St George's, University Of London
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St George's, University of London (SGUL), legally the St George's Hospital Medical School, was a public medical school from 1733 to 2024 in
South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. It merged with
City, University of London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" an ...
to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and "St George’s, University of London" will provisionally continue as trading names until March 2025. St George's Hospital has its origins in 1733, and began formal registration of trainee fixtures in 1751. St George's affiliated with the University of London soon after the latter's establishment in 1836. St George's is closely affiliated to St George's Hospital and is one of the United Hospitals.


History

St George's Hospital Medical School was originally established in 1733 as part of St George's Hospital at Hyde Park Corner (now the site of The Lanesborough hotel), in central
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. The medical school was relocated, together with St George's Hospital to Tooting,
South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...
in 1980. A joint faculty with Kingston University, the Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences, has increased the variety of allied healthcare courses offered at St George's, including Nursing, Physiotherapy, Paramedic Science and Radiography. St George's was the first institution in the United Kingdom to offer a four-year graduate entry Medicine degree based on the programme from
Flinders University Flinders University, established as The Flinders University of South Australia is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across a number of locations in South Australia and ...
, with which it has an exchange programme. The first intake was in 2000 with 35 students and the course has since been emulated by many other universities. Entry to the course is highly competitive with candidates being required to sit the GAMSAT as part of the application process. In 2008, St George's announced that it planned to merge with Royal Holloway to form a single institution within the University of London. The merger was called off in a joint statement by the two colleges' principals on 25 September 2009. St George's intends to keep working with Royal Holloway in the field of health and social care along with its well-established Joint Faculty with Kingston University. St George's, Kingston University and Royal Holloway will continue to collaborate in the field of health and social care as part of the existing SWan (South West London Academic Network) healthcare alliance. In 2021 merger talks between Royal Holloway and St George’s were reignited after over a decade. The merger was, once again, called off in a joint statement by the two Principals in December 2021. In 2023, a merger was proposed between St George's and
City, University of London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" an ...
. It was confirmed in February 2024 that this merger would be going ahead, with the new institution to be named City St George's, University of London.


1980s student applications controversy

In December 1986, it was discovered that a computer program used to process student applications at St. George's, written by Dr Geoffrey Franglen in 1979, had discriminated against non-Caucasians and female candidates by deliberately reducing their likelihood of being offered an interview. A Commission for Racial Equality inquiry found that this unfairly deprived 60 candidates a year, as well as finding that various senior academics were aware that the program was discriminatory several times between 1982 and 1986.


Campus

The St George's University of London campus is located in the Tooting area of south-west London, and is co-located with St George's Hospital, a 1,300 bed major trauma centre. Teaching facilities at the campus include clinical skills laboratories and a simulation suite allowing students to practice based on real-life situations including surgical and medical emergencies. The university library houses approximately 42,000 books and subscribes to over 10,000 journals. The Rob Lowe Sports Centre located at the St George's Hospital grounds provides sporting facilities to students and staff, including a sports hall, three squash courts, and weights and fitness rooms.


Courses

St George's offers foundation and undergraduate degrees at its site in Tooting in medical, biomedical and healthcare sciences, including: Biomedical Science BSc (Hons), Biomedical Science Foundation Degree, Healthcare Practice DipHE and BSc (Hons), Healthcare Practice Foundation Degree, Healthcare Science (Physiological Sciences) BSc (Hons), Clinical Pharmacology BSc (Hons), Medicine (four-year graduate stream) MBBS4, Medicine (five-year) MBBS5, and Medicine (six-year) MBBS6, Physician Associate Studies MSc. In partnership with Kingston University, the joint Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences also offers degrees in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, paramedic science, nursing, midwifery, social work and diagnostic or therapeutic radiography. St George's, in partnership with INTO University Partners, has also formed a joint venture, INTO SGUL, to offer a Foundation in Medical, Biomedical and Health Sciences for international students whose qualifications do not allow direct progression into Bachelors level study in the UK, and a six-year MBBS and a four-year graduate stream MBBS programme specifically for international students, with clinical placements overseas. The first student cohort on each international MBBS programme entered St George's in September 2012. Outside of the UK, the MBBS4 is also offered in
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, through a partnership between St George's and the University of Nicosia. The new programme was inaugurated and the first student cohort commenced in Nicosia in September 2011. The programme at the University of Nicosia features international clinical placements in Israel and the United States. Official website of University of Nicosia and St George's
/ref> St George's also offers numerous research and taught postgraduate degrees.


Teaching

St George's uses the integrated approach which involves the use of both Case Based Learning (CBL), Problem Based Learning (PBL) and a traditional style of learning with the use of lectures and tutorials. The degree of PBL used in teaching varies between courses, for example, being a major part of the Medicine (Graduate Entry) course but not prominently within the Biomedical Sciences curriculum. Anatomy is taught at St George's through prosections and practical within the dissecting room, with anatomical dissection being optional as part of the Summer Dissection Programme. In the medical curriculum, preclinical teaching (first and second year in the undergraduate stream, and first year in the graduate stream) is largely based on lectures and tutorials held at the St George's campus, with a few weeks worth of attachments to various hospital departments. The third year of the undergraduate stream and second year of the graduate stream, also known as Transitional (T) year, comprises three blocks of PBL with lectures and tutorials and three blocks of clinical placements in medicine, surgery and general practice. Subsequent clinical years of either course are spent on clinical placements of various specialities, with teaching occurring as lecture weeks prior to each placement block, or teaching which occurs at hospital sites led by clinical staff. Clinical placements for students on Medical degrees are mainly at St. George's Hospital, and at other sites such as Kingston Hospital, Croydon University Hospital, St Helier Hospital and Epsom General Hospital. Other further sites, such as Frimley Park Hospital, St Peter's Hospital and Margate Hospital are sites for placements during the later years of medical school.


Student life

The St George's Students' Union (SGSU) organises various activities including fancy dress discos and a
Rag Week Rag, rags, RAG or The Rag may refer to: Common uses * Rag, a piece of old cloth * Rags, tattered clothes * Wash rag, a small cloth used for bathing * Rag (newspaper), a publication engaging in tabloid journalism * Rag paper, or cotton paper Arts ...
, the annual series of fund-raising events. In recent years the Union has become more politically aware and shown greater interest in National Union of Students and British Medical Association activities. St George's enters a team into the British television quiz programme University Challenge each year and has previously excelled through the competition. There are several societies run by students at St George's focussed on several different aspects of academia, ranging from the Henry Gray Anatomical Society, St George's Surgical Society, Clinical Neuroscience Society, Cardiology Society and Paediatrics Society. Several clubs and societies cater to different segments of the student population, including cultural groups such as the Association of Chinese and British University Students (ABACUS), Afro-Caribbean Society or Arab Society. Religious groups include the Islamic Society and the Christian Union. Many student groups at St George's produce yearly performances, mostly focused on dancing and singing. Some of these groups include the
Diwali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...
Show, Fashion Show, Tooting Show, St George's Revue, and the Musical Society.


Sports clubs

St. George's Hospital Medical School RFC is one of the oldest rugby clubs in the world having been founded in 1863. St George's also has a number of other sports clubs including
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,
swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...
, rowing,
cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...
,
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
,
fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...
,
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
,
netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...
, hockey, and many others and participates in various competitions. As St George's is a member of the United Hospitals, the teams also compete in separate competitions with the five other medical schools within the University of London and that of Imperial College.


Halls of residence

The university runs a hall of residence, ''Horton Halls'', a large modern site which first opened to new students in late September 2007, replacing ''St. George's Grove'' the old hall of residence.


Notable people


Notable alumni

Notable alumni of St George's include: * J. K. Acquaye (1940), Professor of Haematology, president of the West African College of Physicians (2003–2004) * Joseph Adams (1756–1818), English physician and surgeon * Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie (1783–1862), English physiologist and surgeon who pioneered research into bone and joint disease * Henry Vandyke Carter (1831–1897), English anatomist, surgeon, and anatomical artist most notable for his illustrations of the book, '' Gray's Anatomy'' * Walter Butler Cheadle (1836–1910), English paediatrician * Sir Francis Darwin (1848–1925), botanist, son of Charles Darwin * Sir John William Fisher (1788–1876), English surgeon * Sir Claude Frankau(1883-1967, English surgeon * Henry Gray FRS (1827–1861), English anatomist and surgeon most notable for publishing the book '' Gray's Anatomy'' * Harry Hill (born 1964), English
BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...
–winning comedian, author and television presenter * John Hunter (1728–1793), Scottish surgeon and anatomist * William Hunter (1718–1783), Scottish anatomist and physician *
Edward Jenner Edward Jenner (17 May 1749 – 26 January 1823) was an English physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines and created the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. The terms ''vaccine'' and ''vaccination'' are derived f ...
FRS (1749–1823), English scientist and the first doctor to introduce and study the
smallpox vaccine The smallpox vaccine is used to prevent smallpox infection caused by the variola virus. It is the first vaccine to have been developed against a contagious disease. In 1796, British physician Edward Jenner demonstrated that an infection with th ...
* Nik Johnson (born 1969), Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough * Henry Bence Jones (1813–1873), English physician, described Bence Jones protein * Francis Laking (1847–1914), Surgeon-Apothecary to Queen Victoria, Physician in Ordinary to King Edward VII and George V * Christine Lee, emeritus professor of haemophilia in the University of London * Henry Marsh (born 1950), English neurosurgeon * Caroline Moore, UK's first woman Professor of Urology,
University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
* George Pearson FRS (1751–1858), physician, chemist and early advocate of Jenner's cowpox vaccination * Paul Sinha (born 1970), Rose D'Or winning broadcaster and stand-up comedian * Mike Stroud (born 1955), English physician and eminent explorer * Patrick Steptoe FRS (1913–1988), English obstetrician, gynaecologist and pioneer of fertility treatment. Responsible for developing
in vitro fertilization In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation in which an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating the ovulatory process, then removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from ...
* Sir Patrick Vallance FRS (born 1960), Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) and Head of the Government Science and Engineering (GSE) profession * David Webb (born 1953), clinical vice-president,
British Pharmacological Society The British Pharmacological Society is the primary UK learned society for Pharmacology, pharmacologists, concerned with research into drugs and the ways in which they work. Members work in academia, industry, regulatory agencies, and the health se ...
; vice-president, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh * Edward Adrian Wilson (1872–1912), English polar explorer, physician, naturalist, painter and ornithologist * Mike Wozniak, British comedian, writer and actor * Thomas Young (1773–1829), English polymath


Principals and deans

* Alastair Hunter (1956 to 1971) * Robert Lowe (1971 to 1982) * Richard J West (1982 to 1987) * Sir William Asscher (1988 to 1996) * Sir Robert Boyd (1996 to 2003) * Michael Farthing (2003 to 2007) * Peter Kopelman (2008 to 2015) * Jenny Higham (since 2015)


References


External links

*
St George's Students' Union website

Lists of St George's, University of London students

Lists of St George's, University of London military personnel, 1914–1918
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint George's, University Of London University of London 1733 establishments in England Medical schools in London Educational institutions established in 1733 Universities and colleges established in the 18th century Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Wandsworth Universities UK