GSM London (formerly Greenwich School of Management (GSoM)) was a private provider of

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...

based in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, south-east

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and

Greenford Greenford () is a suburb in the London Borough of Ealing in west London, England, lying west from Charing Cross. It has a population of 46,787 inhabitants, or 62,126 with the inclusion of Perivale. Greenford is served by Greenford Station (L ...

, west London. Founded in 1973,Sean O'Hare
Greenwich School of Management guide
''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'', 7 July 2011 it offered business-specific courses at

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

and

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and ...

levels alongside other specialist training, and catered to a large number of

international student International students, or foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their tertiary education in a country other than their own and move to that country for the purpose of studying. In 2019, there were over 6 million internati ...

s. As of 2019, GSM London had educated over 20,000 students. It was owned by the

private equity firm A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including lev ...

Sovereign Capital Established in 2001, Sovereign Capital Partners LLP is a UK-based private equity specialist renowned for 'Buy & Build'. It invests in companies in business and technology services, healthcare and pharmaceutical services and education & trainin ...

. On 30 July 2019, GSM London was placed into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

, and ceased all teaching and student support services by the end of November 2019.

Courses

GSM London offered two-year accelerated courses alongside standard three-year study periods, depending on the course chosen. Foundation-level courses were also available as part of an extended degree programme.UCAS website
/ref> It operated three annual intake periods in February, June and October. Its courses catered to undergraduates, postgraduates, professionals, international students and those looking to improve their

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

skills for business or further education. GSM London's specialisms included accounting, finance,

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

, human resource management, travel and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

digital marketing Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. Its development d ...

, as well as

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

and

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degrees.

Campuses

Meridian House (Former Greenwich Town Hall)

GSM London operated three campuses across London. Its headquarters was at Meridian House in Greenwich, part of the former Greenwich Town Hall complex. The building has a distinctive brick clock tower and was built in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style in 1939. Another campus opened in

in the

London Borough of Ealing The London Borough of Ealing () is a London borough in West London. It comprises seven major towns: Acton (W3), Ealing (W5, W13, NW10), Greenford (UB6), Hanwell (W7), Northolt (UB5), Perivale (UB6) and Southall (UB1, UB2). With a population ...

, equipped with technologically-focused amenities. It also operated at the London Bridge Study Centre in the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...

, close to Borough Underground station and

The Shard The Shard, also referred to as the Shard of Glass, Shard London Bridge, and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 72-storey skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Southwark, London, that forms part of The Shard Quarter dev ...

Partnerships

GSM London’s degrees were validated and awarded by the

University of Plymouth The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

between 2006-2019. The college had no connections with the

University of Greenwich , mottoeng = "To learn, to do, to achieve" , former_name = Woolwich Polytechnic(1890–1970)Thames Polytechnic(1970–1992) , established = , type = Public university , budget = £214.9 million (2020) , administrative_staff = , chancel ...

, also based in Greenwich.

Panorama investigation

In November 2017 a BBC '' Panorama'' investigation uncovered how the third party agents, Future Leaders Academy (FLA), working with GSM, were recruiting bogus students so they could claim student loans they were not entitled to. The investigation also alleged that the agents supplied fraudulent qualifications, offered to sell coursework and were able to "fake attendance". In reaction to the BBC investigation which was broadcast on 13 November 2017, GSM announced that it had immediately suspended their contract with FLA and had instructed external experts to assist the college in an investigation of the matter.

Administration and closure

GSM had capital injections totalling approximately £22m between late 2016 and summer 2019. However the college was not able to recruit and retain sufficient numbers of students to generate enough revenue to be sustainable. On 30 July 2019, GSM London was placed into

. All teaching and student support services ceased by the end of November 2019. Existing students were offered the option to transfer to other universities to complete their studies.

References

External links

* *

Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) is the independent body that checks on standards and quality in UK higher education. It conducts quality assessment reviews, develops reference points and guidance for providers, and condu ...

Reviews and investigation reports for GSM London
{{coord, 51.4781, -0.0109, type:edu_region:GB, display=title Educational institutions established in 1973 Education in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Higher education colleges in London Business schools in England Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom 1973 establishments in England