30,990 discussions, 145 guides
University of Bath
30,990 discussions, 145 guides
University of Bath
University of Bath
Claverton Down
Bath
BA2 7AY
Tel: +44 (0)1225 388388
1966
URB, University Radio Bath
Not a very imaginative title, but luckily the station itself is more inventive. It is well equipped, well run and pretty successful. Furthermore, the University has on its alumni list the one and only Dr Fox, wow! It just shows where university radio station experience can lead.
Impact
Impact is a free magazine with interesting articles on a range of subjects like student news, entertainment and sport. Student participation is encouraged, and there is also a great Impact website.
CTV
Campus television broadcasts around the campus and shows movies from satellite TV to compliment its own range of programmes.
The University is hoping to become a Regional Centre for Sporting Excellence.
Neil Fox (Dr. Fox) - "Capital FM" DJ & Pepsi Chartshow
There are three bars that stand out here. The Parade Bar is quite small but fun. It is a cafe/bar and sells a variety of food and drinks throughout the day. There are themed evenings like the Monday curry night, cheesey music on Tuesday and a quiz on Thursday evenings. Friday evening gives the opportunity for some serious dancing with live DJs playing R&B, dance and funk. Some impressive drink offers as well. There is also an outside patio area which is perfect for warm summer evenings.
The Plug Bar is the main SU bar. It's relatively pubby in style and has that stale fag smell that you just have to love. There is a big screen for sports events, pool tables and games machines. The bar has Happy and Mad hours which provide significant amusement. They also have food in Pitstop and comfy sofas. You can even order a sandwich online from The Pitstop.
The Venue is the third of the bars, and is the SU club. It is again quite small but great fun. They put on regular theme nights. This largely entails a fine selection of all your favourite cheese tunes and regular drinks offers.
Normally, the boys and girls from Bath take over a swanky country club in Dorset, called Cadbury House, although they have been known to head off to Cheltenham for a 'day' at the races. Sounds like a prize on Big Break, except that with a very late night, lots of alcohol, top bands, a funfair and all the accompanying debauchery you could ever hope for, it's not exactly your regular trip to the races! The Uni also puts on excellent Rag and Grad balls.
There are events and entertainments on every night of the week. Cheesy music on Tuesday evening in the Parade Bar is unsurprisingly very popular as is the quiz night on Thursday, perhaps this is due to the sometimes reasonably large cash prizes- winnings of £300 have been reported!
With over 80 different societies covering a broad range of interests no one can claim to be bored. Learn to appreciate the delicate flavours of the local booze in the Bath Real Ale Society or don some protective clothing and acquaint yourself with the facinating world of bees alongside other members of the Bee Keeping Society. You can even perfect your juggling and circus skills in Gravity Vomit.
On the sporting front all the clubs do OK, Football has to get the biggest mention though. If you watch the news you'll know that Team Bath reached the 1st round of the FA cup in season 02/03. The first uni side to do so since the 1800's! More recently it has received some serious sponsorship so that it can continue with its valiant efforts.
The University swimmers have been doing rather well recently, August 2005 saw medal success in the World University Games, and two 'TeamBath' swimmers took medals on the final day of the Common Wealth Games. Due to its excellent sports policies more awards are never too far away.
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All of the University's hall accommodation is on or near campus so you are never more than a 2 minute walk away from anything. The rooms are mostly in tower blocks and are your standard type; functional, small, square, just like a prison cell really. To be honest, it doesn't matter what halls look like, they are so much fun to live in. Word has it that the cleaners in halls at Bath are very friendly. This is a big advantage when explaining why the kitchen has a new coat of strange yellow paint. Everything is self-catering but if you can't be bothered then there are three restaurants on site offering fair quality and value. Unfortunately not all first years can be housed on campus and an umlucky few end up in town which is 20 mins away. You do have all the advantages of living in a great city though.
After the first year most people live out. Bath is an expensive place but there are good student houses about. Oldfield Park is one good area. It is a little spread out, though, and despite good bus links, a car would make you lots of friends. There really aren't too many places to avoid in Bath so just use your judgement and take advice from the support staff at the University who also run a landlord vetting scheme.
Bath is one of the most beautiful cities in England with 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, The Moody Goose or, for you vegetarians, Demuths Vegetarian Restaurant. The town can get very touristy towards the summer though.
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. Spots to look out for are: Delfter Krug a nice club with 2 floors, or there is Caddies (great on student night). Moles club (one of the sweaty underground ones) has an impressive history of live music and still attracts some well known names. The Porter just above Moles has some really good comedy on Sunday evenings.
There is not enough parking on campus and a permit is required. To prevent students from coming anywhere near the campus in a car there is a strict clamping policy. The city is little better and very expensive, to be honest its probably not worth bothering.
Pretty impressive, all four major banks have a branch on campus. This level of competition is rarely seen as Universities tend to ally themselves with one particular bank. All have cash machines so you won't have to pay to draw from a competitor's machine.
Wheelchair access is relatively poor, the library having been singled out for criticism. Things are supposed to be improving but progress is slow. Other specialist facilities are provided for sight-impaired students.
There is an STA travel agency and a general shop selling a fair range of bits and pieces such as stationery. Not exactly stunning but serves its purpose well enough. There are also photocopying and printing facilities on site. Munchies and Pitstop sell sandwiches and other hot and cold snacks.
There is a Waterstones on site and another branch in town, between them they can usually find what you are looking for but be prepared to wait for weird and academic titles if they are not in stock.
Sport is taken very seriously at Bath. There is a specialist programme for elite sportsmen and women that allows them to prolong their degree by one year and to add intensive training. Unusually, all sports facilities are free. This is probably why so many people get involved. The facilities are endless and are all on campus. Here's a list: Olympic size pool, squash courts, grass ski slope (eh?), all-weather pitches, tennis courts both indoor and outdoor, weights room and a climbing wall. The facilities are so good that they are used by the general public and many non-university teams. There are consequently lots of matches and competitions played at the site and at weekends there is often some high quality sport to watch. In our view Bath is one of the best-equipped universities of its size in the land.
Buses run from the town to the university until 2:30am, so there's usually no problem getting home.
The University has some parkland and a small lake. Aside from that, the surrounding coutryside is beautiful and can be reached relatively easily by a short journey in any direction. Bath itself has several beautiful parks that prove very popular in the summer.
Library facilities are good and have recently been refurbished. There are over 1000 seats including 350 computer stations and the shelves hold over 400000 volumes of books and periodicals.
Just like the library facilities these have been given a fresh lick of paint. There is 24hr access in term time. 500 machines are available for student use. This isn't fantastic and come dissertation time you would be best off having your own machine.
Counsellors are provided by both the University and the Union and there is a medical centre with pyschiatrist on site. Staff at the Aware Centre are on hand to help with a variety of problems from housing and financial issues to learning support, the set-up at Bath is excellent.
