Student London: A new history of higher education in the capital
An engaging, historical account of life in London since the foundation of its first university in 1826, which centres the experiences of students in the city's history.
By Professor Georgina Brewis and Dr Sam Blaxland (UCL Institute of Education)
Students have formed a significant part of London’s population since the foundation of its first university in 1826. Most studies of London, however, neglect higher education while students are generally only minor characters in existing university histories.
Student London centres the experiences of students in the city’s history, drawing on a rich source base ranging from institutional records to college magazines, court reports to secret service files, and many hundreds of student memoirs and oral histories.
This book offers a detailed examination of life at the original London University (known as University College London since 1836) alongside many other institutions that eventually joined with UCL. It captures a diverse range of higher education experiences across medical schools, teacher training colleges and specialist institutes.
Student London also engages in much greater depth with London’s imperial history than earlier studies of higher education, exploring the significance of international students and presenting an authentic story of diverse student experiences in London. A sweeping history of an ever-changing city, it examines students’ everyday lives, fees and funding, collegiate cultures, social and political engagement, physical and mental health, recreation, sports and leisure. In doing so, it charts changing student attitudes to class, race, gender, sex and sexuality across two centuries.
Book now available to buy in-store. A special £20 price applies when you purchase a print edition from the Students’ Union shop.
The book is also available for free open access download via UCL Press.
Student London is now available in-store and online.
Get your copyProfessor Georgina Brewis and Dr Sam Blaxland are historians based in UCL Institute of Education. Student London, published by UCL Press, is the product of their combined expertise in the history of students, youth culture, political and social movements, oral history, and archival research.
After updating UCL’s institutional history The World of UCL in 2018, Georgina Brewis conceived of a new way to tell the story of London’s first university through the eyes of students. Sam Blaxland joined the team in 2022 from Swansea University, fresh from writing a new post-war history of that institution.
Student London is the major outcome of a research and engagement project called Generation UCL: Two Hundred Years of Student Life in London, conducted in partnership with the Office Vice Provost Advancement and Students' Union UCL.
Students have formed a significant part of London’s population, and their experiences are worthy of investigation.
‘Dirty, smoggy and seedy’: London’s student history retold
Juliette Rowsell shares insights and highlights in Student London article for Times Higher Education.
