30,887 discussions, 145 guides
Bath Spa University College
30,887 discussions, 145 guides
Bath Spa University College
Bath Spa University College
Newton St Loe
Bath
BA2 9BN
Tel:+44 (0)1225 875875
1983
Indent
This is a quarterly magazine which is made by the students and is really a showcase for work. There is plenty of literature and art work. This is representative of the generally arty feel to Bath Spa.
H2O
A weekly newsletter that has information on ents and what's going on generally. There are ads for job vacancies and places to live. The publishers have a policy of printing everything that is sent in to them, unless marked otherwise, so it's quite an active forum.
An extensive programme of building improvments are taking place or due to take place in Summer 2005. The Students Union will gain a new social and events area, a new bar and shop. The Library will be able to offer students an extra 120 worksations. There are also plans for a new refectory and Performing Arts arena.
Anita Roddick - Founder of The Body Shop
Bath Spa's two sites, Newton Park and Sion Hill are quite different. Although they both have bars, Newton Park is where most of the action takes place. If you've read about the facilities at Bath Spa you might think we were trying to put it down. This isn't the case as the students seem pretty happy with their lot. Being a small institution means that top notch facilities have to be weighed up against the cost of providing for a relatively small group. You know the score.
The main SU building at Newton Park is a little bit out of the way but does a good job of keeping the punters happy. The bar is undergoing building improvements during summer 2005 and should be ready for the new academic term. The SU is also a club venue. The fact that it is 5 miles from Bath, and pretty much any civilization, means that it is well used by the students but they don't rest on their laurels just because there's a captive audience. The bar at Sion Hill is much quieter and more pubby in style. As it is in a residentual area, and unlike the main Newton Park site, it doesn't have a late licence.
There is a good and varied programme of functions, the highlight of which is Flux, on a Friday night. This is a cheese-based night with all those sickening classics. Tuesdays are given over fortnightly to live music, comedy and quiz nights. Wednesday nights can be taken over by societies who then choose the music. This brings in a bigger range like dance, indie and some alternative stuff. Function nights run until 2am, normal licencing hours apply at other times. The bar at the Sion Hill site puts on varied evenings of comedy, music and quiz nights.
There are usually three major black tie events a year. The best is the summer ball, held in a marquee in the grounds. The term leading up to Christmas is usually finished off with the Snow Ball and at the beginning of each academic year there is a fairly impressive freshers party.
Not enough clubs and not enough activity was the complaint we heard. Clubs and societies seem to be very low key. Although there does seem to be improvement and the choice of societies at the moment isn't exactly bad. As with most unis students are always welcome to start their own. The Hockey Club is the exception to the rule though, with a strong social element and a saucy calendar and postcard series under their belt!
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Accommodation at Newton Park, the main site, is in blocks with 8/9 people sharing facilities. This gives a pretty good community feel. There are a few different types of hall, all of which are mixed and self-catering. if you can't be bothered to cook there is a canteen which is OK for prices but good for quality. Sydney - is nice with en-suite bathrooms. Due to be re-decorated in Summer 2005 its bound to be a clean and comforable place to start of your uni experience. It is a bit out of the way and fairly expensive though. Langton - has bigger than average single study rooms with bathroom facilities shared between 4 and kitchens between 8. 6 rooms are available with full disability access. Hiscocks is a small, old style, corridor hall with communal kitchens. These get well-used for parties and the uni has no objection to people decorating them, allowing for a bit more of a homely feel. Harrington and Hungerford are exactly the same and have not been upgraded for a while. They are still pretty comfortable though. They are very much like chalets. The campus is based around a country estate so these red brick buildings don't quite fit, but they don't look awful and you have the rest of the place to look at anyway. If you were picking the best hall for social life avoid Sydney as it's a bit staid. Sources say Harington or Hungerford are the best bet.
On the whole this is a good place to live, but it is a bit out on a limb and dies badly at the weekend when students either go into Bath or home to mummy and daddy. The Sion Hill site is, strangely enough, on a hill with magnificent views overlooking the city. The accommodation is based on the upper floors in Somerset Place, a beautiful Georgian Crescent. There are 91 single rooms and 22 shared rooms. Bathrooms are generally shared between 5, kitchens between 6-8. At both sites, rooms are warm and comfortable and the local population is friendly and realises how important the students are to local businesses. After the first year you have to live out and most people choose to go into Bath and commute. It's not cheap but Oldfield Park and Coombe Down are the best areas to look. If your lucky there are also some quite cheap shared houses to be found near Sion Hill-although these are few and far between.
Waterside Court is a new development and offers 316 bedrooms, all of a very high standard and with en suite. It is located 3 miles from Newton Park and 1 mile from the centre of Bath. There is a direct and regular bus link from Waterside Court to Neton Park.
As both sites are a bit out of town there isn't much going on. The centre has much more to offer though as Bath is one of the most beautiful cities in England and has some stunning architecture. There are a number of museums and cultural spots to discover. The town has all the shops you need and a fair selection of decent bars and restaurants. Try Café Retro for well priced good food. The Porter pub and Moles club are very popular with students. The town can get very touristy towards the summer.
Due to the stringent planning regulations that have kept Bath looking as beautiful as it is, a large amount of development has taken place underground. Many nightspots are to be found in caverns. This sounds very cool, but loses its charm when you realise how hot it gets late in an evening. We are also informed that, and this is gross, by the end of the night sweat condenses and drips from the ceiling onto the happy punters below!!
There is no parking for first years but from the second year onwards you can get a free permit. Given that the Newton Park site is 5 miles out of town, a car can be useful. When spaces are scarce, the rugby pitch and local village become an overflow car park. There is a bus service but if you're not the sort of person that can live by a timetable and you have a car, you should consider bringing it. Bear in mind all the disadvantages as well though. Parking spaces at the Sion Hill site are very limited and getting into town by foot doesn't take too long, plus its down hill all the way. Its coming back up that proves to be a bit exhausting.
A Natwest cash machine is available on campus but it runs out of cash fairly frequently. Given that other banks are miles away this is a sizeable pain in the arse.
The older buildings at both sites do cause access problems but accommodation at Newton Park is pretty modern and thus not bad. The situation is improving all the time.
The main union building has a shop selling groceries and stationery. The problem is that it closes at 17.00 everyday and on weekends. Plenty of gripes about that. Given that supermarkets are some way away, many students find this to be a great inconvenience. The union maintains that it is uneconomical to keep the shop open longer hours as they need to keep the prices down. This does seem fair enough but something definitely needs to be done to resolve the problem. The Sion Hill site has an art and stationery shop, and local shops for food and other essentials are a short walk away.
There is a bookshop in the union (Newton Park) run by a local firm which has everything you need at competitive prices. A branch of Waterstones can be found in the centre of Bath.
There are sports pitches and a gym at the Newton Park site. They really aren't the best but students cope, just about. Sion Hill residents are less than a mile from the city so can use the various facilities on offer there. Not exactly cheap though. It is only really the major field sports that are well represented with hockey being the biggest and most succesful. Sport at Bath Spa doesn't have the same social aspect as at many other universities, it is much more of a diversionary activity. It seems like the union would like to change that in order to have a more traditional student sport atmosphere but there are no major plans in the pipeline.
Although there isn't, strictly speaking, a university-run bus service, a local firm runs the bright orange bus, BOB, between the main campus and town, stopping at Sainsbury's and other points of interest on the way. It costs about £1.80 for a return, or you can buy a pass which works out at £6.00 a week. Worth it really. The bus service is a bit of a lifeline for the students but it still attracts complaints, as it is often late and sometimes full. A saving grace is that it runs up until 3AM or so and can thus ferry people back from clubbing in the city. Full marks for that one.
Newton Park is a country estate and is gorgeous, it has its own lake, nature reserve, woods and farmland. Sion Hill is more built-up but is very close to a small golf course, and Victoria Park.
There are libraries on both sites with collections related to the subjects taught there. The library at the Newton Park site is small and it can be difficult to get books for the more popular courses. The Sion Hill library has a wide range of art related books, however, its quite small and can be crowded at times.
What machines there are are good but the there just aren't enough to go around. If you don't have your own equipment you might face a long wait at busy times. In fact, the situation is probably more serious than this. One sourcce told us that those without their own machines face real problems with getting work in on time.
There is a weekly surgery on campus, so time your illnesses well. There are part-time counsellors provided by the college and friendly ears in the union. 24 hour security is provided with wardens on both sites.
