John Ruskin College is a

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is additional education to that received at secondary school that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It ...

college in South Croydon offering full-time vocational courses and apprenticeships as well as part-time courses for adults. In 2019, following a merger with ''East Surrey College'' incorporating ''Reigate School of Art,'' John Ruskin College became part of Orbital South Colleges. John Ruskin College is located on Selsdon Park Road (A2022), close to the A212 roundabout. The College is accessible by tram via Gravel Hill tram stop, as well as various local bus services.

History

Early years

John Ruskin College was a former school in the

London Borough of Croydon The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough, borough in South London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of and had a population of 397,741 as of mid-2023, making it the most populous London borough. It is London's southernmost ...

, which started life in 1920 as the John Ruskin Boys' Central School. Its location was ''Scarbrook Road'', Croydon. Named after

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

, it opened on 12 January 1920. The Lady Edridge School, its sister school for girls (later to become a grammar school in 1951) opened the same day. Lady Edridge was wife of a Mayor of Croydon and the first "Lady Freeman" of the Borough. It closed in 1980 and was demolished.

Grammar and comprehensive school

In 1935 the school moved to Tamworth Road, and in April 1945 it was granted

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

status as the John Ruskin Grammar School for Boys (JRGS). It had been previously the John Ruskin Selective Central School. It moved to ''Upper Shirley Road'', Shirley, in 1955, and was retitled the John Ruskin High School in 1971 before later becoming a 14-18 Co-Educational Comprehensive School. It was demolished in 1991. The Upper Shirley Road site surrounded the Shirley Windmill, a 19th-century

tower mill A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.Medieval science, technology, and medicine: an encyclopedia (2005), 520 Thi ...

. The upper forms transferred to

Selsdon Selsdon is a village in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Croydon, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was in the historic county of Surrey. It now has the character of a suburb and sits at a high e ...

to form the present John Ruskin College, utilising the premises previously known as John Newnham Secondary Selective School, named after a 20th-century town clerk of the old

County Borough of Croydon The County Borough of Croydon was a local government district in and around the town of Croydon in north east Surrey, England from 1889 to 1965. Since 1965 the district has been part of the London Borough of Croydon within Greater London. His ...

The current College

The current College was established in 1988 following re-organisation of post-16 studies in Croydon. It merged with East Surrey College in February 2019, creating Orbital South Colleges group.

Courses

A range of Full-time vocational courses are available for students: * Access to Higher Education * Applied Science * Aviation, Travel & Tourism * Business, Accounting & IT * Construction * Creative Arts (Digital Media, Games Design, Art, Design, Photography) * Early Years & Childcare * Engineering * ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) * Hair & Beauty and Spa * Health & Social Care * Life Skills * Life Skills SEND * Public Services * Sport The college also provides a range of Apprenticeship programmes.

Notable alumni and faculty

John Ruskin College

* Feroz Abbasi, a former detainee at Camp X-Ray * The author and journalist

Malcolm Muggeridge Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was a conservative British journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romford, i ...

briefly taught at the school several times while a student, where his father, Henry Muggeridge, was Chairman of the Governors * Les Nemes, bassist, who later formed Haircut One Hundred with

Nick Heyward Nicholas Heyward (born 20 May 1961) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He came to international attention in the early 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter for Haircut One Hundred. He and the band parted ways after their first al ...

John Ruskin Grammar School

Mick Ford Mick Ford (born 1 August 1952) is a British actor, screenwriter and playwright, best known for his portrayal of intellectual convict Archer in the cinema version of ''Scum (film), Scum''. Early life and education Ford was born on 1 August 19 ...

, screenwriter and actor * Roy Hodgson, former England football manager until 2016, former manager of

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and Crystal Palace F.C. * Bob Houghton, football manager * Steve Kember, footballer with Crystal Palace *

Air Vice-Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometime ...

Richard Lacey CBE, Station Commander from 1997 to 1999 of RAF Benson, Commander from 2003 to 2005 of the

Military of the Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands are a British overseas territory and, as such, rely on the United Kingdom for the guarantee of their security. The other British territories in the South Atlantic, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, fall under th ...

Lennie Lawrence Robin Michael Lawrence, commonly known as Lennie Lawrence, (born 12 December 1947) is an English football manager. He is assistant manager and non-executive director at National League side Hartlepool United. Lawrence was a semi-professional a ...

, football manager *

Alan_McKenna_(actor) Alan McKenna is a British actor, known for his roles in ''Happy Valley (TV series), Happy Valley'', ''Save Me (British TV series), Save Me'', ''The Spanish Princess'', and ''Belle (2013 film), Belle'' as well as for playing Patrick McGuire (Docto ...

, Actor, Screen writer * Ralph McTell, singer-songwriter * Sir Bob Phillis, Chief Executive from 1997 to 2006 of the

Guardian Media Group Guardian Media Group plc (GMG) is a British-based mass media company owning various media operations including ''The Guardian'', and formerly ''The Observer''. The group is wholly owned by the Scott Trust Limited, which exists to secure the fin ...

, and since 2004 of

All3Media All3Media Limited is a British worldwide independent television, film, and digital production and distribution company based in London. The All3Media group consists of more than 50 production and distribution companies and labels from the Uni ...

, and from 1994 to 1997 of

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetised BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...

, and from 1991 to 1993 of

ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based media production and broadcast journalism company. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, New York City, New York, Paris, Sydney and Washin ...

* Prof Terence Rabbitts FRS FMedSci, Professor of Molecular Biology, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, UK * Jamie Reid, artist who designed the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

' album cover for ''

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols ''Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols'' (often shortened to ''Never Mind the Bollocks'') is the only studio album by English punk rock band the Sex Pistols, released on 28 October 1977 through Virgin Records in the UK and on 11 Novem ...

'', and most of their singles

References

External links

John Ruskin College

Establishment: John Ruskin College
EduBase

The Terry Family

JRGS Alumni Society {{authority control Education in the London Borough of Croydon Universities and colleges established in 1920 Further education colleges in London 1920 establishments in England