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London is a leading global educational centre, having one of the largest populations of overseas students of any city in the world.[citation needed]
London has the largest student population of any British city, although not the highest per capita.
The federalUniversity of London, which, with over 120,000 students, is the largest contact teaching university in the United Kingdom (smaller only than the distance-educationOpen University) and one of the largest Universities in Europe. It comprises 19 colleges and 12 institutes, as well as a distance-learning External System.[1] Constituent colleges have a high degree of autonomy, controlling their own admissions and degree programmes, and are effectively universities in their own right. The largest and most well-knownUniversity of London colleges include (in order of student population size)University College London,King's College London,Birkbeck,Queen Mary, theLondon School of Economics and Political Science,Royal Holloway,Goldsmiths,City, and theInstitute of Education. Smaller schools and institutes (with fewer than 5,000 students) include theSchool of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), theLondon Business School, theSchool of Pharmacy, theLondon School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,St. George's Hospital Medical School andCentral School of Speech and Drama. Traditionally all of theUniversity of London institutions awarded degrees from theUniversity of London itself, and not from the individual college or institution, but this changed in 2007/2008 whenKing's College London, theLondon School of Economics,University College London and theInstitute of Education remained within theUniversity of London system, but began awarding their own degrees.[2]Imperial College London was a part of the University of London until 2007, but is now a separate institution.
There are also other universities not part of the University of London, most of which werepolytechnics until UK polytechnics were granted university status bya 1992 Act of Parliament. Among these are theUniversity of Westminster,London South Bank University,University of Greenwich,Middlesex University,London Metropolitan University,Brunel University,University of West London, theUniversity of East London, and various other higher education institutions.
There are also a large number of specialised institutions, branches of UK universities based outside London, branches of foreign universities, and private universities and training colleges.
Imperial College London,King's College London,LSE,Barts andUCL are leading centres of research and stand alongsideMIT,Berkeley,Princeton,Johns Hopkins,Yale and other US universities in terms of international reputation.[3]
Most of the leading Britishlearned societies are based in London. TheRoyal Institution is a historic and important repository and proponent of the acquisition of scientific knowledge through research and study.
There are also a number of firms and colleges in London which provide education and consultation leading to degrees validated by universities, but which are not actual universities themselves. Some of these colleges are private institutions very similar to actual universities, such as European Business School,Aspley Business School London,London School of Business and Management andRegents University.
London also has manyfurther education (FE) andsixth form colleges funded by theLearning and Skills Council. Traditionally the further education colleges were clearly separated from the higher education system, and offered vocational education below university level, but this distinction is breaking down and many further education colleges now offer university level courses validated by a local university and prepare students for university entrance, as well as providing vocational courses.
Most London boroughs have an 11-18 comprehensive system for the provision of 16 to 19 year olds; these always or nearly always have comprehensive schools with a sixth form attached to it, alongside an FE college within the borough, with about half of young students in each.Croydon,Havering,Newham andWaltham Forest are sixth form college reorganised where there are usually twosixth form colleges along with a general FE college, with only few public schools maintaining sixth forms (in the case of Newham, no schools apart from Catholic ones).[4] For a long time, two boroughs namelyHarrow andRichmond upon Thames used a tertiary provision where all education for young learners was based attertiary colleges (except Catholic faith-based institutions in Harrow) and no public schools with sixth forms existed.[5] Both boroughs have recently moved away from this system - Harrow introduced school sixth forms for the first time in 2008, while Richmond upon Thames did so in 2012. A few outer boroughs are selective, containing comprehensive schools with sixth forms, FE or sixth form colleges, and multiplegrammar schools.[4]
London is Britain's leading centre for arts education.[citation needed] London's fourmusic conservatories are theRoyal College of Music, theRoyal Academy of Music,Trinity College of Music, and theGuildhall School of Music and Drama. Other drama schools includeRoyal Academy of Dramatic Arts ("RADA"), and theCentral School of Speech and Drama. Art & Design schools includeCentral Saint Martins College of Art and Design,Chelsea College of Art and Design,Camberwell College of Arts,Wimbledon School of Art andLondon College of Communication andLondon College of Fashion (all part of theUniversity of the Arts London), andGoldsmiths College, University of London and theSlade School of Art (both part of the University of London), and The Design School (part ofKingston University ) and theRoyal College of Art. The formerHornsey College of Art is now part ofMiddlesex University. TheUniversity of East London has an Institute for Performing Arts Development – IPAD.
London is an important centre ofmedical education. The city'smedical schools are attached to the leading hospitals and some of them are several centuries old. The number of schools has been reduced to five by a recent series of mergers:
London is known as a city that is diverse, populated by peoples and cultures from many other parts of the globe. Many London schools require the teaching of foreign language.
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Public schools in Greater London includeHarrow,City of London School,University College School,Westminster,Highgate School,King's College School, Wimbledon,Merchant Taylors' School andSt Paul's School.
International schools includeThe American School in London,German School London, theJapanese School in London, and theLycée Français Charles de Gaulle (French school). The London Japanese school, in addition to its day school, also has aweekend programme serving students in theJapanese community in the United Kingdom who attend British and international schools.
The low quality of thehalls of residence offered by schools themselves, the shortage of student housing, and the relatively good economic resources of the international students who attend schools in London offered an economic opportunity to firms such asUnite Students which have built thousands of units of student housing in London.[6]
International college students are pouring into London, deepening an extensive housing shortage. The result is that student housing is becoming another red-hot corner of the city's property market