Bromley College of Further and Higher Education, trading as London South East Colleges (LSEC), is a large college of

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is additional education to that received at secondary school that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It ...

and higher education operating in south-east

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. It is a partner college of six of the twelve schools of the

University of Greenwich The University of Greenwich is a public university located in London and Kent, United Kingdom. Previous names include Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic. The university's main campus is at the Old Royal Naval College, which along wi ...

. LSEC was established in 2016 by the amalgamation of Bromley College, Greenwich Community College and Bexley College. Its largest campus is in the town of

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

, and others are situated in

Erith Erith () is an area in south-east London, England, east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. Since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north ...

Plumstead Plumstead is an area in southeast London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. It is located east of Woolwich. History Plumstead has been settled since ancient times, and London's earliest timber structure has been found here. ...

and

Orpington Orpington is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Mary Cray, sou ...

History and sites

Bromley and Orpington

The Bromley campus is just south of Bromley town centre on the A21. Bromley College was founded in 1959. On 1 August 2011, it merged with Orpington College, which became its Orpington campus. Built in 1972, Orpington College's tower block remains the tallest building in

. A

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

air-raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but ...

was discovered in November 2008 during construction. This shelter would have housed Orpington residents from German bombing raids, and was buried when the Walnuts Shopping Centre was built. Bromley College of Further and Higher Education logo

Beginning in 2008, the Bromley campus it underwent a £26m overhaul. Buildings, dating back more than 30 years were demolished and a new hi-tech, eco-friendly four-storey block built, while the existing 10-storey block was refurbished. The new building houses a study and IT centre. The new library includes a quiet room and there is a new student common room. Following a competition held by the college, the new building was named "The Ozone" by winning student, Martin Baker. It was officially opened on 14 April 2011 by the mayor, accompanied by

Jason Donovan Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap ''Neighbours'', playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 millio ...

, who unveiled a plaque. On 1 August 2016, Bromley College of Further & Higher Education merged with Bexley College and Greenwich Community College to become London South East Colleges. London South East Colleges is the trading name of Bromley College of Further and Higher Education, which is still the legal name.

Greenwich

The Greenwich campus of LSEC is on Plumstead Road between

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

and

. In its 2010

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's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

inspection the college was judged ''"satisfactory"'' overall, with Sports, Leisure and Tourism, and ESOL provision rated as ''"good"''. This college was originally founded in 1921 as Woolwich College of Further Education. In 1998, Woolwich College amalgamated with Greenwich Community College to deliver the Adult and Community Learning contract for the London Borough of Greenwich. Greenwich Community College became part of LSEC in 2016.

Bexley

The Bexley campus of LSEC is in

. It dates back to 1906 when the building was built to a design by architect William Egerton, and then opened in 1907 as 'Erith Technical Institute'. It is on the residential Erith Road, on the last part of the ridge, in the east of the district on the border of

, at the junction of Erith Road and Upper Holly Hill Road. The building was for a time shared with Erith County School. It was formerly known as Erith College of Technology (ECOT) running Ordinary National Diplomas OND in Technology & Ordinary National Certificates ONC as well as Higher National Certificates HNC in Electrical & Electronic Engineering alongside

A Levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational a ...

and other vocational courses in Mechanical Engineering, Beauty, Hairdressing, Management and Construction. The former St Joseph's Campus at 269 Woolwich Road ( A206) near Bostall Heath in

Abbey Wood Abbey Wood is an List of areas of London, area in southeast London, England, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and bordering the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross. According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 ...

used to be the St Joseph's Convent Grammar School, a Catholic girls' school until 1979; there also was the Main Road campus in

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. It was ...

. Both sites were sold off for housing developments principally to earn revenue for the College. In 1971, a new campus was built on Tower Road in Belvedere and became known as Bexley College in 1993. The

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

Holly Hill Campus offers engineering and construction courses. In 2014, the new main campus opened in Erith town centre, near to the station in Stonewood Road / Walnut Tree Road. The previous main campus at Tower Road in Belvedere was closed and as of October 2014 is being redeveloped by the new owners to provide housing. The Walnut Tree Road campus in Erith was built to be eco friendly with biomass boilers, LED lighting and rainwater flushing for the toilets. Bexley College merged with Bromley and Greenwich colleges in 2016 and thus became the Bexley campus of LSEC. In popular culture, the E4 drama '' Misfits'' is filmed in

Thamesmead Thamesmead () is an area of south-east London, England, straddling the border between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross, north-east of Woolwich and west of Erith. It mainly c ...

. Many scenes take place around Southmere Lake and Bexley College was once also used as a setting.

Academic organisation

In further education the college offers a wide variety of vocational courses A new Hospitality, Food & Enterprise College opened in September 2014 at the Orpington Campus. Bromley College opened up a commercial training restaurant which is now open to the public. Bromley College partnerships with the

and

Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) is a Public university, public research university located in Canterbury, Kent, England. Founded as a Church of England college for teacher training in 1962, it was granted university status in 2005. ...

enable them to offer a range of courses providing higher education opportunities. The Bromley Children's University was launched in September 2014, with initial support from the National Children's University, a national programme aimed at increasing social mobility and aspiration among children.

Notable alumni

* Hanif Kureishi CBE – Writer, studied at Bromley College.Hanif Kureishi official website
. Retrieved 30 April 2014. * Peter Whittle AM – Member of the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

, founder and director of the New Culture Forum, and former deputy leader of the

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...

, studied at Bromley College * Gemma Gibbons – London 2012 Olympic Judo Silver Medallist, studied (2004–06) at Greenwich Community College *

Sam Bailey Samantha Florence Bailey (born 29 June 1977) is an English Pop music, pop singer who won the The X Factor (British series 10), tenth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor'' in 2013. Following her win, her debut single, a c ...

, Bexley College *

Neal Lawson Neal Lawson (born 1963) is a British political commentator and organiser. Lawson was born in and brought up in Bexleyheath, South East London. He became interested in politics through his father, who was a printer in Fleet Street and joined the ...

, Bexley College * H. E. Merritt (1899-1974), Bexley College * Linda Smith, stand-up comic and Radio 4 and BBC2 comedian, Bexley College *

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

CBE, musician famous for ''

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is the only novel by the English author Emily Brontë, initially published in 1847 under her pen name "Ellis Bell". It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the ...

'', studied piano and violin at St Joseph's Convent Grammar School *

Jan Leeming Janet Dorothy Leeming (née Atkins; born 5 January 1942) is an English television presenter and newsreader. Early life and education Leeming was born in Barnehurst, Kent, and educated at the Assumption Convent, Charlton and St Joseph's Conven ...

(''née'' Atkins), stalwart 1980s and 1990s newsreader on

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, studied at St Joseph's Convent Grammar School * David Evennett, Conservative MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford and former MP for Erith and Crayford from 1983–97, was a teacher at Bexley College *

Mark Fisher Mark Fisher (11 July 1968 – 13 January 2017), also known under his blogging alias k-punk, was an English writer, music critic, political and cultural theorist, philosopher, and teacher based in the Department of Visual Cultures at Golds ...

, writer and theorist, taught at Orpington College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bromley College Of Further and Higher Education Further education colleges in London Education in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Education in the London Borough of Bromley Education in the London Borough of Bexley Educational institutions established in 1959 1959 establishments in England 1921 establishments in England