31,280 discussions, 145 guides
University of Northumbria
31,280 discussions, 145 guides
University of Northumbria
University of Northumbria
Ellison Place
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE1 8ST
Tel:+44 (0)191 232 6002
1969
Newcastle Student Radio
This is shared between Northumbria and Newcastle universities. It broadcasts on 107.5FM and gains two licences per year. These are for a month each but the station is active for the rest of the time organising and planning. They have a very varied mix of music, as is typical for student radio, and provide news on travel and weather. It's probably fair to say that they have more chart music than anything else, although there will be a lot more R&B and soul in the coming year.
Newcastle Student
Another shared entity, this is a fortnightly paper that has not very interesting news and events. You also have to pay for it. Cheek!
Incite
This magazine replaces the newspaper that went before it. The Courier has given way to a more stylish publication. It carries articles on local news and information on the university. They have a big section on ents and some games and puzzles. The political nature of The Courier has not been continued in Incite and this makes it a lot easier to read. One of the best features is the photo gallery of student flats. Not for the squeamish!
Plenty going on here. A refurbishment programme has encompassed much of the institution, nowhere more evidently than the student's union. 350 grand has made it into an Island Bar, complete with palm trees and real Hawaiians. (I made that bit up).
Jeff Banks - Clothes show presenter.
Steve Cram - Athlete
Kevin Whately - Inspector Morse's long suffering assistant
Now this is where it all gets a little bit complicated. Northumbria is split into four sites. Two are in Newcastle, Coach Lane and City, one is outside of the city on a country estate, Longhirst, and one is in Carlisle.
The main facilities are located at the City campus. This is in the form of a three floor union building. The first floor has a bookshop and travel centre and a pub called Bar One. This used to be the place for bearded mature students to meet and discuss interesting rock formations and the revolution in modern garden shed design. Plenty of old charm, with antique maps and real ale, but it now attracts a younger crowd. Because of the way the main bar is closed in late afternoon to prepare for evening functions, Bar One gets packed out, especially on Fridays. Food is pubby and good. We have it on good authority that their breakfasts are excellent. The middle floor is called The Venue. It has a motorway café style food outlet which is your standard school dinner affair. In the evenings it is a concert and party venue, and with a capacity of 2000 it is pretty much the dogs bollocks. You should definitely head here on Fridays and Saturdays. The top floor is where the refurb has taken place. Reds is bright and friendly. It has good food on a continental theme. During the day it's a good spot to meet friends.
The other sites at Carlisle and Coach Lane each have a bar and although they do run events and have cheap drinks, it's City that is the centre for most activities. The Longhirst site is where many of the international students are based and this has a fairly large effect on the social activity. Things are a bit quieter and groups are a bit more cohesive.
Wednesday is Revival with top notch cheese. Friday plays host to Bulletproof with rock/indie in Reds. Saturdays are the big daddy though. Wiggle attracts students from all around the local area. Its cheese-tastic as far as the music policy is concerned.
Venue problems in the city have put paid to balls in the past. There are very few places equipped to hold a group of this size. There are covert plans for something very special in the future though. All we know is that the 5 big universities in the North East are talking about co-ordinating their events. It's all very hazy at the moment but if it were to come about it would make serious waves from the social point of view.
The drama society is very active as is the rock society. Probably the best social unit though is the apres ski society. They do some skiing aswell but are legendary for having a laugh.
Northumbria University has been voted best new university for the last three years by The Sunday Times.
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Most of the accommodation at Northumbria, regardless of site, is in 60's tower blocks. There have been plenty of complaints about maintenance of facilities, but things seem to be OK now and halls are modernised regularly. There are a combination of flats and single rooms so choose wisely. Claude Gibb is good for corridor based single rooms and Lovaine for flats. Glenamarra and Stevenson are probably worth a look and the newest hall, Camden Court, has en-suite rooms - but the rooms are slightly smaller than some of the other halls. One student ranked the first year halls as: 1) Camden Court 2) Glenamarra 3) Claude Gibb Halls 4) Lovaine Hall
The Newcastle area is pretty good for external accommodation. Fenham and Heaton are recommended, Benwell, Scotswood and The West End are not.
With regards to the Carlisle campus, there is only one hall of residence - The Old Brewery Residences. It is a self-catering residence with 200 single study bedrooms, which are arranged into five and six bedroom flats. As the name suggests, it used to be an old brewery and it looks good both inside and out.
Most first years choose to live in halls, but space can become limited because they are shared with students from local colleges and many existing students decide to stay on. Get you application in early! There are quite a few student flats around Carlisle, but these tend to be more expensive and a little out of town.
[Ed - Thanks to Daniel O'Sullivan for the Carlisle info.]
Newcastle has a mixed reputation. It has a bit of a name for violence but this isn't really fair. It has the same problems of any big city and the same rules apply. The Bigg Market is superb for going out during the week, but you will recognise it from Police Camera Action at the weekends. Steer well clear. Head for the Quayside if you have a bit of cash to spare, if not then the union is more than adequate. On the whole the locals are very friendly and will always stop to chat or will help you out if needed.
The social life in Carlisle isn't quite on a par with Newcastle, but the students union is great for cheezy music and cheap booze and there are plenty of good bars around town. Besides the usual Weatherspoons and Yates, try Fat Fingers, on the same road as the union. They have a cheap cocktail list with over 50 varieties...a good place to begin the night. There are also several clubs in Carlisle, some of which are more student-priced than others. Try Page (real name: Jackson's, but no one calls it that...). For those of you who like balls, there is a 10 pin bowling alley and for the wannabee soldiers there is a Lazer Quest center.
Expensive, very little available, excellent public transport. No need for a car.
There are cash machines outside the union and a cash back service at the Coach Lane site. Other than this it is no more than 2 mins walk to a bank.
Some buildings are adapted, others are not. Be sure to check which courses use which buildings or you could have problems. Hearing and sight impaired and dyslexic students are catered for.
There is a shop on the main City campus site and one at Coach Lane. They both sell the usual mix of overpriced food and branded rugby shirts.
A bookshop in the main site is well equipped and has a member of staff popularly known as memory man. If you tell him your course he'll tell you the books you need!
There are facilties at Coach Lane and City. In the general theme of Northumbria, they have recently been refurbished! What is important is that sports are run by the Athletic Union which is seperate from the Students' Union. This doesn't have a huge impact but can reduce coordination in social activities. The range of facilities is quite good but not amazing.
A bus runs between the main sites and there is a late night service. Other than that the metro is good.
Plenty of Parks between Northumbria's main site and that of Newcastle. St Mary's place is where 'posh kids' meet 'poly kids.' Guess which is which! There is also Exhibition Park. On bank holidays virtually the entire student body, and the North East for that matter, heads for Whitely Bay.
There is a decent sized library at the main site which isn't very attractive. There is some minor provision at the other sites. On the whole availability of books and study space are common gripes.
Computer facilties are OK in terms of modernity provision and access, nothing more than that though.
4 full time counsellors are provided and there are nurses as well. There is no dedicated doctor though which is bizarre for a university of this size. We think that there are also creche facilities available...but check this out well in advance, as it seems to fill up quick.
