Winchester University

What's it like as a place to live? Winchester is a small, commuting town near Southampton. Being small, you meet a lot of people very quickly − soon enough, you can't walk into uni without bumping into at least three people you know, which means you need to leave earlier for lectures! It used to be the capital of England until the 12th century, so has lots of beautiful buildings and windy paths. Once you live here for a while you discover these amazing shortcuts that cut down your journey times and it makes you feel like you belong here.

How's the student accommodation? University accommodation is at a very good standard and some brand new halls recently opened. Once you reach second year, you have to find your own house and the university holds an event for landlords to advertise their properties so it saves you running around. Private accommodation can range from brand new houses to grubby houses (though that might be down to the students living there!). In general make sure you look at the property and are happy with it before anything is signed. Prices are good value, considering Winchester is quite an expensive place to live and are usually within half an hour's walk from campus.

What's the student population like? The first thing I realised, especially coming from college, was that there are no 'cliques' here. Everyone accepts you for who you are and that was very refreshing. Our students are mainly from the south, although there are also plenty of northerners. We also host several American exchange students throughout the year and have a wide variety of international students.

How do students and locals get on? From personal experience, the local community respects students if students respect them. I have a good relationship with my neighbours because I let them know if we are having a party and always talk to them when I see them. We work hard to ensure that the locals have no grief with us by keeping noise down after nights out and getting involved with the local community with litter clean-ups and neighbourhood liaison meetings.

What's it like as a place to study? We have a rather wide range of courses considering our size, from traditional ones like law, business and sport to the more unusual street arts and criminology! We are mainly a drama, dance and primary education university but all courses have good facilities. Since I have been here a new building has opened every year.

What are the teaching staff like? In general I think it depends from faculty to faculty. I have met some great lecturers that were genuinely interested in students but I have also been taught by lecturers that only read off a powerpoint.

What are student societies like? Sport teams and societies form a big part of student life; I think to get the most out of uni you have to get involved with one or the other. We have over 60 teams and societies; they are all open to anyone and range from football and drama to power-kiting and table-top gaming. They all love putting on their own socials and often will raise money for any big events such as children in need.

What's a typical night out? On our Wednesday nights we run BOP, which is a chart and cheese night in our union. All our sports teams dress up on their own socials and everyone else dances like no one else can see them to the best tunes of the moment plus some golden oldies. It's a great atmosphere and we have plenty of bar staff, so no one is waiting too long for a drink. The night is students-only so you don't have to worry about trouble.

And how much does it cost? Tickets are £3 or £2 with an NUS card.

How can you get home safely? We have a dedicated safety bus to help people get home after the night and it can take you door-to-door. This ensures that students get home safely, quietly and without picking up any garden furniture on the way home!

Is it an expensive place to live? Winchester is quite an expensive place to live but it's just about finding the cheap places and making the most of them. The student loan does last the term as long as you are reasonably intelligent with it and don't buy a 50" TV in your first week.

Average price of a pint? Cheapest is £2, most expensive £3.80 − so ask second years where to go.

And the price of a takeaway? Depends how hungry you are! I can go from £5 on a Chinese to £20 on a really good Indian.

What's the part-time work situation? There are loads of jobs for students in Winchester. The majority of my friends have a part-time job of some kind − not only for money but to go on their cv. Wages are above the minimum (I used to be on £6.40). The university encourages part-time work as long as it doesn't harm your studies and has a JobShop, which is a database of available jobs and is easy to use.

What's the best feature about the place? Winchester is a small but mighty university − what some people achieve whilst at uni here is phenomenal. Our close-knit community means everyone knows everyone, so nights out are amazing.

And the worst? Winchester is built on a MASSIVE hill, so people here get very fit very quickly whether they like it or not!

And to sum it all up? Whereas at a large uni you may only be seen as a number, and never really learn about how things are organised. At Winchester you are seen as a person who can influence how things are run very easily. Everything we do is aimed at improving the student experience.

Martin Bashir (TV presenter), John McIntyre (BBC news reporter), Margaret Cox (Channel 4's Time Team).  

Write to SU President, ring 01962 827418, email SU_President@winchester.ac.uk or check out the website www.winchesterstudents.co.uk