History

Flag of the University of Roehampton, with a quarter to represent each of the University's four constituent colleges.[5]

The university has its roots in the traditions of its four constituent colleges, all of which were founded in the 19th century as women's teacher training colleges:

Whitelands College – Founded in 1841, the college is one of the five oldest institutions for training educators in England. A flagship women's college of the Church of England, it was the first college of higher education in the UK to admit women. It occupies a 14-acre site overlooking Richmond Park.

Southlands College – Established in by the Methodist Church in 1872, originally in Battersea, as a teacher training college for women, becoming coeducational in 1965. Today it is the location of the University's Business School.

Digby Stuart College – Established in 1874 as a teacher training college for Roman Catholic women. The college owes its existence to the Society of the Sacred Heart, whose members continue to support the college and the university.

Froebel College – Founded in 1892, the secular college (non religious) was established to further the values of Friedrich Fröbel, the German educationalist who pioneered a holistic view of child development. It is one of the UK's major centres for initial teacher training

All four colleges were founded to address the need to educate poor and disadvantaged children. In 1976, the four colleges joined to form the Roehampton Institute of Higher Education. Its first Rector was Kevin Keohane, the former Professor of Science Education at Chelsea College of Science and Technology.[6][7]

Since 2011, the university has been branded the University of Roehampton. However, its legal name remains Roehampton University.[8] In 2012 the last college, Whitelands, was legally merged with the university, bringing all the colleges into a common management structure.[9]