With 15 black staff on its 40-strong senior management team, it claims to have more black and ethnic-minority managers than any other college in the country.

Lewisham made the first moves to address the issue when it held a conference to explore racism in colleges 10 years ago.

That conference led to the formation of the Commission for Black Staff in Further Education, from which most of the current initiatives sprang.

Ruth Silver, Lewisham’s principal, said: “We make our appointments not on political correctness but on professional correctness.

“This is a beacon college that is tough to get into, the salaries we pay are among the highest in London, and the people who get jobs here are the best we can find.

“I believe that every one of our managers has the leadership potential, the creativity, and the commitment to learning to go on to be principal of a college,” she said.