As early as 1972, fashion and textile courses were heavily oversubscribed; there were 100 applications for every 30 places.[1] Also in that year, the polytechnic held the Design in a Polytechnic exhibition, which was opened at a reception hosted by Sir Duncan Oppenheim, the chairman of the Council of Industrial Design.[19] Arts courses remained strong at the polytechnic through the 1970s, with twice as many arts students compared to those doing engineering or technology courses.[20]