I'm not going.

A dunno

 

It's fine, me n the missus will sort the triumphant reds out, cheers

 

Isn't that one of the colleges that is now part of the University of the Arts? (Central Saint Martins). I spent a lot of time working at the UoA implementing their finance system.

 

Funny thing is, I think Chelsea is one of them as well.

 

They both are, mate. It was the London Institute when I was at Chelsea. But when I started at CSM in 2003, it had been reinvented as UofA, London.
Dealing with the finances, can’t have been much fun? Well tangled up, I bet.?
I might be wrong mate, but wasn’t that when shareholders got involved & the whole structure changed.
I was a few years older than most kids there & decided to study part time. I was still in bands & had a little job with English Heritage. But it gave me a better perspective on the increasingly corporate direction. Of art schools, ffs?
The change between the LI & UofA was marked.
I was fortunate & feel proud to have gone to 2 of the best schools in London, if not the Uk & the world. But UofA sucked the independent nature out of the schools under their control. Also Camberwell, London school of film & photography & London school of fashion, I think? It broke the heart of my Head of MA fine art at CSM, wonderful, talented lady called Joanna Greenhill. Larger intakes, smaller & smaller studio spaces. More overseas students, which is a great thing, but done cynically, for the massively higher fees. Less & less personal tutoring, more & more group lectures. I briefly taught on the foundation course at CSM, but didn’t like it & quit.
Best not to get me started on that. I’ve just sent half the board to sleep.!

 

I didn't get involved in the detail of the place. I didn't work for them. I was a consultant working for the supplier of the system. But I must have done a couple of hundred days work there over the course of 4 or 5 years so got to know the people quite well. The central finance team moved 3 times during the time I worked with them. They were on Bond Street around 2000, then moved to a little building up the road, and then to King's Cross.

I can imagine what you describe. HE is a very corporate environment these days. But it is huge numbers we are talking about. I spent some time implementing research management systems into the sector - you wouldn't believe how much money research is worth to some of the big places. But when I thought of the 6 colleges that made up the UoA, I had visions of them being amazing personal places in the period from the 60s to the 90s when they were independent. And most of them had amazing reputations. Some famous people went through the LCF for example. Bet you had an amazing time there.