30,887 discussions, 145 guides
University of Central England
30,887 discussions, 145 guides
University of Central England
University of Central England
Perry Barr
Birmingham
B42 2SU
Tel: +44 (0)121 331 5000
1992
SCRatch Radio
The station which broadcasts mainly commercial, chart tunes is student run but actively integrated community project which sets its minimum age for aspiring DJs at a precocious ten! Recent features have included an interview with commercial indie boys Keane. You can catch SCRatch at either 107.3FM or online at www.scratchradio.co.uk.
Spaghetti Junction
Spaghetti Junction is a free student newspaper run by the Students' Union. Published every two weeks, it has a bunch of information on what's going on where, as well as some fun and interesting articles. Its not the best publication we have seen, but it is OK. Check out: Dear Daisy, the agony aunt!
Work stations in the main Perry Barr library are being adapted for disabled students.
Zoe Ball - TV Presenter
Alfred Bestall - Creator or Rupert Bear
Betty Jackson - Fashion Designer
Larry - Cartoonist
Judy Simpson - Nightshade in 'Gladiators'
Frank Skinner - Comedian
At various different locations this university provides six venues for drinking sharing eight bars between them. At Perry Barr campus there are two locations, Bar 42 and Union Club. Bar 42 hosts Toons every friday night and has pool tables. It's also a great place to grab a coffee or snack during the day. The Union Club is the largest venue with three bars inside and it hosts Climax on a friday night. It is also open until 2am on a Thursday. The Village Inn in Handsworth Wood is in the middle of Hampstead halls of residence. It has pool and snooker facilities as well as a big screen but the fact that is is known as "The Bin" may not recommend it very highly. The Edge is located at Westbourne campus and is its main facility. It is situated among the halls of residence and is commonly used as a place to meet up and get a few drinks in before hitting the clubs. A lot of regulars from the surrounding halls make this a place which has been described as having a very "close-knit community" atmosphere. Lastly The Conservatoire off Broad Street has its own bar that has a more civilised purpose, being used primarily for pre-concert and interval drinks.
Toons the friday night chart fest at Bar 42 is a popular weekly event, as is Flirt which provides much of the same on mondays. The Flava every thursday attracts a more music loving crowd with its urban beats.
The Union Club hosts 'Climax', a cheesy dance night, every friday 10.30pm - 2am for £2 entry, while its Thursday night themes are more varied. Recent examples are 'The Flava', an urban music night(£3). Thursday nighters continued until 2am. A Saturday at The Union Club regularly hosts 'Big team results service' and serves an all day breakfast. Sunday is, wait for it, Bingo. Or comedy. The Edge at Westbourne campus has a happy hour from 7-8pm on a Monday and Tuesday at which you can get a pint of Carling or John Smith's for just £1. On a Wednesday it's Quiz night with a hundred pound minimum jackpot and other prizes. Thursday is Karaoke night and happy hour returns on a friday. In Bar 42 Monday night is buy one get one free night and Tuesday night is the quiz. Wednesday is Sports night, Thursday Karaoke and Friday is 'Toons' until 2am. All in all nothing too special and it all seems a bit repetative in comparison to some other universities.
There are a range of cultural, political, interest-based and sports clubs and societies. Students can join them for a small fee at Fresher's Fayre, and they are a great way to meet people, the Socialist Worker's Party or the Skydiving Club might throw up some interesting friends... For a full range see the SU website.
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Accomodation seems to range from good to really quite poor and you can let the prices be your guide. All rooms have ethernet and telephone connections. Hampstead Halls look nice and are situated within 16 acres of attractive grounds. 700 students are accomodated here in a mixture of self-catered and catered rooms. You may end up sharing kitchen and bathroom facilities with as many as 10-15 other students or maybe just one at the top end of the pricing. Oscott Gardens accomodates 419 self-catering students and is opposite Perry Barr campus. Flats contain seven rooms each with their own en-suite bathroom facility. Each flat contains one kitchen. Facilities include on site parking, CCTV security, bike stores and a laundry. Some purpose-built flats are avilable for wheelchair users and other disabled students. Coppice halls accomodate 432 self-catering students and these are also opposite the Perry Barr campus. There are six rooms in each flat and these share kitchen and bathroom facilities. Other facilities match those of Oscott Gardens. Cambrian Hall accomodates 207 self-catering students and is well located close to the city centre. This is useful for those studying at The Conservatoire or Margaret Street. Each student here shares bathroom facilities with just one other. Lastly Westbourne Road houses 423 students and is two miles from Birmingham City centre. It is convenient for those studying at the faculties of Education or Health and Community Care. I think when the University describes these halls as "traditional" what they really mean is nasty, but nonetheless, cheap. When moving out of halls into the big, bad city, lots of students favour the residential area of Edgbaston.
Locally of course we have Birmingham City, which despite all reports is actually undergoing something of a renaissance. There's plenty to do in terms of drinking, clubbing, sports facilities and Theatre life. Cadbury's world isn't far away for Charlie inspired chocolate enthusiasts and the NEC (located by Birmingham International station and very easy to get to) hosts all kinds of events including ski, craft, bike and car shows and some amazing (and sometimes not) musicians and bands. The shopping in Birmingham is really good and so are the cinemas. It's basically your standard city in which nothing is lacking, and as they go this one's pretty good in terms of the arts. The city's nightlife has a reputation up there with London or Leeds. Restaurants, bars and clubs around Broad Street and Brindley Place are buzzing all week. Try Miss Moneypennys or The Church if you're a hardcore clubber.
Parking is available at Oscott Gardens and Coppice halls of residence and also in and around each campus, but is always restricted.
There is a branch of NatWest in the main student union building and branches of all major banks are located close to the seven campuses.
The University states that it is dedicated to the knowledge that "disabled students are only really disabled in certain situations created by social or environmental factors". While they may be unable to suggest that their own university is perfect, they do seem very dedicated to the idea of minimizing these social or environmental factors for the benefit of their disabled students. Study desks are being adapted in he library and there is good physical access to the majority of Uni buildings and halls.
There is a Student Union run shop at Perry Barr. It sells all the usual - pens, pencils, papers etc. - and also has a good selection of lunchtime snacks. There is also an office of Endleigh Insurance. However, many students we spoke to found them over priced and fairly useless.
The main facility for book shopping is UCE Books situated inside the libraries and providing a book ordering service.
The newly constructed £4.5 million Pavillion, a lavish two storey sports centre and conference facility should dramatically improve UCE's previous defecit of decent facilities.
No particular University transport services, they rely instead on Birmingham's own services which are, admittedly, quite good. Free bus rides are always a bonus though.
Birmingham is pretty much a concrete jungle, but with the aid of a car it is possible to find some green-peace in the surrounding midlands and staffordshire.
There are seven libraries situated at the seven different University locations. Although reasonably stocked, only the main library is The Perry Barr Library, opens later than 9pm which can be a problem for the more disorganised...
Each of the seven faculties has its own computing resources, many of them based in the on-site libraries and featuring facilties which reflect the kind of software used on the courses available in that faculty. All student rooms have ethernet connections.
Like most universities The University of Central England offers counselling to those students who have need. This operates on an appointment system. There are four healthcare surgeries at four different University locations which again is an appointment based arrangement. There are services for helping international students and facilities for financial advice. Childcare is also available in the form of two nurseries which offer low cost child care from 7.30am until 5.45pm, Monday to Friday. One nursery is located at Perry Barr campus and the other at Westbourne campus.
