31,003 discussions, 145 guides
Keele University
31,003 discussions, 145 guides
Keele University
Keele University
Keele
Staffordshire
ST5 5BG
Tel: +44 (0)1782 584 005
1949
KUBE
KUBE is the Student Union's radio staition. It broadcast every day from 7:30am until midnight and is currently in the process of building a new website. To get involved, join the radio society.
Kinetic
Kinetic is KUSU's new full colour monthly magazine, which also has a more extensive version online. It includes regular features on pretty much everything student related. We at unofficial-guides.com, found the regular column on Keele's most eligible students particularly fun...and at least showed us which direction to head!!
Presently, the academic departments at Keele tend to be quite small. There are plans to merge some departments with common interests, in order to increase the academic power and resources at their desposal.
Also, the University plans to increase its various medical / health studies. This would lead to a planned Faculty of Health.
Alun Michael - Secretary of State for Wales
Nick Partridge - AIDS Awareness Campaigner
Jack Straw MP - Home Secretary
Adelaide Tambo - Member of ANC
The main KUSU bar is called The Gallery. Open from 11am it is busy throughout the day, and some students complain that it doesn't open early enough!! There are pool tables, TVs and games machines as well as cheap drinks, a food counter. There is also plenty of coffee for all those hungover students who couldn't face to see another alcoholic drink after the night before! During the summer there are chairs outside, and on Sunday nights throughout the year there is Get Funked (see section below).
Sam's Bar is another of the Union bars, and it has recently been redecorated. As part of the Ballroom Bar it can be hired out for parties and the like. Numerous society 'piss-ups' take place here.
BJs, another of the KUSU bars, must be the only non-smoking sports bar in the country! Although I say sports bar, there is certainly a sporting theme to it, but most sports teams and their players hang out in the more unhealthy Gallery or one of the club bars.
The Alright Bar and the Nightclub Bar are the two KUSU club bars. It means that getting a drink and 'gettin' on down' can be done in tandem!! Just be careful that while you are struting your stuff, someone doesn't get served before you. Certainly not the place for a quiet drink!!
The Students' Union also owns and runs the Golfer's Arms, a traditional pub away from the Student Union building. It provides a change of scenery and does some really good meals...at great prices. The pub has a late licence on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and can be booked for birthday parties, society events and general alcoholism.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are the most popular 'Ents' nights, with regular events organised on these nights. On Wednesdays in the Ballroom there is Retro, an excellent mix of 70s, 80s and 90s. In the Club, on the same night there is Eclectic, which is basically a mix of everything including Indie and Alternative. The bar is open until 1:30pm and it will cost £2.00 to get in, but you are allowed to move between either event. Compared to many other universities, this is a great price!
On alternative Thursdays there is the Comedy Network, attracting some of the funniest and best talent in the country. If you like a laugh this is the place to go.
Friday is by the far the largest night of week, and so it should be as you have a whole weekend to recover!! Regular events include Pop in the Ballroom and Electronica in the Club. The bars are open until 2am and it only cost £3.00 for access to both events!
On Sunday nights, there is Get Funked in the Gallery, which is a night of chilling tunes and general relaxation after the preceeding week!! Make the most of it. Many of the other bars, including the Golfer's Arms run their own events, like Karaoke and pool competitions. On Fridays at the Golfer's Arms there is an Alternative Disco open until 2am and on Saturdays there is The G Spot, a burst of exciting tunes and long hot lovin'. Enjoy.
The largest social event of the year is the Graduation Ball, which costs £15 and goes on until 3am. However, Keele's Graduation Ball takes place in the Student Union, unlike many other universities' balls, which means that apart from getting dressed up in a fancy frock and crying good-bye to your friends, it is like any other Union night. The 'Ents' are good, though, and it is well worth the £15.
There are a range of societies at Keele to cover virtually all interests under the sun. One pretty exciting society we found was the Paradise Society, which turned out to be the slightly less exciting Anglican Society!! Our hats off to them for effective marketing, though!! The Conservative Future Society seems to have attracted a huge number of Liberal Democrats to its ranks, since the Lib. Dem. society folded last year. We also requested an interview with the Sword and Sorcery Society, but after being threatened with a spell...we decided to give it a miss!!
Keele can generally hold its own on the sports field, and has quite a few trophies to prove it. One big achievment recently is representation at the Asai World Cup. (Two members of the Keele University Karate Club (the captain, Nick Gardiner, and the vice captain, Sunil Agalgatti) for Great Britain)
The majority of Keele students live on campus in University accommodation. In the second year, some students (about 25%) decide to live off campus, but then return in the final year when over 95% of students live on campus.
Overall the quality of university accommodation is fine, or at least no worse than most other universities. The general rules apply: bring a large houseplant and plenty of posters!! All the halls are self-catered and kitchen facilities depend largely on how much you are prepared to pay. At the lower end of the scale there are halls with one kitchen amoung 30 odd students, while others are split into flats (with kitchens) for 4-6 students. For those students who decide not to poision themselves by opting to eat out, there are various pay-as-you-eat refectories and campus cafes.
Presently, finding accommodation off campus is fairly easy. However, as the student numbers at Keele rise, and more students decide to live off campus, this may change. At the moment the most popular areas to live are Newcastle (not the city) and Silverdale, because they are on excellent bus routes to college. Hanley and other parts of Stoke are also popular but a little more difficult to get to. Try to avoid Knutton, as it can be a bit rough, and often the locals don't like students.
Most people will only know Keele by the service station on the M6. However, Keele University is situated between the towns of Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme, on a staggering 617 acre campus, the largest University campus in the country!!
Many students feel as if they are in the middle of nowhere, and you can understand why...they have to walk for miles just to get off campus!! Their feelings, however, are more to do with the fact that there is no large city nearby (the largest, Manchester, being 35 miles away), and thus there is a lack of serious retail therapy or a pumping club scene. Keele itself should be described more as a hamlet than a village, and the service station provides most of the population (only joking!). There is neither a train station, or a National Express bus stop in Keele, although both of these amenities are available in Stoke.
Stoke also boasts the Potteries Shopping Centre housing all the major national chains. There are also two cinemas, numerous pubs, a few cheesy clubs and an excellent live music scene. Trains to Manchester cost just over a fiver and lots of students take advantage of it.
As for places to go in and around campus, unofficial-guides.com recommends Scruffy Murphy's, O'Neills and the Firkin pubs in Stoke, as well as the Golfer's Arms, close to campus. As for clubs, it is best to go on Monday nights as it is usually student night. The SU run a bus to Creation in Hanley which our sources say is definitely worth a look.
For a campus of 617 acres, with no train station nearby and no National Express bus terminal within walkin distance, you would expect there to be great parking at Keele...but sadly we have to describe it as limited. There is also an annual charge of £5, which could be raised as high as £50 to fund new parking. This really ought to be sorted out...even enviornmentalists don't need that much grass!!
The Student Union has good banking facilities, with two banks (NatWest and Lloyds) and three cash machines (NatWest, Lloyds and Halifax).
General wheelchair access to campus buildings is fine, as most of the buildings are adapted. However, being on a spread out 617 acre campus, and the fact that different lectures are often held in different buildings, means that getting around in a wheelchair can be a bit of a challenge unless you are an Olympic athlete!!
Disabled students are guaranteed university accommodation throughout the duration of their course, and there are special kitchen and room facilites. Students with sight and hearing difficulties tend to be well catered for and there is a Disabilities Officer.
The Student Union Shop sells everything from food to stationery and also has a range of Keele University merchandise, like T-shirts, mugs, pens etc. etc. This merchandise is particularly useful when drunk, unconcious, and lying in a gutter...it acts as a return address when some kindly soul rescues you!!
There is also a same day film processing unit, a print and copy shop, a branch of Endsleigh Insurance and various other bits and pieces.
There is a bookshop in the Students' Union building. Although most course texts are available, some take ages to order in.
With so much land available, Keele is able to offer excellent indoor and outdoor sports facilities. There playing fields covering over 45 acres, including rugby, football and hockey pitches. There are lacrosse pitches, tennis courts and an all weather, floodlit training area.
Indoor facilties include a modern Fitness Centre, with several gyms, some with free weights and the latest electronic machines. There are also squash courts, indoor tennis courts and a whole host of other stuff. Once you have burnt off all that extra weight, why not put it all back on in one of the restaurants or bars situated in the Fitness Centre!!
There is a free Union bus which takes people home after the Union. It is also used to take people to the local clubs in Stoke, and can be hired by clubs and societies.
There is over 600 acres of the green stuff!! And thats just on campus. Off campus, don't expect things to change...with the exception of the M6 motorway.
The Library is housed in the Information Services Building, which is conveniently situated next door to the Students' Union...so you will have plenty of excuses to go for a coffee, five minutes into your study session!! The Library holds 500,000 books and subscribes to over 2,000 periodicals. Special collections include the History of Wedgewood.
There is a serious shortage of computer facilities at Keele!! It is best to take your own or be prepared to wait for one of the 200 computers available!!
The Keele General Practice is based on campus and employs both male and female doctors. There is also a psychiatric unit and a Women Clinic. The University counselling service is quite good and seems to keep most people trouble free. The Students' Union gives legal advice and sexual health advice.
