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Ravensbourne University London

University in Greenwich, England

University in Greenwich, England

FieldValue
nameRavensbourne University London
image_nameRavensbourne University London logo.png
former_nameRavensbourne College of Design and Communication
mottoWe learn with industry, industry learns with us, and together we transform lives.
established1962
typePublic
faculty140
students()
undergrad()
postgrad()
cityLondon
stateEngland
website

Ravensbourne University London is a public university on the Greenwich Peninsula in London, England. It specialises in creative, business, and technology-related disciplines, offering courses in areas including fashion, television and broadcasting, business management, architecture, product and graphic design, animation, music and sound production, and digital technology.

The university delivers an industry-focused curriculum developed in collaboration with employers to reflect current professional practices. Its partnerships with industry organisations provide students with opportunities for project-based learning, placements, and access to professional-standard facilities.

Ravensbourne University London has a focus on widening social mobility in higher education, and its graduates work across a range of roles with the creative, business and technology industries.

Ravensbourne University London was established in 1962 by the amalgamation of Bromley School of Art, Sidcup School of Art and Beckenham School of Art. It was originally at Bromley Common and later at Chislehurst and on the Royal Borough of Greenwich in Inner London, where it opened a new campus in autumn 2010. The college is named after the River Ravensbourne, which flows from Bromley Common to Greenwich. Initially established as a institution providing higher-level courses in art and design, it was given university status in 2018.

History

Bromley School of Art opened in 1878 in a new building in Tweedy Road, Bromley that later became Bromley Library; In 1959 it became Bromley Technical College after a merger with the Department of Furniture Design of Beckenham School of Art, which dated to the turn of the century as a technical school, had become an art school in purpose-built accommodation in 1908, and had expanded after the war with crafts trades. In July 1962, the remainder of Beckenham School of Art merged with Bromley College of Art and Sidcup School of Art (founded in 1898 and by then also known as Sidcup Art College) to form Ravensbourne College of Art and Design. In 1965 the college moved to Rookery Lane, Bromley Common. That site had originally housed the Rookery, an 18th-century house that had been burnt out while in military occupation in 1946. As the college expanded it was unable to develop that site any further, as it was in the Metropolitan Green Belt. In 1975 the college moved most of its operations to a purpose-built building designed after lengthy consultation on 18 acre of private parkland on Walden Road, Chislehurst (). The Rookery Lane site was redeveloped for the Bromley College of Further & Higher Education.

In 1983 the National Advisory Body for Local Authority Higher Education was set up by the Secretary of State for Education and Science, and demanded a 10 per cent cut in higher education spending across the sector. At Ravensbourne this was interpreted as requiring the closure of a department, with the communications and television broadcasting course at the College initially earmarked to be discontinued as it was on a separate campus and the closure would have allowed the College to consolidate its properties. This was later changed to a decision to cut the Fine Art course at the College on the grounds that there was a large number of similar courses offered elsewhere in the region, and this closure occurred later that year. As a result, the college was renamed to Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication. In 1991 the communications and television broadcasting course department was moved to the main Chislehurst campus from its Wharton Road, Bromley site, now occupied by St Timothy's Mews housing development.

Ravensbourne offers courses in business, technology, and creative-related disciplines. It was amongst the earliest of institutions to be approved by the then CNAA to convert the traditional Diploma programmes in Art and Design into honours degrees during the 1970s. In April 1989 it became a Higher Education Corporation.

In 2019 Ravensbourne began validating courses at the City and Guilds of London Art School located in Kennington in central London.

Rave on Air

In 1971 the Broadcasting Department instituted Rave on Air, an annual student-run broadcasting event.

Since 2025, the university has hosted Ravensbourne on Record, an industry-focused podcast in which educators and industry leaders discuss how universities can connect with the creative, technology and business sectors to drive social change, innovation and growth.

Campus

The university moved its entire operations to its current campus on the Greenwich Peninsula, which opened in autumn 2010. The campus was designed by Farshid Moussavi and won a British Construction Industry Award and the RIBA education and community award.

Curriculum and reputation

| Times/Sunday_Times = 131 (of 131)

Ravensbourne offers undergraduate, postgraduate and further education programmes taught across three buildings at its campus on the Greenwich Peninsula.

At undergraduate level, the university provides foundation degrees, top-up programmes, and bachelor's degrees (BA, BSc, and BEng) in a range of creative, business and technology subjects. The available postgraduate provision consists of Master's level courses, each of which can be studied to MA, MDes or MSc (dependent on subject). A variety of subject areas are offered within the main disciplines of creative, business and technology.

Within the area of Further Education, Ravensbourne offers the Diploma in Foundation Studies for both Art & Design and Media, as well as the BTEC National Certificate in Art and Design.

Notable alumni

  • Ray Atkins, artist
  • Brian Barnes, artist
  • Deirdre Borlase, artist
  • David Bowie, pop star
  • Joshua "Zerkaa" Bradley, YouTuber
  • Dinos Chapman, artist
  • Maria Cornejo, fashion designer
  • Beryl Dean, embroiderer
  • Mary Farmer (Beckenham School of Art), textile artist and former Tapestry Course Director, Royal College of Art
  • Rose Finn-Kelcey, artist
  • Nazaneen Ghaffar, weather presenter, Sky News
  • Will "Wilbur Soot" Gold, YouTuber and musician
  • Robert Hewison, literary scholar
  • Peter James, writer and film producer
  • Andrew Kötting, Artist film maker
  • John Leckie, record producer
  • Anthony McCall, artist
  • Stella McCartney, fashion designer
  • Jasper Morrison, product designer
  • Phil Mulloy, film maker and animator
  • Bruce Oldfield, fashion designer{{cite web|author=The FMD
  • Chris Orr, artist
  • Jay Osgerby, product and furniture designer
  • Andi Osho, comedian
  • Tim Pope, film director
  • Bruce Pennington, artist
  • Carol Tulloch, Professor of Dress, Diaspora and Transnationalism
  • Gareth Unwin, film producer
  • Alison Wilding, sculptor
  • Clare Waight Keller, fashion designer.
  • Richard Howarth, Vice President, Design at Apple.
  • Daniel Eatock, artist and designer.

Notable faculty

  • Jeremy Gardiner
  • Armin Medosch

References

References

  1. (1 January 2005). "Freedom of Information: Who we are". Ravensbourne.
  2. "Discover". Ravensbourne.
  3. {{HESA citation
  4. Rich Salter. "History".
  5. "Peskett, Eric. National Life Story Collection: Artists' Lives". The British Library.
  6. Geoff Hassell. "Schools: Ravensbourne".
  7. Hansard Parliamentary Papers, HC Deb 29 July 1983 vol 46 cc1429-36
  8. Bromley. "Bromley - Tel: 0208 464 3333".
  9. Bromley. "Bromley - Tel: 0208 464 3333".
  10. Bromley. "Bromley - Tel: 0208 464 3333".
  11. Bromley. "Bromley - Tel: 0208 464 3333".
  12. "GraphicDesign& Everything".
  13. (2018-05-23). "Ravensbourne becomes 'Ravensbourne University London' after being awarded university status {{!}} Ravensbourne University London".
  14. (July 2006). "Rave on Air—Breaking new ground". Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication.
  15. (April 2009). "Rave on Air Uncovered". Royal Television Society.
  16. (2025). "Ravensbourne on Record – Episode 1". Ravensbourne University London.
  17. (6 June 2011). "Ravensbourne by Foreign Office Architects".
  18. (2011). "Winners 2011".
  19. (10 November 2012). "Building". Ravensbourne.
  20. Zaynab D. Ziari. (13 September 2010). "Ravensbourne College by Foreign Office Architects".
  21. (19 August 2015). "Brian Barnes".
  22. David Buckman. (2006). "Artists in Britain Since 1945". Art Dictionaries Ltd.
  23. Lucy Hodges. (13 December 2007). "The shape of the future: Ravensbourne College". The Independent.
  24. (7 May 2011). "@TheTrout91 Yeah it was Harrow campus, umm theres lots of Media/Art College/Unis. Im going Ravensbourne (next to 02 Arena)".
  25. "Jake and Dinos Chapman". British Council.
  26. David Livingstone. (28 March 2012). "Fashion: Michelle Obama, Holt Renfrew among designer Maria Cornejo's big fans". Toronto Star.
  27. Willem. "Dean, Beryl (1911-2001)".
  28. "Mary Farmer".
  29. "Mary Farmer | CAS".
  30. Brett, Guy. (24 February 2014). "Rose Finn-Kelcey obituary". The Guardian.
  31. "Nazaneen Ghaffar".
  32. Gold, William. (June 2022). "Will Gold".
  33. Robert Hewison. (4 May 2019). "How I first discovered Ruskin".
  34. (29 November 2004). "Career".
  35. (22 August 1948). "Peter James". Book Series in Order.
  36. "Andrew Kötting". Transport for London.
  37. Mark Cunningham. (May 1997). "John Leckie: True Brit".
  38. (14 March 2011). "This is Tomorrow". Anthony McCall: VERTICAL WORKS.
  39. "Jasper Morrison {{!}} Timeline".
  40. "Intents & Purposes — A Conversation with Jasper Morrison".
  41. Chris Orr RA. "Chris Orr". Royal Academy of Arts.
  42. "Barber and Osgerby". Design Museum.
  43. (November 2021). "Andi Osho: Performer & Director".
  44. "Biography".
  45. "About".
  46. (10 December 2015). "Alison Wilding". Tate Etc..
  47. (7 March 2019). "Clare Waight Keller".
  48. "Richard Howarth".
  49. "Built for Industry: Daniel Eatock".
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