London South Bank University (LSBU) is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

Elephant and Castle Elephant and Castle is an area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station of the same name. The n ...

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 ...

. It is based 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 the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council ...

, near the

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England. The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...

of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough Polytechnic Institute, it achieved university status in 1992 under the

Further and Higher Education Act 1992 The Further and Higher Education Act 1992 made changes in the funding and administration of further education and higher education within England and Wales, with consequential effects on associated matters in Scotland which had previously been g ...

. In September 2003, the university underwent its most recent name change to become London South Bank University (LSBU) and has since opened several new centres including the School of Health and Social Care, the Centre for Efficient and Renewable Energy in Buildings (CEREB), a new Student Centre, an Enterprise Centre, and a new media centre Elephant Studios. The university has students and 1,700 staff. In November 2016, the university was named the Entrepreneurial University of the Year at the Times Higher Education Awards. In the inaugural 2017

Teaching Excellence Framework The Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) is a government assessment of the quality of undergraduate teaching in universities and other higher education providers in England, which may be used from 2020 to determine whether state ...

, London South Bank University was awarded a Silver rating and maintained the rating in the 2023 assessment.

History

Origins

London South Bank University was founded in 1892 as the Borough Polytechnic Institute. It has since undergone several name changes, becoming the Polytechnic of the South Bank in 1970, South Bank Polytechnic in 1987, South Bank University in 1992 and London South Bank University in 2003. The university has also merged with a number of other educational institutions. In 1888, Edric Bayley, a local solicitor and member of the

London School Board The School Board for London, commonly known as the London School Board (LSB), was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London. The Elementary Education Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75) was ...

, set up the South London Polytechnics Committee whose members included the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...

Lord Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of h ...

and

Sir Lyon Playfair Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair (1 May 1818 – 29 May 1898) was a British scientist and Liberal politician who was Postmaster-General from 1873 to 1874. Early life Playfair was born at Chunar, Bengal, the son of George Playfair (1781–1 ...

. The committee was successful in persuading the Charity Commissioners to pledge to match whatever could be raised from the public, up to the sum of £200,000 to establish polytechnics in South London. A public meeting at Mansion House kick-started the public appeal and by 1891 enough money had been raised to establish polytechnics at

Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...

and at Borough Road, Southwark, now LSBU. During 1890, the former buildings of

Joseph Lancaster Joseph Lancaster (25 November 1778 – 23 October 1838) was an English Quaker and public education innovator. He developed, and propagated on the grounds both of economy and efficacy, a monitorial system of primary education. In the first deca ...

British and Foreign School Society The British and Foreign School Society (BFSS) was founded in the early 19th century to support free and non-denominational British Schools in England and Wales. These schools competed with the National schools run by the National Society for Promo ...

were purchased for the Borough Polytechnic Institute. In May that year, the South London Polytechnics Institutes Act was passed, so that by June 1891 the governing structure and general aims of the new Institute had been created. These aims were "the promotion of the industrial skills, general knowledge, health, and well-being of young men and women" and also for "instruction suitable for persons intending to emigrate". W. M. Richardson was chosen to be clerk to the governing body, C. T. Millis was appointed as Headmaster, Miss Helen Smith was appointed Lady Superintendent and Edric Bayley was appointed the first Chair of Governors. On 30 September 1892, the Borough Polytechnic Institute was officially opened by

, with a remit to educate the local community in a range of practical skills. The Polytechnic was given a seal based on the Bridge House emblem of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

and a motto taken from

Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes ( ) is one of the Ketuvim ('Writings') of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly used in English is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew word ...

— "Do it with thy Might". A gala event was held to mark the occasion which was widely reported in the press because of

's speech on the banning of smoking in the new Institute. One of the speeches made included the hope that "the Polytechnic would do its share towards perfecting many a valuable gem found in the slums of London".F. G. Evans, ..Borough Polytechnic 1892–1969''.'' Lsbu

The Polytechnic specialised in courses that reflected local trades including leather tanning, typography, metalwork, electrical engineering, laundry, baking, and boot & shoe manufacture. Instruction was also given in art, science, elocution, literature and general knowledge and the Polytechnic held public lectures by the likes of

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

J. A. Hobson John Atkinson Hobson (6 July 1858 – 1 April 1940) was an English economist and social scientist. Hobson is best known for his writing on imperialism, which influenced Vladimir Lenin, and his theory of underconsumption. His principal and e ...

, Henry M. Stanley, and

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

. On 10 October 1894, the National School of Bakery and Confectionery (later the National Bakery School) was opened with 78 pupils. In 1897, the Polytechnic was let to sightseers who wished to see the Diamond Jubilee parade for

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. In 1902, the Borough Road building was once again let to sightseers who wished to see the Coronation parade of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

. Through a donation from Edric Bayley, the Edric Hall was built in 1908, along with the Lancaster Street extension buildings which gave the Polytechnic new bakery rooms, gymnasium, workshops and its triangular campus site. In 1911, the Governors commissioned

Roger Fry Roger Eliot Fry (14 December 1866 – 9 September 1934) was an English painter and art critic, critic, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Establishing his reputation as a scholar of the Old Masters, he became an advocate of more recent ...

to create a set of seven murals to decorate the student dining room with the theme of "London on Holiday". These comprised: * "Bathing" and "Football",

Duncan Grant Duncan James Corrowr Grant (21 January 1885 – 8 May 1978) was a Scottish painter and designer of textiles, pottery, theatre sets, and costumes. He was a member of the Bloomsbury Group. His father was Bartle Grant, a "poverty-stricken" major ...

*"The Zoo",

* "The Fair",

Frederick Etchells Frederick Etchells (14 September 1886 – 16 August 1973) was an England, English artist and architect. Biography Etchells was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. His early education was at the London School of Kensington, now known as The Royal ...

* "Toy Sailing Boats",

Bernard Adeney Bernard Adeney (2 August 1878 – 4 April 1966) was an English painter and textile designer. He was a founding member of the London Group, an artists' exhibiting society, and was its president from 1921 to 1923. Between 1930 and 1947, he was ...

* "Punch & Judy", MacDonald Gill * "Paddling",

Albert Rutherston Albert Daniel Rutherston (5 December 1881 – 14 July 1953) was a British artist. He painted figures and landscape, illustrated books and designed posters and stage sets. Personal life and education Albert Daniel Rothenstein born 5 December 18 ...

In 1931, they were sold to the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the Polytechnic manufactured munitions and

gas mask A gas mask is a piece of personal protective equipment used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft ...

s for the

war effort War effort is a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and civilian—towards the support of a military force, particular during a state of war. Depending on the militarization of the culture, the relative si ...

and ran courses for the army. After the War, the

National Certificate The National Certificate is a higher education professional certification, qualification in a technology discipline offered by higher institutions across the globe. Each country has its own specifications about the certificate. Ireland The Na ...

system was taken up, engineering courses were offered to women in the 1920s and printing classes were dropped and run at Morley College. J W Bispham was elected the new Principal in 1922 when C T Millis retired and a rebuilding scheme was undertaken including a new facade for the

Borough Road Borough Road is in Southwark, London SE1. It runs east–west between St George's Circus and Borough High Street. History and location The route was created as part of the planning and road improvements associated with the completion of ...

building. Class numbers increased to 8,682 students by 1927 and on 20 February 1930 the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

officially opened the Polytechnic's new buildings. In 1933, Dr D H Ingall took over as Principal and a sports ground at Turney Road

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...

was obtained for the Polytechnic. In 1933,

farriery A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horse, horses' horse hoof, hooves and the placing of horseshoe, shoes on their hooves, if necessary. A farrier combines some blacksmith's skills (fabri ...

was dropped as it was too difficult to bring horses into the building. During the

Second World War 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 ...

, a third of the Polytechnic's campus was destroyed or damaged from the

Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, several ships of the Prussian, Imperia ...

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

was bombed seven times and its population halved by the end of the War. At the start of the War the boys and girls from the Polytechnic's Trade Schools were evacuated to

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

. From 1940 to 1941, the Polytechnic was bombed five times but continued to provide hundreds of meals a day to the homeless of Southwark during this period. From 1945 to 1953, British painter

David Bomberg David Garshen Bomberg (5 December 1890 – 19 August 1957) was a British painter, and one of the Whitechapel Boys. Bomberg was one of the most audacious of the exceptional generation of artists who studied at the Slade School of Art under Hen ...

taught art at the Polytechnic forming the '

Borough Group The Borough Group was a collective of mid-20th-century artists from the Borough area of Southwark, South London. The group was associated with David Bomberg, who was then teaching a number of the artists that formed the group at the Borough P ...

' of artists with his pupils in 1946. In 1956, the Polytechnic was designated a Regional College of Technology and Dr J E Garside was installed as the new Principal until 1965, when Vivian Pereira-Mendoza took over. Further extensions to the buildings were made during the 1960s with the opening of the National College Wing in 1961 and the extension buildings and Tower Block in 1969, which were officially opened by

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

. In 1970, the Brixton School of Building (founded in 1904), the City of Westminster College (founded in 1918 – and not the same institution as the current

City of Westminster College City of Westminster College is a further education college in the City of Westminster, Greater London, England, founded originally as Paddington Technical Institute in 1904 and gaining its current name in 1990. The college has two centres in cent ...

) and the National College of Heating, Ventilating, Refrigeration and Fan Engineering (founded in 1947) merged with the Polytechnic to become the Polytechnic of the South Bank. The new institution adopted a coat of arms designed to include two

Thames barge A Thames sailing barge is a type of commercial sailing boat once common on the River Thames in London. The flat-bottomed barges, with a shallow draught and leeboards, were perfectly adapted to the Thames Estuary, with its shallow waters and nar ...

s set above a pentagon surrounded by five other pentagons. An official designation service took place the following year, at which

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

was the guest speaker. In 1972 the purpose-built Wandsworth Road site opened, providing space for the Polytechnic's Faculty of the Built Environment, which at the time was the biggest and most comprehensive faculty in Europe for teaching built environment subjects such as surveying, town planning, architecture, civil engineering and other property related professional disciplines. In 1975, the extensive London Road building was opened, providing space for expanding business courses and the library. In 1976 the Battersea College of Education merged with the polytechnic, bringing sites at Manresa House,

Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, sharing its SW15 postcode with neighbouring Putney and Kingston Vale, and takes up a far western strip, running north to south, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large counc ...

and Manor House,

Clapham Common Clapham Common is a large triangular urban park in Clapham, south London, England. Originally common land for the parishes of Battersea and Clapham, it was converted to parkland under the terms of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1878. It is of gr ...

. Battersea College of Education was previously known as Battersea College of Domestic Science (1948 to 1965). Also in 1976, part of Rachel MacMillan College of Education merged with the Polytechnic. In 1985

South Bank Technopark South Bank Technopark at London South Bank University, England, houses the main administration for the university, including the Vice-Chancellor's Office, under the leadership of Prof. David Phoenix. The Technopark building was opened in Novemb ...

opened on London Road and in 1987 the Polytechnic changed its name again to become South Bank Polytechnic. In the same year, the

British Youth Opera British Youth Opera (BYO) is the United Kingdom's national opera training company, helping young singers, directors, designers, stage managers and music staff build careers in the opera industry. History British Youth Opera was started by Britis ...

(BYO) was founded and made a home at the Polytechnic's Southwark campus. In 1987,

Pauline Perry, Baroness Perry of Southwark Pauline Perry, Baroness Perry of Southwark (née Welch; born 15 October 1931) is an educator, educationist, academic, and activist. She is a Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and was for 25 years a working member of the British H ...

was appointed Director, who oversaw the conversion of the Polytechnic into a flagship university. In 1990, the Polytechnic was accredited for Research Degrees and in 1991 the Central Catering College at Waterloo and South West London College merged with it. In 1992, the newly created Baroness Perry (August 1991) became the University's first Vice-Chancellor. In 1992, the Polytechnic was granted university status and accordingly changed its name to South Bank University. That year also saw the new university celebrate its centenary and adopt the marketing slogan, "the University without Ivory Towers". In 1993, Gerald Bernbaum was appointed Vice-Chancellor and the Centenary Library was renamed the Perry Library. Redwood College of Health Studies and

Great Ormond Street Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foun ...

School of Nursing merged with the university in 1995, leading to the establishment of two satellite campuses teaching Health at

Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities include Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham, Lo ...

and Whipps Cross (which closed in 2011).

21st century

In 2001,

Deian Hopkin Sir Deian Rhys Hopkin (born 1 March 1944) is an academic and historian, former vice chancellor and former President of the National Library of Wales. From 2013 to 2020, he served as Chair of Wales Remembers 1914-1918 and was expert adviser to th ...

became Vice-Chancellor and the Wandsworth Road site was sold. London South Bank University inside

On 1 September 2003, the university underwent its most recent name change to become London South Bank University (LSBU) and in that year officially opened the Keyworth Centre.

Martin Earwicker Martin John Earwicker (born 11 May 1948) was Director of the National Museum of Science and Industry group of British museums (including the Science Museum, the National Railway Museum, and the National Media Museum) from 2006 until 2009. Prior ...

was appointed Vice-Chancellor in 2009, the year in which another major building on their Southwark campus, the Grimshaw-designed K2, was opened to house the School of Health and Social Care and the Centre for Efficient and Renewable Energy in Buildings (CEREB).Centre for Efficient and Renewable Energy in Buildings
London South Bank University, UK. The building also houses skills laboratories for the University's nursing students. Further campus developments included a new Student Centre in 2012, followed by an Enterprise Centre in 2013. In 2016 LSBU opened its new media centre, Elephant Studios at LSBU. On 1 January 2014, Dave Phoenix was appointed Vice-Chancellor. In 2014 university officials removed a poster featuring the

Flying Spaghetti Monster The Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) is the deity of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or Pastafarianism, a parodic new religious movement that promotes a light-hearted view of religion. The parody originated in opposition to the te ...

and the stand erected by the students from the South Bank Atheist Society during the Fresher's week, claiming it was " religiously offensive". This action drew criticism from the

British Humanist Association Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent non-religious people in the UK through a mixture of charitable servic ...

which claimed it amounted to "petty censorship in the name of offence". The LSBU-sponsored

University Academy of Engineering South Bank South Bank University Academy (formerly known as University Academy of Engineering South Bank) is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in the Walworth area of the London Borough of Southwark, England. It opened as an academy ...

opened its doors to students in September 2014. The purpose-built facility is in the

Walworth Walworth ( ) is a district of South London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the ...

area of

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

and can accommodate 150 students aged 11–19.

Lambeth College South Bank Colleges is a further education college in the London Borough of Lambeth. It was formed in 1992, initially as Lambeth College, from three former institutions – Vauxhall College of Building and Further Education, Brixton College of Fur ...

is intending to merge with the University.

Campus

The main campus populates a triangular section of roads in the Borough of Southwark, immediately north of the

. London's

is a short tube or bus journey away from

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...

. To the north of the campus is

, where the main entrance is situated and the original building of the Borough Polytechnic Institute. To the west is London Road and to the east is

Southwark Bridge Road Southwark Bridge Road is a road in Southwark, London, England, between Newington Causeway near Elephant and Castle and Southwark Bridge across the River Thames, leading to the City of London, in a meandering route. The road was created by co ...

. At the northwest corner is

St George's Circus St George's Circus is a road junction in Southwark, London, England. At its centre, which is now a traffic roundabout, is an historic obelisk, designed by Robert Mylne (1733–1811), in his role as surveyor and architect of Blackfriars Bridge. ...

Schiller International University Schiller International University (SIU) is a private, for-profit university with its main campus and administrative headquarters in Tampa, Florida. It is named after the German playwright and philosopher Friedrich Schiller. It has campuses o ...

had a campus in the Technopark Building on the London South Bank University property. In August 2011 Schiller stated that it was closing its London campus and will not start the Autumn 2011 semester there, due to stricter student visa requirements in the United Kingdom. There is a smaller satellite campus in east London: at

(LSBU at Havering), diagonally opposite Harold Wood station. A central Croydon campus is due to open in September 2021: it will be at Electric House in Wellesley Road.

Organisation

The university has seven Schools, they are; * School of Applied Sciences * School of Arts and Creative Industries * School of the Built Environment and Architecture *School of Business * School of Engineering * School of Health and Social Care * School of Law and Social Sciences

Contraction

The University announced in April 2021 that in 2021 they were not admitting students to study history or human geography.

Academic profile

The British painter

taught Art at the Borough Polytechnic between 1945 and 1954. One of the university's halls of residence,

David Bomberg House Borough High Street is a road in Southwark, London, running south-west from London Bridge, forming part of the A3 road, A3 route which runs from London to Portsmouth, on the south coast of England. Overview Borough High Street continues sout ...

, carries his name and a handful of his works are on display at the University. Major paintings by Bomberg were acquired by the

after his death. London South Bank University works in

partnership A partnership is an agreement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations. Organizations ...

with institutions in the UK, Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia. It currently works closely with the

Beijing Institute of Technology The Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) is a Public university, public, Comprehensive school, comprehensive, Research university, research university located in Haidian District, Haidian District, Beijing City, China. The university is part o ...

Hunan University Hunan University (HNU; ) is a national public university in Yuelu, Changsha, Hunan, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction ...

Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Northwestern Polytechnical University Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU; ) is a public science and engineering university in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985 ...

, and the National Academy of Education Administration. The collaborative educational programmes both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels have been running for over ten years with the Chinese partners. LSBU established the first Confucius Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2007.

Rankings and reputation

In November 2016, the university was named the Entrepreneurial University of the Year at the Times Higher Education Awards. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

s 2018 league table of teaching excellence ranked the university 92 out of 121 British institutions. The

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

' league table, measuring a number of different factors including teaching quality, research quality and employment rates, ranks the university 120th. However, ''The Guardian'' rated LSBU joint 13th for

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

students. In the inaugural 2017

assessment which ranked the quality of undergraduate teaching across UK universities and applied either a bronze, silver or gold ranking, LSBU was awarded a "Silver" ranking.

Admissions

70% of UK students at London South Bank University are Londoners. Students primarily come from the South London Boroughs of

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

and

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, and the East London Borough of

Newham The London Borough of Newham () is a London boroughs, London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of County Borough of West Ham, West Ham and County ...

. Around 12% of students are from overseas, which equate to over 3,000 EU and other international students, from more than 130 countries. 56% of the student population are from

ethnic minorities The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...

and over 80% of the students are classified as

mature Mature is the adjectival form of maturity, as immature is the adjectival form of immaturity, which have several meanings. Mature or immature may also refer to: * Mature, a character from ''The King of Fighters'' series *"Mature 17+", a rating in ...

(21 or over when they start their course).

Notable alumni

Sir David Adjaye Sir David Frank Adjaye (born 22 September 1966) is a Ghanaian-British architect who has designed many notable buildings around the world, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Adjaye was knight ...

, architect * Wavinya Ndeti, politician *

Frank Auerbach Frank Helmut Auerbach (29 April 1931 – 11 November 2024) was a German-born British painter. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, he became a naturalised British subject in 1947. He is considered one of the leading names in the School of Lo ...

, painter * Shaun Bailey, politician *

Anton Balasingham Anton Balasingham Stanislaus (; 4 March 1938 – 14 December 2006) was a Sri Lankan journalist, rebel and chief political strategist and chief negotiator for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist Tamil militant organisation in ...

, political strategist and Advisor for

LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam ...

leadership * Sue Black, computer scientist *

Paul Burstow Paul Kenneth Burstow (born 13 May 1962) is a British former politician who served as the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Sutton and Cheam for 18 years, from 1997 to 2015, when he was defeated by Paul Scully. He was appointed Mini ...

, former politician *

Mel Calman Melville Calman (19 May 1931 – 10 February 1994) was a British cartoonist best known for his "little man" cartoons published in British newspapers including the '' Daily Express'' (1957–63), '' The Sunday Telegraph'' (1964–65), '' The ...

, cartoonist *

Edd China Edward John China (born 9 May 1971) is an English television presenter, mechanic, motor specialist and inventor, best known as being presenter and mechanic on Discovery Channel's television show '' Wheeler Dealers''. He has also appeared on '' ...

, television presenter and engineer * June Clark, nurse *

Marsha de Cordova Marsha Chantal de Cordova (born 23 January 1976) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Battersea since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, she was a Member of Lambeth London Borough Council from 2014 to 2018. Since 202 ...

, politician *

Dennis Creffield Dennis Creffield (29 January 1931 – 26 June 2018) was a British artist with work owned by major British and worldwide art collections, including the Tate Gallery, The British Museum, Arts Council of England, the Government Art Collection, The ...

, artist * Cassiel Ato Forson, politician * Faith Gibson, British nurse, academic, and researcher *

Cliff Holden Cliff Holden FCSD (12 December 1919 – 20 April 2020) was a British painter, designer, and silk-screen printer. Holden was born in Manchester, England in December 1919 and educated at Wilmslow Modern School, followed by Reaseheath School of Ag ...

, painter *

Edna Adan Ismail Edna Adan Ismail (; born 8 September 1937) is a nurse midwife, activist, and was the first female Minister of Foreign Affairs (Somaliland), Foreign Minister of Somaliland from 2003 to 2006. She previously served as Somalia’s Minister of Family ...

, former

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...

Jordan Kensington Jordan Kensington is a British serial Entrepreneur, artist, actor, songwriter, television and radio presenter best known as the founder of the Urban Music Awards, an awards show celebrating the achievement of hip hop, R&B, soul and jazz music ar ...

Leon Kossoff Leon Kossoff (10 December 1926 – 4 July 2019) was a British figurative painter known for portraits, life drawings and cityscapes of London, England. Early years and education Kossoff was born in Islington, London, and spent most of his early ...

(Art) *

Don Lawrence Donald Southam Lawrence (17 November 1928 – 29 December 2003) was a British comic book artist and author. Lawrence is best known for his comic strips '' The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire'' in the British weeklies '' Ranger'' and ''Look ...

(Illustration) *

Nick Leslau Nick Leslau (born 18 August 1959) is an English commercial property investor, with an estimated net worth of £400 million. Leslau is chairman and chief executive of Prestbury Investment Holdings Limited, and chairman of Prestbury Investm ...

(Surveying) * Russel Lissack, musician *

Norma Major Dame Norma Christina Elizabeth, Lady Major (, formerly Johnson; born 12 February 1942) is an English philanthropist who is married to former British prime minister Sir John Major. Early life Norma Christina Elizabeth Wagstaff is the daughter o ...

, philanthropist and wife of Sir John Major *

Shahid Malik Shahid Rafique Malik (; born 24 November 1967) is a British technology and media industry chairman and former politician. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Dewsbury from 2005 to 2010. The son of the mayor of B ...

, politician * Kevin McGrath (Estate management) *

Zacarias Moussaoui Zacarias Moussaoui (, '; born 30 May 1968) is a French member of al-Qaeda who pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to conspiring to kill citizens of the United States as part of the 9/11 attacks. He is serving life imprisonment without the ...

(International business) *

Sarah Mullally Dame Sarah Elisabeth Mullally (; born 26 March 1962) is a British Anglican prelate and former nurse. Bishop of London since 2018,

(Nursing) *

Bridget Prentice Bridget Theresa Prentice (' Corr; born 28 December 1952) is a Scottish politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewisham East from 1992 to 2010. She was married to the Labour MP Gordon Prentice from 1975 until their divorce in 200 ...

(Law) *

Yasmin Qureshi Yasmin Qureshi (born 5 July 1963) is a Pakistan-born British politician and barrister. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton South and Walkden since 2024, previously representing Bolton South East from 2010 to 2024. A member ...

, Politician *

Bali Rai Bali Rai (born 30 November 1971) is an English author of children's and young adult fiction. Early life Rai was born in Leicester in 1971, to Punjabi parents. At the age of eleven, he read '' The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole'' by Sue Townsend, ...

(Politics) *

Miles Richmond Miles Peter Richmond (19 December 1922 – 7 October 2008) was a British artist. Biography Born Peter Richmond, in Isleworth, Middlesex, he added the name Miles in the 1980s, and became generally known as such. From 1940 to 1943 he attended K ...

(Art) * Joan Ryan, politician *

Patrik Schumacher Patrik Schumacher (born 1961, Bonn, Germany) is a German architect and architectural theorist. He is the principal architect of Zaha Hadid Architects. His works includes The Opus Tower in Dubai, the Morpheus Hotel in Macau, and the Beijing Da ...

, architect, company director Zaha Hadid Architects *

Greg Searle Gregory Mark Pascoe Searle (born 20 March 1972) is a British Olympic rower educated at Hampton School and London South Bank University. Career Greg Searle is an Olympic gold medalist, winning the coxed pairs event at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic ...

* Enoch Showunmi (Business) *

Edward Skoyles Edward Skoyles (14 March 1923 – 30 July 2008) was the first quantity surveyor employed in the UK to research costs and practices in the construction industry. He did his research from 1960 until 1984 at the Building Research Establishment. Amo ...

* Phil Spencer (Estate management) * Mike Weatherley, politician *

Charlie Whiting Charles Whiting (12 August 1952 – 14 March 2019) was Chief Mechanic for the Brabham F1 team and latterly the Formula One race director. He served as the FIA Formula One Race Director, Safety Delegate, Permanent Starter and head of the F1 Tech ...

* Louise Woodward (Law)

References

External links

London South Bank University websiteLondon South Bank University Archives
{{authority control Universities and colleges established in 1892 1892 establishments in England Universities in London Universities UK