30,919 discussions, 145 guides
University of Central Lancashire (Preston)
30,919 discussions, 145 guides
University of Central Lancashire (Preston)
University of Central Lancashire
Preston
PR1 2HE
Tel: +44 (0)1772 513 200
1828
Frequency 1350 currently operates on AM and MW frequencies but is hoping to get an FM license in the near future. Aspring DJs are welcome to contribute to the schedule of music, drama and news.
Pluto
Since losing readership due to shoddy writing and publication, Pluto, Preston's student mag is being relaunched as a 36 page tabloid paper, complete with a free 14 day tv guide in an attempt to win back hearts and minds...
Joe Lyddon - Rugby League pro
Phil MacIntyre - Pop Promoter
Tjinder Singh - Musician with Cornershop
Ben Ayres - Musician with Cornershop
Following a much needed re-furb, Preston students have been privileged with superior drinking facilities. The £6m spent on the Students Union is reaping social benefits. Swanky 1200 capacity bar/club 53 Degrees is proving a popular venue, featuring regular club nights Back2Future and Promo, comedy nights, guest club nights and bands and djs from Turin Brankes to Tim Westwood.
The Source, somewhat pretentiously refusing to decide what it is -"we are not going to attach a label"... is actually a cafe/bar with some late licensing, which is a calmer evening alternative to 53 Degrees.
Back2Future is held every monday at the Union club 53 Degrees and promises a fun, if sometimes regretful start to the week... Promo, Preston's regular thursday event achieves its popularity through performances by live bands, djs and appearnces by random c-listers -2005 freshers can await (with baited breath, no doubt) Jo from S Club and Anthony from Big Brother.
Freshers' Week, Christmas Ball, Extreme Sports Ball, Longest Night 6pm-3am, Longest Day 12noon-3am. Plenty of black tie fun to be had. There's also an event called the Lancashire Cup where UCLAN takes on Lancaster Uni in all sports in a one day sporting frenzy (and of course a big pissup afterwards).
The standard sports clubs range alphabetically from Aikido to Windsurfing, with a bit of Skydiving and Gaelic Football to mix it up.
The less athletic societies have the usual cultural, religious and political range. And then there's the Roleplaying, Wargaming, Sci Fi and Fantasy Soc. Enough said.
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There is a shortage of Halls accommodation now worries since external companies have taken advantage of this and built new halls. Three new places opened in September 2002 and another three in September 2003. This means most 1st years will be living very close to if not on campus. Many first years have to live in local terraced housing owned by the university and situated about a mile from campus. As for Halls accommodation in other years...forget it, unless you are foreign or disabled student. The rooms are quite good quality, but small. With the exception of Roeburn Hall all rooms are singles with shared facilties, or 'cluster flats' providing apartments for 4-6 students. All have telephone sockets and ethernet connections. For more detailed informtion see the university website...they really are how they are described.
Security in halls is fair, with CCTV everywhere. You can wander around the halls but can't get into them as you need keys. You can climb up Batman style and get in if someone opens a window for you. We know as we did this and looked a lot like the caped crusader and his trusty comrade even if we do say so ourselves.
Finding accommodation after the first year is not that difficult in Preston. The best places to look are Broadgate, Plungington and Ashton. Just make sure that you don't get a tight landlord. Try to avoid Deepdale.
Preston is the second largest city in Lancashire and is the administrative capital. That means that the mayor and counsellors are on hand to oversee many of the university events...all very boring after a while. Unlike Lancashire's largest city, Blackpool, which lights up the North East, Preston actually has some style. There are many beautiful buildings including the city's Library, but sadly this does not seem to extend to the majority of the University's buildings, which seem to be concrete or brick and built in the 1960s...and we know how stylish that architectural era can claim to be.
There are plenty of pubs and other entertainment in Preston. Popular places include Ship Inn, Adelphi, Roper Hall, Tokyo Jo's, Squires and Quincys, Aqualenium. Base is a dive. Preston has two cinemas, two bowling alleys, lots of nice parks (just avoid them at night). Yates is generally avoided as it is expensive. Places to be seen are Revolution, Reflex (80s bar), Squares (with their excessive number of TVs) and maybe Browns (cafe by day, dirty RnB etc by night)
There is also a large covered market which is the best place to get anything...including designer makes at cut prices.
If you feel like going further afield then the beautiful Ribble Valley is nearby. All in all Preston is a lovely, cheap market town, but the weather leaves much to be desired.
Unless you have a physical disability, kids or live much too far away to rely on public transport, you're not going to get a permit very easily.
There is a branch of HSBC on campus and branches of other banks around the town.
Wheelchair access is fair (with lifts in most buildings), but where the university really excels is in sight and hearing impaired facilities, which are excellent. DAS (The Disability Advisory Service) are helpful and the University is also a member of NFAC (National Federation of Access Centres).
The SU has a general shop Essentials selling everything from stationery to groceries. There is also Academy Art Shop selling specific goods for Art and Design students. There is also a Print Shop and the newly opened Green Olive Cafe for cheap and tasty coffees and snacks.
There's a Blackwells located on the ground floor of the library and the town has a number of bookshops.
The newly opened £12million sports centre has transformed Preston's sports facilties. Situated two miles from campus the arena provides athletics and cycling tracks, tennis, football, netball, rugby, cricket pitches. The football pitches have been assesed as premier league standard and recently an indoor fitness suite has been added to the facilities. There are other small gyms and fitness centres dotted around too. Locally, there are swimming pools, health centres etc., so for those of you who actually exercise... this is now the place to go.
The Safety Bus runs regularly every evening and is targetted mainly at female students.
Preston is fortunate to have a large number of parks, which are well kept and populated in the summer months, when the sun makes a brief appearance. The beautiful Ribble Valley is half and hour away by car and the Lake District not too far up the M6.
The library is at the centre of campus, and holds around 350,000 books with over 1,700 study places. For the number of students at the University, this is completely inadequate, and there are often complaints.
The university has over 1,100 computers, distributed in seven open access rooms and a few other location where bookinng is essential. This is quite good in comparison to other universities of its size. However, the students still complain. A new Laptop Loan system sounds like a positive initiative, but machines are only lent for three hour borrowing periods, which is a bit negligable really.
The University's nine counsellors can either be taken as a sign that the student population is happy (they have no excuse not to be), or that they are all on the verge of a breakdown. Few universities have this many counsellors. There is also a pre-school centre on campus and a well equipped health service, keeping office hours monday to friday, but apparently the staff are patronising.
