Newcastle Student Guide
The city of Newcastle is located in Northumberland in the north east of England. Newcastle is home to a student population of over 42,000, which means the city comes to life in September.
Nightlife
There is an abundance of bars, pubs and clubs to keep you dancing ‘til dawn. Bambu is a club in the city centre and is a popular student hangout, particularly during the week when selected drinks are only £1. The Quayside and Haymarket areas of the city are popular evening destinations and there are many bars and pubs. The area along Scotswood Road is known as the ‘Pink Triangle’ and is the city’s gay village.
Shopping
Newcastle is known for its excellent shopping facilities and offers a number of shopping centres. Eldon Square is the UK’s largest city centre shopping centre and is home to over 150 high street names including Debenhams, John Lewis and Guess. The Metrocentre is Europe’s largest indoor shopping and leisure complex and includes over 330 shops and 50 restaurants.
Culture
There are a number of art galleries, museums and exhibition spaces dotted throughout the city. The Great North Museum and Gallery is located at the edge of the university and holds over 3,500 artefacts of historical and cultural significance. Highlights at the museum include one of the most complete T-Rex remains in existence. The Laing Art Gallery at the other side of the city hosts an impressive collection of 18th and 19th century paintings. The gallery also features regular contemporary art exhibitions.
Top Things to Do
The location of Newcastle near the areas of the Lake District, Scottish Borders and Yorkshire Dales means there are ample opportunities for exercise and fresh air. Walking and climbing are popular past times as well as skiing in the Scottish hills.
Where Can I Study?
Newcastle University is one university in the city and attracts over 19,000 students every year.
The university is a major research university and was established as a medical school in 1834. Newcastle University is a member of the Russell Group: a collaboration of research universities. The university occupies a campus near Haymarket in the centre of the city and includes a number of buildings and facilities.
The Armstrong building is the oldest building on the campus and was opened in 1888, the building is home to the ‘King’s Hall’, which is the main hall for ceremonies. The Devonshire Building can also be found on the university campus and opened in 2004; the building uses motorised shades to control the temperature of the building and has won numerous awards for its design including the RICS Building of the Year Award.
Newcastle University is organised into three faculties: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, and Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering. The Medical School in the university has a strong reputation for excellence and can be highly selective in the application procedure. The Law School is also highly regarded and has a strong reputation to match. The university has reported that the law school receives over 1000 applications every year for one of 170 places available.
The University of Newcastle has a solid reputation across a wide range of faculties and often ranks within the top universities in the UK. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings placed Newcastle 146th out of the top 400 universities in the world.
Another university in Newcastle is Northumbria University, which is a member of the University Alliance. It has a student population of almost 30,000 students. There are two campuses- one of which can be found in the city centre, another at Cochrane Park. Notable Alumni include the singer Sting and rugby player Johnny Wilkinson.
Should I Study in Newcastle?
A student’s honest opinion:
“Newcastle is the perfect city for students, because the university is central to the city as well as feeling separate from it. The city offers students the ‘best high street in the UK’, as well as having a good balance for the variety of students that are drawn to Newcastle’s two universities. Possibly the most notable feature of Newcastle for students is the night life, with over 100 clubs and bars, there is somewhere for everyone.
There are numerous theatres, comedy clubs and galleries that give people the chance to submerge themselves in Newcastle’s culture and history. Not a stone’s throw away from the city centre there’s miles of countryside and the beach, so exploring is a limitless possibility especially with the metro system that offers students the chance to visit a vast area, so if people fancy a day trip to the beach £4 will get you there.
Newcastle at times can seem intimidating, particularly on a Saturday when there is a home game and the ‘Toon Army’ make a sea of black and white as far as the eye can see, but as a city it is welcoming and interesting; completely unique.It incorporates student life into it as well as allowing for every student to have their own experience of the place. I may sound biased in my depiction of Newcastle, but there must be a reason why it is such a popular city for students and why so many never want to leave.” – Laura, 21