- Percentage of First Year Students in Halls:
- 100%
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- Accommodation Details:
- Imperial College manages to house all of its first years in either college halls or intercollegiate halls, but for other years this housing is very limited. In all there are 11 halls and 5 of what Imperial refer to as houses - the largest of which (Bernard Sunley House) is like a hall.
Most of the halls are around South Kensington, and although the standard is OK, over a third of students share a room, sometimes three in a room! Sharers are charged less. Prince’s Gardens, a leafy square immediately to the east of the South Kensington campus is currently home to six halls of residence. Three of these are in Southside Hall, the subject of a major redevelopment scheme. The other halls are Garden Hall, Weeks Hall and Linstead Hall. A single room in any of these halls will cost over £100 a week and more realistic prices crop up when rooms are shared.
The best quality hall is Beit Hall, which has single en-suite rooms. Other halls are in Hammersmith and other locations in West London.
When the time comes to get private rented accommodation, most students head for Hammersmith, because anywhere else near Imperial is very expensive. Some students also try south of the river, Battersea is quite popular -affordable and only a short bus ride away.
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- Accommodation Prices:
- University Owned
Catered: £65 - £85 pw. 34 weeks.
Self-catered: £36 - £70 pw. 38 weeks.
Private
No limit, but typically £250 to £300 per month, excluding bills.
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- Local Area:
- The main site of Imperial College is set in South Kensington, on land purchased during the Great Exhibition of 1857 for the advancement of Arts and Sciences. In 1907, various colleges (including, Royal School of Mines, and the Royal College of Science) merged to form Imperial.
To find out what London is like generally, read the unofficial-guide to the University of London (local area section). In this section we will deal with South Kensington.
One of the biggest attractions with the College’s location is that it is in the heart of museum land. Nearby are the Victorial & Albert Museum (V&A), the Natural History Museum, and the Imperial Science Museum, all of which allow students in for FREE.
Entertainment in South Kensington tend not to be as mainstream as many other areas of London. As Ali G. would say, “they is posh, init.” Typical places include very well designed wine bars (with beautiful clientele, might I add), and expensive clubs. However, there are some normal pubs, which are also good.
Check out the French Institute and the Goethe (German) Institute, both near South Ken tube station, they have very good film programmes and interesting events/talks etc. The Sepentine Art Gallery, showing international artists and with a good specialist bookshop, is also nearby in Hyde Park.
London’s West End is a long walk, or a fairly short bus ride away, and Notting Hill, Chelsea, Fulham and Putney are fairly close. Good local pubs include, the Rat & Parrot, Finnegan’s Wake, and the Queen’s Arm’s.
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