Croydon College is a large further and higher education college located in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an exten ...

, within the

London Borough of Croydon The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough in south London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of . It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name; ...

. Its origins can be traced to a School of Art that was established in 1868, which subsequently merged with Croydon Polytechnic to create the college shortly after the Second World War. The college provides study programmes, apprenticeships and higher education courses at Croydon University Centre to over 10,000 enrolled students as of 2014, of which 3,400 are full-time. The college is the only Further Education College to have been awarded the

Queen's Award for Voluntary Service The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, also known as The Queen's Golden Jubilee Award for Voluntary Service by Groups in the Community and The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Volunteering Award is an annual award given to groups in the voluntary sect ...

(QAVS).

History

The history of the college is directly linked to that of two institutions, the Croydon College of Art and the Croydon Polytechnic. Croydon Corporation (the governing body of the

County Borough of Croydon The County Borough of Croydon was a local government district in and around the town of Croydon in north east Surrey, England from 1889 to 1965. Since 1965 the district has been part of the London Borough of Croydon within Greater London. Hist ...

) founded the Pitlake Technical Institute in 1888, which would later become Croydon Polytechnic, which had an initial intake of 162 students. Twenty years earlier in 1868, the School of Art had been founded above the Public Halls in George Street. In 1929, the

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional ar ...

first highlighted the need for a new technical college to replace Croydon Polytechnic. In 1932, the School of Art was taken over by the council to become Croydon College of Art. In 1941, the Polytechnic school was gutted by fire. It was not until 1948 before the plans for a new college could be revived when the corporation drew up a Development Plan for Further Education. By then student enrolment had risen to over 4,000. The plan was to create a technical college, which would merge the Polytechnic and College of Art. Three years later,

Croydon Corporation The County Borough of Croydon was a local government district in and around the town of Croydon in north east Surrey, England from 1889 to 1965. Since 1965 the district has been part of the London Borough of Croydon within Greater London. Hist ...

formally approved plans for a new college and in 1953 construction started at the college's current Fairfield site on the first of four stages. It opened as Croydon Technical College in 1955, renamed to Croydon Technical College by 1974. In June 1968, there was a six-day student protest that included Robin Scott,

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English impresario, visual artist, singer, songwriter, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provo ...

, and

Jamie Reid Jamie Reid (born 16 January 1947 in London, United Kingdom) is an English artist and anarchist. Career His work, featuring letters cut from newspaper headlines in the style of a ransom note, came close to defining the image of punk rock, p ...

(all students at the time). Recent Principals have included Peter Phillips (until 1994), Vic Seddon (1995–2001) and Mariane Cavalli (2001 to 2010). It was Vic Seddon who created the Croydon Higher Education Centre, developed by Mariane Cavalli, which is the focus for university degree and research activity in the town of Croydon. A proposal to create the formalised Croydon

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

in the Millennium year 1999–2000 was rejected by both the

Higher Education Funding Council for England The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, which was responsible for the distribution of funding for higher education to universities and further education colleges in Engla ...

and Croydon Borough Council, however In November 2011, the college was given approval to use the title University Centre Croydon (UCC). Caireen Mitchell will take up the post of CEO and principal in April 2018.

Honours

In 2013 Croydon College was the first predominantly further education institution to be awarded

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...

Rights Respecting Schools Award The Rights Respecting School Award (RRSA) is an initiative run by UNICEF UK, which encourages schools to place the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at the heart of its ethos and curriculum. A Rights Respecting School not only teache ...

accreditation, the highest accolade awarded by

UNICEF UK UNICEF UK, also known as the United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF, is one of 36 UNICEF national committees based in industrialised countries. The national committees raise funds for the organisation's worldwide emergency and development work. In 2 ...

. In 2014 the college was awarded the

(QAVS). It is currently graded "good" by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted is responsible for inspecting a range of educational institutions, incl ...

(2014).

Campus

Croydon College underwent refurbishment and in the summer of 2011 the £33m rotunda was completed and officially opened in April 2012 by the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current m ...

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...

. The refurbishment included recording studios, a performance hall, a library, social and study spaces, and meeting and conference facilities. As part of the refurbishment IQ Projects designed and installed a curved structural glass wall in the space between the library and the multi-leveled atrium as well as frameless glass balustrades with stainless steel handrails to access stairs between floors. The exterior of the college is made from a structural glass facade with top hung windows incorporated to provide ventilation.

Academic organisation

Further education

Croydon College offers vocation qualifications such at BTEC Diplomas, NVQs and Entry Level courses. It also offers

Apprenticeships Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

and complementary enrichment activities.

Higher education

In November 2011, the college was given approval to use the title University Centre Croydon. In 2020, it re-branded Higher Education to Croydon University Centre. CUC offers degrees, HNC's and other Higher Education courses. The degree courses are validated by

Roehampton University The University of Roehampton, London, formerly Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, is a public university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Roehampton was formerly an e ...

. In 2020, a Nursing Suite was built for the Adult Nursing degree starting in September 2020.

Croydon School of Art

The Croydon School of Art was relaunched in 2013 by fashion designer and alumnus of the art school, John Rocha. Established in 1868, it was known at one time as one of the leading art schools in the country. The school counts among its alumni pop star

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, Turner Prize nominees Helen Chadwick and

Sean Scully Sean Scully (born 30 June 1945) is an Irish-born American-based artist working as a painter, printmaker, sculptor and photographer. His work is held in museum collections worldwide and he has twice been named a Turner Prize nominee. Moving fro ...

, Sex Pistols band manager

, Gollywog author

Florence Upton Florence Kate Upton (22 February 1873 – 16 October 1922) was an American-born English cartoonist and author most famous for creating the Golliwog character, featured in a series of children's books. Early life Upton was born in Flushing, New ...

, and Mighty Boosh comedian

Noel Fielding Noel Fielding (; (born 21 May 1973) is an English actor and comedian. He is best known for his work with The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and more recently as a co-presenter of ''The Great British Bake Off'' ...

. Some of the art school's traditional screen printing, etching, and letterpress equipment has been retained in its refurbished facilities.

Future

There have been plans to redevelop the area around Croydon College. These have been part of Croydon Vision 2020 and have also featured in the Croydon Plan and

Croydon Expo The Croydon Exp07 was a series of events held from 2007, aimed at business and residents in the London Borough of Croydon, UK to demonstrate the £2bn of development projects planned for Croydon in the next 10 years. It is part of the Croydon Vis ...

. It includes plans to provide a pedestrian link between

East Croydon station East Croydon is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, Greater London, England, and is located in Travelcard Zone 5. At from , it is one of the busiest non-terminal stations in London, and in the United Kingdom as a whole. It is one of th ...

and the Fairfield College site. The north east corner of the area around the college site is an integral part of this pedestrian movement route.

Notable alumni

* Marie Angel, artist and illustrator * Humza Arshad (born 1985), actor, comedian and writer *

Irene Bache Irene Mary Bache (23 March 1901 – 24 May 1999) was a British artist. Although born in London, and widely travelled, Bache lived and established her career in Wales, in and around Swansea. Biography Bache was born in Brockley in south London ...

, artist and teacher * Becca, Ghanaian singer-songwriter *

Iris Brooke Iris Evelina Margery Brooke, later Iris Giffard (1905 – post 1967), was a British artist, author and book illustrator who, throughout her career, concentrated on exploring the history of costume. Biography Brooke was born at Ryde on the Isle ...

, artist and author *

Irene Mary Browne Irene Mary F.C. Browne (14 September 1881 – 27 June 1977) was a British artist known for her sculptures and pottery. Biography Browne was born in Fulham in London in September 1881. She attended the Croydon School of Art and the Westminster T ...

(1881–1977), artist *

Edith Carr Edith Carr (February 5, 1856 - December 11, 1919) was an American-Canadian China-painter and founder of the YWCA in Victoria, British Columbia. Most notably, she was the elder sister of Canadian artist Emily Carr. While Edith's artistry never re ...

, artist * Helen Chadwick, artist *

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voc ...

, rock musician, lead singer of

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

Lucienne Day Désirée Lucienne Lisbeth Dulcie Day OBE RDI FCSD (''née'' Conradi; 5 January 1917 – 30 January 2010) was one of the most influential British textile designers of the 1950s and 1960s. Day drew on inspiration from other arts to develop a ...

, textile designer * FKA twigs, singer-songwriter, producer, dancer *

, co-writer and star of ''

The Mighty Boosh The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six-episode radio series, it has since spanned a total of 20 television episodes for BBC Three which aired ...

'' *

Stuart Humphryes Stuart Humphryes (born 10 December 1969) is an English multimedia artist for print, film and television, and a social media content creator, chiefly known for his work enhancing early colour photography. He first rose to prominence colourising ...

, film and video colouriser (enrolled 1986–1988) *

, impresario, manager of the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

Robert Micklewright Robert Flavell Micklewright (1923–2013) was a British artist, illustrator and designer. He worked as a freelancer and designed dust jackets for books by C. P. Snow and V. S. Naipaul, and posters for London Transport (brand), London Transport. ...

(1923–2013), artist and illustrator * Juan Muñoz, sculptor *

Mervyn Peake Mervyn Laurence Peake (9 July 1911 – 17 November 1968) was an English writer, artist, poet, and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the '' Gormenghast'' books. The four works were part of what Peake conceived ...

, writer and poet who wrote the Gormenghast books *

, anarchist with connections to

Situationist International The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...

* John Rocha, fashion designer *

Gareth Southgate Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a defender and midfielder. He has been the manager of the England national team since 2016. Southgate won the League Cu ...

, England national team manager, England international footballer, Premiership manager and TV pundit *

Jonathan Wolstenholme Jonathan Wolstenholme (born 1950) is a British artist and illustrator. Early life Wolstenholme was born in 1950, and was educated at Purley Grammar School, before graduating from Croydon Art College, which he attended from 1969 to 1972. Career ...

(born 1950), British artist and illustrator

References

External links

Homepage
{{Authority control Further education colleges in London Education in the London Borough of Croydon Croydon 2020