University officially launches its London campus in Waltham Forest

The University of Portsmouth officially launches its London campus in Waltham Forest today (15 September).

University of Portsmouth London will welcome its first postgraduate students in February 2024, with both undergraduate and further postgraduate students joining in September 2024. The new campus will initially occupy two floors in Juniper House near Walthamstow Central Station. In March 2023, the University of Portsmouth opened an Admissions and Recruitment Centre in Walthamstow Library as part of the preparations for welcoming our first students in Waltham Forest. 

The University is working with Waltham Forest Council to launch the campus, along with its educational property and services partner Northchild Group. In addition to undergraduate and postgraduate courses, University of Portsmouth London will extend its initial offering to provide work-based learning opportunities in the form of apprenticeships and flexible ways to study, all designed with the skills and needs of local people and businesses in mind.

The University is one of the top modern universities in the country and was ranked 33rd, up 34 places, in the recent Guardian University Guide 2024. It announced its plans in March 2022 to work with Waltham Forest to bring a new campus to the borough. Waltham Forest was carefully selected as a borough that reflects the University’s values, including a strong commitment to access to higher education for everyone regardless of their background.

Until now it has been the only north east London borough without a higher education institute. As the first London Borough of Culture, it is also an eclectic area that is attractive to students, with excellent transport links and new planned developments, including Soho Theatre Walthamstow.

It’s estimated that the new campus will boost the borough’s economy by up to £372 million over the next 20 years, with benefits to local supply chains, research opportunities for local businesses, the creation of over 500 new local jobs and more.

At the launch event in Waltham Forest town hall on Friday 15 September, Professor Graham Galbraith, University of Portsmouth Vice-Chancellor, said: “We’re excited to bring our modern brand of University to Waltham Forest where we’ve found partners equally committed to providing opportunities for learning to everyone regardless of their background.

“University of Portsmouth London will support our ambitious commitment to become the top modern university in the UK, and one of the top 100 young universities in the world, by 2030."

Cllr Grace Williams, Leader of Waltham Forest Council, said: “This is such an exciting time for us as a borough and community. The University of Portsmouth is one of the top modern universities in the country and will offer our residents a world-class education right on our doorstep, whatever their age or background. As someone who was lucky enough to attend university, I know how important education is. It has the power to change lives, hugely improve people’s life chances and broaden our horizons.

“One of the groups that I hope will particularly benefit from this partnership is our care leavers. Care experienced young people face significantly worse educational outcomes due to systemic discrimination and lack of support. The University has committed to a bursary, which will support care experienced individuals from Waltham Forest. With a campus now on our doorstep, I hope more of our care experienced young people feel empowered by the opportunities afforded to them by higher education and can see higher education as an option for them.”

More details on the campus’s location, courses, jobs, University of Portsmouth London’s community engagement work and student applications can be found on the University’s London campus website.