| Description | Records created by and owned by the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts between 1949 and 1962. Contains prospectuses, course information, Board of Studies minutes, library information, student work, study tours, in-house printing, awards, events, press cuttings and examination material. It also includes books, journals, reports and publications acquired by its Library department for the use of its staff and students as well as for teaching purposes. Related audio visual material can be found in LCC/7. |
| Individual or organisational biography | In 1949 London County Council School of Photo-Engraving (Bolt Court) and the London School of Printing and Kindred Trades amalgamated to create the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts. This occurred as the Education Act 1944 reformed education in the UK and stipulated that smaller technical schools should be merged to form larger institutes which could better meet the needs of their students and the advancements of the post-war world.
Classes continued to take place both at 6 Bolt Court where the and 61 Stamford Street, where the two schools had been separately located prior to the merger. The merger had mixed review, with some former and then current students of Bolt Court disagreeing with the decision. Some Instructors and Lecturers remained teaching at the school. For some students they would move been the sites attending classes. In 1953, the school sold Bolt Court and relocated its classes which had been taught at Bolt Court to the Old Daily Mirror building at Back Hill, Clerkenwell
After 1949, most administrative changes concern name changes or merging of departments and colleges into one establishment.
In 1961 the school comprised eight departments; Administrative Studies, Bookbinding and Warehouse, Composing, Design (including photography), Graphic Reproduction, Letterpress and Foundry, Lithographic Printing, Science and General Education.
In the 1961-1962 academic year, prior to the move to its new Elephant and Castle site, the school had over 7,000 students, with 140 whole time teachers and 200 part-time teachers. The school offered whole-time, day and evening courses.
The school was adminstered by London County Council, with a governing body of 18 members representing employers, trade unions and the County Council. 8 consultative committees, each for a department of the school, assisted the Governors. These committees were staffed with members chosen for their specialist knowledge and experience in that specific field.
The school was led by a Principal. The Principal of the college was:
[William] Ellis Thirkettle, who had been Principal of its predecessor the London School of Printing and Kindred Trades before the merger and continued as Principal of LSPGA from 1949-1960s.
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