inception, closely linked with the Borough Polytechnic. Its premises were located within the grounds of the Borough Polytechnic Annexe and the College used the facilities of the Polytechnic for teaching ancillary subjects. Before the National College was established the Polytechnic had become the principal college in heating and ventilating engineering in London. A lecturer in heating and ventilating engineering had been appointed in 1917 for evening courses and after World War 1 part-time day classes were introduced. At first, the college was heavily dependent on service teaching from other departments of Borough Polytechnic, especially mechanical engineering, mathematics and humanities, but began to widen its work by undertaking research.The College was given a logo of a shield divided into four, representing the three industries and the Borough Polytechnic. It also had a motto, 'e tribus unum', meaning 'one from three'.In the 1950s the accommodation within the Borough Polytechnic was too small to allow the continued expansion of student numbers and to undertake research. The Ministry of Education agreed to cover the costs of the building and industry donated money to purchase new equipment. The new building on Southwark Bridge Road (now the Faraday Wing) was opened to students in September 1960.By the 1960s government policy had moved away from National Colleges which taught a limited syllabus. The Ministry of Education preferred Technical Education Institutions to provide a broader education than covered by the National Colleges and in 1964 it began discussions with the National College on its future. Due to a Government White Paper of 1966 entitled 'A Plan for Polytechnics' it was proposed that a new Polytechnic should be established by merging the Borough Polytechnic with the National College, Brixton School of Building and City of Westminster College.In September 1970 these four colleges merged to become the Polytechnic of the South Bank. In effect, the National College became the Polytechnic's Faculty of Environmental Science and Technology.

Battersea College of Education began life in 1894 as the Battersea Training School of Domestic Economy which formed part of the Women's Studies' Department of Battersea Polytechnic Institute. Eleven full time students started their course in 1894 after a special grant had been given to Battersea Polytechnic by the London County Council to open a teacher training school in domestic economy and in 1895 Battersea was officially recognised as a teachers' training school by the Board of Education. New accommodation was opened in 1903 and in January 1911 the first hall of residence was opened, with further halls provided in 1914.

On 1st August 1948 the LCC took over management of the Department from Battersea Polytechnic and re-designated it Battersea College of Domestic Science. In 1949 the Department moved from the Polytechnic to the Manor House on Clapham Common Northside. A programme of building was undertaken, including a new science block which opened in 1954, and further buildings opening in 1960 and 1968. The College acquired a new site, Manresa House in Roehampton, in September 1962, which became the Battersea Training College for Primary Teachers, providing day courses for men and women, which first began on 30th April 1963.

On 1st April 1965 responsibility for the college was transferred from the LCC to the newly established Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) and became known as the Battersea College of Education. The College became a constituent college of the University of London Institute of Education, with courses leading to a Teachers' Certificate with special reference to domestic subjects and Department of Education and Science recognition of Qualified Teacher Status.

Following the Government's White Paper "A Framework for Expansion" in 1973, the College merged with the Polytechnic of the South Bank in 1976. Manresa House was closed in 1979, and primary education students were transferred to Rachel McMillan College, an annexe of which would also come to merge with the Polytechnic. Home Economics students remained at Manor House until the early 1980s when students were transferred to the Polytechnic's Southwark campus.

Rachel McMillan was born in New York in 1859, the daughter of Scottish immigrants. On visiting Edinburgh at the age of 28, Rachel was influenced by Socialism and the following year moved to London to be near Margaret, her governess sister and also attend socialist meetings, write articles, and give free evening lessons to working class girls. The sisters moved to Bradford and joined the Fabian Society, Social Democratic Federation, and Labour Party. In 1892 Margaret with Dr James Kerr published a report on the health of elementary children in Britain and began campaigning for improvements. Rachel returned to London and was active in the Labour Party movement. In 1906 the sisters campaigned for, and had passed, the Provision of School Meals Act. In 1908 they opened the country's first school clinic in Bow and another in 1910 in Deptford as well as a Night Camp for children. In 1914 they started an open-air nursery & nursery staff training centre in Peckham which was accorded recognition by the Board of Education in 1919.Rachel McMillan died in March 1917 and the re-named Rachel McMillan College moved premises to Creek Road, Deptford in 1930. The new buildings housed students studying on three-year full-time courses leading to a Froebel Certificate. In 1961, at the invitation of the governors, the College was taken over by the London County Council (LCC). The LCC created an annexe of the College on the New Kent Road, which provided accommodation for part-time students studying nursery, infant and junior teaching courses leading to a London University Certificate in Education after a four-year part-time course. The New Kent Road annexe merged with South Bank Polytechnic in 1976 to become part of the Faculty of Education, Human & Social Studies. The rest of Rachel McMillan College merged with Goldsmith's College in 1977. In 1989 students and staff were relocated to the Polytechnic's main site.

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.

The Research Degrees Committee is a sub-committee of the Academic Board (LSBU/3/1). Its main responsibilities are to approve programmes of work proposed in applications for degrees of MPhil or PhD and to complete the examination process by advising the Academic Board of degrees to be conferred. The Committee ceased in August 2015 and the University Research Board of Study was set up instead (see LSBU/3/23)

Members of the Committee were appointed by nomination from the Executive Dean of the relevant Faculty.

The Technical Day School for Boys opened in September 1897 to give boys, aged 12 and above, scientific and technical training with a view to them becoming skilled workmen and artificiers. It was evacuated to Exeter during the Second World War. In 1946 it amalgamated with the Beaufoy Junior Technical School to form the Borough-Beaufoy Secondary Technical School at the Beaufoy Institute.

The Student Union moved to a building in Rotary Street during the 1970s and remained there until 1990 when it moved to the George Overend Building on Keyworth Street.

The Council of Students and Members represented the social and sporting clubs of the Borough Polytechnic.

The memorial commemorates the 127 men from the Borough Polytechnic Institute who lost their lives during the First World War. Staff, students and relatives paid for the memorial, which was dedicated in 1921 by the Bishop of Southwark, who hoped it would, 'help to weave into the lives of others who study here and who come within this hall…the memory and the example of those who died... [and make] successive generations feel that they are becoming members of a corporate society, of real fellowship.'

The Polytechnic's student common room (today's digital gallery) was the memorials first home, but when the room was converted into a telephone exchange in the 1960s, the memorial was placed into storage. Rediscovered in 1996, the University restored and re-erected the memorial in the Edric Hall. The hall's refurbishment in 2004 meant the memorial was once again put into storage.

Over the Easter holiday of 2010, the Estates & Facilities Department, in consultation with the Chaplain and University Archivist, arranged for the memorial to be assembled in its current location which provides the memorial with a permanent home as close as possible to its original location and allows room for public commemoration.

The Nathu Puri Institute, based in the university's Faculty of Engineering, Science and The Built Environment was established in order to foster enterprise amongst engineers and support the UK engineering industry.

The Borough Gallery was established with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to exhibit A David Bomberg Legacy - The Sarah Rose Collection, a collection of paintings and drawings by the artist David Bomberg and members of the Borough Group. The collection was built up over thirty years by Sarah Rose and includes over 150 works spanning a period of nearly 100 years. The Gallery is dedicated to exhibiting work from the collection and to carrying out a related programme of exhibitions, events and education activities.

The official opening event included speeches by the guest of honour Alan Yentob, Creative Director at the BBC as well as Wesley Kerr, Chair of the London Committee, Heritage Lottery Fund and Sarah Rose. Special guests included Cliff Holden and Dennis Creffield who were members of the Borough Group.

'Bomberg and his Students' was an exhibition of paintings and drawings by members of the Borough Group and by some associated artists who attended Bomberg's classes at the Borough Polytechnic between 1945-1953. The exhibition was held as part of the University's centenary celebrations.

The Mad Dog Project was part of a research programme in the University's Sustainable Transport Research Centre in the School of Engineering. The Project designed and built low budget solar cars and competed in various World Solar Challenges. The first car, Mad Dog I entered the 1996 race, Mad Dog II competed in the 1998 World Solar Rally and Mad Dog III competed in several races, including the World Solar Challenge 2001 and 2001 American Solar Challenge.

Battersea Polytechnic was founded in 1891 and was based on Battersea Park Road. In 1956 it became Battersea College of Technology and in 1965 obtained land in Guildford for a new campus. In 1966 the college became the University of Surrey and the move to Guildford was completed in 1970.
The original Battersea College of Education was a department of the Battersea Polytechnic and called the Battersea Training School of Domestic Economy and as such appears in the Battersea Polytechnic reports.