A new specialist SEND college in West Ealing named after Dame Esther Rantzen will serve as a lasting reminder of the broadcaster and campaigner, who died last week (30 September 2026).
The Dame Esther Rantzen Campus, at the junction of Broadway and Green Man Lane, was named in her honour earlier this year and is due to open later this year.
Dame Esther, best known for presenting That’s Life! and founding Childline, had been a patron of TCES since 2019.
TCES founder and chief executive Thomas Keaney first met her when she opened the organisation’s East London school following its refurbishment in 2018.
Paying tribute to Dame Esther, Mr Keaney said: “For all of us at TCES, the Dame Esther Rantzen Campus will provide a very special and permanent reminder of our Patron, our supporter and our friend.”
The new TCES North West London College will provide technical and vocational education for young people aged 14 to 19 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Being developed from former shop units, it will include facilities for construction and trades, hair and beauty, hospitality, sport, art and design, esports, digital media, IT and business.
Mr Keaney said: “Long after today, young people will arrive at a campus bearing her name and be surrounded by people who believe in their potential and refuse to give up on them.”
He added: “We will miss Dame Esther greatly. On behalf of everyone across TCES, I send my deepest sympathies to her family, friends and all those who loved her.”
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