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23
Section are all the responsibility of the Borough Librarian and
Curator.
Virtually first class educational facilities are at the disposal of
residents, encompassing as they do the nursery and handicapped
children's establishments as well as the normal primary, secondary,
grammar, technical and comprehensive schools. Abundant opportunities
are also provided for further education whether vocational
or cultural or merely for enabling persons to indulge in a particular
hobby.
A women's residential training college, the first to be established
by the London County Council, is located at Avery Hill and
provides for upwards of 360 students and is a constituent college
of the University of London. Woolwich Polytechnic, now catering
for nearly 700 full time students and over 2,000 part-timers released
by industrial concerns, is unique in that it is the only polytechnic
in the London area which may be aided by the local Council.
Eltham College, originally founded in 1842 as a "Home and School
for the Sons of Missionaries" lies just beyond the Borough boundary
in Bromley and is recognised as a Public School.
The name Rachel McMillan is internationally famous, for the
McMillan sisters were the pioneers of nursery schools in the British
Isles and their avant garde methods met with world wide acclaim.
To cater for an increasing demand for this type of education,
expansion and extensive adaptation has taken place at the College
of Education based upon the original Rachel McMillan Training
College at the Deptford end of the Borough.
In the Roan Schools, founded in 1643 by John Roan, the son
of a member of the Royal household when it was at the Palace of
Placentia, Greenwich has one of the oldest teaching foundations in
London.
Most educational services are now under the control of the
I.L.E.A or church organisations but there are still some private
schools in the area which are conducted independently of the Education
Authority and which cater for fee-paying pupils.
Within the Borough, the "Arts" are well patronised and the
Rangers House on Blackheath is becoming noted for its art displays,
poetry reading sessions, etc. Recently, the building of a theatre on
the site of the old Parthenon Music Hall has been given the Council's
blessing and financial support. Municipal entertainment,
especially for the very young and the elderly, is a prominent feature
in the Council's policies.
Social centres providing for all shades of cultural and educational
tastes have been established at Charlton House, Kidbrooke House,
and West Greenwich House under the auspices of the Greenwich