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Staff member, Faculty of Education, Human & Social Studies, Polytechnic of the South Bank.

In 1889 the Morley Memorial College for Working Men and Women was established to organise lectures and classes held in the Old Victoria Hall ('Old Vic' theatre). The intention was to promote the study of subjects other than technical ones amongst working men and women, as well as promote social interaction. A scheme of co-operation existed between the College and the Borough Polytechnic Institute and students at Morley College were granted access to the Polytechnic's social facilities. In 1917 commercial classes, printing and some language classes were transferred from the Polytechnic to Morley College. In the 1920's, the Old Victoria Hall and Morley College went their separate ways when funds were acquired for a separate site nearby where Morley College could grow. From that time on all plans to merge the Polytechnic with Morley College ceased and today Morley College is one of the oldest adult education colleges in the country.

As its work was complementary to that of the Borough Polytechnic, and it was in the same neighbourhood, an arrangement was made between the two institutions and a Joint Committee formed. The Committee focused on academic matters at the two institutions between 1910 and 1914.

Lord Morris was made Honorary Doctor of Letters of the University in 2007.

Bill Morris is one of Britain's best known and admired trade union leaders of modern times. After years in Trade Unions, Bill became Deputy General Secretary in 1986 and then General Secretary in 1991. He was awarded the Order of Jamaica in 2002, a knighthood in 2003 and was granted a Life Peerage in 2006. He was General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union from 1992 to 2003, and the first black leader of a major British trade union. Bill sat in the House of Lords, under the Labour Party whip, from 2006 to 2020.

Sarah Mullally, a former student, was made an Honorary Fellow of the University in June 2000.
In 1980 she began a nursing degree at South Bank Polytechnic, with clinical placements at St Thomas' Hospital, and was awarded joint Registered General Nurse (RGN) status and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in 1984. In 1992 she completed a Master of Science (MSc) degree in inter-professional health and welfare studies at London South Bank University. From 1999 to 2004, she was the England's Chief Nursing Officer and the National Health Service's director of patient experience for England; from July 2015 until 2018, she was Bishop of Crediton, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Exeter. In 2018 she became Bishop of London. Mullally was also an independent governor for London South Bank University between 2005 and 2015.

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.

Experimental bakery classes were first offered by the Polytechnic in 1894 to see if there was sufficient interest in the subject. The subsequent popularity of the classes led the Polytechnic to build a bakery 1898 and develop links with the National Association of Master Bakers and Confectioners, resulting in the creation of the National School of Bakery and Confectionary in 1899. In 1902 the Polytechnic built an extension to Borough Road Building to house new classroom and laboratories for the School.

In 1922 the School made the wedding cake offered to HRH Princess Mary by the National Association of Master Bakers and Confectioners, and in 1948 a christening cake was made for HRH Prince Charles. New buildings for the school were opened on 20th February 1930 by HRH the Duke of York. After the Second World War, the School offered the first course in the UK for Chocolate and Sugar Confectionery, which was also believed to be the first of its type in Europe. The National Bakery School celebrated its centenary in 1994 and its 125th anniversary in 2019.

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.

New Kent Road Halls of Residence at 83 New Kent Road, Southwark were built in 1905 on the site of a large villa. The building originally housed the Morning Post Embankment Home and also the Borthwick Teaching Training College. The site was purchased by the Polytechnic to house Rachel McMillan College's Education courses. The Polytechnic's nursery was briefly housed there until it moved to the George Overend Building on Keyworth Street (now the site of K2). During 1989-90 the building was converted into halls of residence and is still in use.

Staff member, Social Sciences Department, Polytechnic of the South Bank.