Bromley College of Further & Higher Education

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 Orpington. Beginning in 2008, it underwent a £26m overhaul. In November, a World War II air-raid shelter was discovered during construction work.[1] This shelter would have housed Orpington residents from German bombing raids, and was buried when the Walnuts Shopping Centre was built. 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, who unveiled a plaque.

On 1 August 2016, Bromley College of Further & Higher Education merged with Bexley College and Greenwich College to become London South East Colleges.[2]

London South East Colleges is the trading name of Bromley College of Further and Higher Education.

In further education the College offers a wide variety of vocational courses[3] A new Hospitality, Food & Enterprise College opened in September 2014 at the Orpington Campus.

Bromley College partnerships with the University of Greenwich and Canterbury Christ Church University enable them to offer a range of courses providing higher education opportunities.

Bromley Educational Trust: In 2014, Bromley College helped to create a new Educational Trust, a special partnership whose aim is to provide education and training for children and young adults between the ages of 5–18 within the Bromley Borough. The provision that is established under the Bromley Educational Trust brings together a number of specialist, vocational and technical schools and colleges that provide an alternative to formal mainstream education.

The Bromley Children’s University was launched in September 2014, with initial support from the National Children’s University. This is a national programme aimed at increasing social mobility and aspiration among children. It focuses on providing learning opportunities for children aged 7–14 outside of school. There are currently 125 CUs operating around the UK – 160,000 children participating in 2013 – and an increasing number of CUs operating across the world.

Following the launch of the Hospitality, Food and Enterprise Career College in September 2014, Bromley College opened up a commercial training restaurant which is now open to the public.

• Hanif Kureishi CBE – Writer.[4]
• Peter Whittle – Deputy Leader of the UK Independence Party[5]