IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 2110 NC
Held at: London South Bank University
Title: National College for Heating, Ventilating, Refrigeration and Fan Engineering
Date(s): 1944-1970, 2007
Level of description: Collection
Extent: 15 boxes
Name of creator(s): National College for Heating, Ventilating, Refrigeration and Fan Engineering
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
In December 1945 the Education Board for the Heating and Ventilating Industry set up a committee to look into the possibility of establishing a National School for the Heating and Ventilating Industries. This was in response to the Percy Report which recommended that National Schools associated with certain industries should be established. In 1946, with the agreement of the National Association of Heating, Ventilating and Domestic Engineering Employers, discussions were opened with the Ministry of Education on the establishment of a National School. These proposals were well received and in January 1947 a memorandum, drawn up by the Ministry on National Colleges and financial arrangements, were discussed by the Ministry and the Board. It was agreed that Industry should pay £50 per student per session with a guaranteed minimum of £1000 per year. The National Association also agreed to this and in April 1947 it was decided that a National College for Heating and Ventilating, Refrigeration and Fan Engineering be formed within the Borough Polytechnic. The agreement of the London County Council was secured in November 1947 and the first meeting of the Board of Governors of the newly established National College for Heating, Ventilating, Refrigeration and Fan Engineering was held on 20 January 1948 at the Borough Polytechnic.
The first Chair of Governors was Hubert Secretan and there were representatives from the three industries on the Board of Governors. There were high hopes for the new College and the third annual report of the Education Board for the Heating and Ventilating Industry hoped 'it will be the centre for the highest grade of technological training for the industry and will be in close contact with the most up-to-date development and research' (NC/7/2/3). The College existed to meet the needs of the industries and had two principal aims: to provide a high standard of technological training and to undertake research.
In its first session, commencing in September 1948, the College offered full-time Diploma courses in the three industries: Heating and Ventilating Engineering, Refrigeration Engineering and Fan Engineering. The College also offered part-time day or evening refresher courses for those employed in industry. Courses led to diplomas after full-time study for two terms, and later one year, or an Associateship of the National College with post graduate or post HND entry.
The College was, from its inception, closely linked with the Borough Polytechnic. Its premises were located within the grounds of the Borough Polytechnic Annexe and the College used the facilities of the Polytechnic for teaching ancillary subjects. Before the National College was established the Polytechnic had become the principal college in heating and ventilating engineering in London. A lecturer in heating and ventilating engineering had been appointed in 1917 for evening courses and after World War 1 part-time day classes were introduced. At first, the college was heavily dependent on service teaching from other departments of Borough Polytechnic, especially mechanical engineering, mathematics and humanities, but began to widen its work by undertaking research.
The College was given a logo of a shield divided into four, representing the three industries and the Borough Polytechnic. It also had a motto, 'e tribus unum', meaning 'one from three'.
In the 1950s the accommodation within the Borough Polytechnic was too small to allow the continued expansion of student numbers and to undertake research. The Ministry of Education agreed to cover the costs of the building and industry donated money to purchase new equipment. The new building on Southwark Bridge Road (now the Faraday Wing) was opened to students in September 1960.
By the 1960s government policy had moved away from National Colleges which taught a limited syllabus. The Ministry of Education preferred Technical Education Institutions to provide a broader education than covered by the National Colleges and in 1964 it began discussions with the National College on its future. It was proposed that the National College become a department of the Borough Polytechnic.
In September 1970 the National College amalgamated with the Borough Polytechnic, Brixton School of Building and City of Westminster College to become the Polytechnic of the South Bank. In effect, the National College became the Polytechnic's Faculty of Environmental Science and Technology.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Contains the records of the National College for Heating, Ventilating, Refrigeration and Fan Engineering, comprising:
NC/1, Governance, including minutes of the Board of Governors, Financial and General Purposes Committee and the Education Committee, deeds of trust and correspondence on the future of the college, 1948-1970;
NC/2, Publications, including prospectuses, annual reports and anniversary publications and presentation ceremony programmes, 1948-1971, 2007;
NC/3, Photographs, including photos of official openings, students, staff, the library and laboratories,1950-1960s;
NC/4, Student Activities, including student publications and exam results, 1949-1969;
NC/5, National College Building, including material on the building of the National College Building (now the Faraday Wing), 1950s;
NC/6, External Publications, including trade magazines, press cuttings and adverts 1947-1963;
NC/7, Education Board of the Heating and Ventilating Industry, including minutes, annual reports and publications 1944-1962.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
The collection is catalogued.
Conditions governing access:
The collection is available to the public, except for records restricted under the Data Protection Act. Please contact the University Archives Centre for details. 24 hours notice is required for research visits.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Reproduction is at the discretion of University Archives Centre staff.
Finding aids:
https://lsbu-archive.maxarchiveservices.co.uk/index.php/national-college-heating
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Accruals:
None expected.
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Acquired on the amalgamation of the National College for Heating, Ventilating, Refrigeration and Fan Engineering into the Polytechnic of the South Bank in 1970.
ALLIED MATERIALS
Related material:
The National Archives holds files (Catalogue Reference: ED 165) on the policy decisions leading to the establishment of National Colleges and recording their development and progress. Papers on the National College for Heating, Ventilating, Refrigeration and Fan Engineering are catalogued under ED 165/74-87.
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Date(s) of descriptions: December 2009.