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University of Reading
From The Student RoomTSR Wiki > University > Choosing a University > University Guides > University of Reading
 The Univeristy of Reading is one of the traditional 'red brick' universities. It reached university status in 1925 having been founded as the Schools of Art and Science (1860 and 1870) for Christ Church College of the University of Oxford. The Universities main campus is the Whiteknights Campus which includes a lake, park land and woodlands. Two smaller campuses also exist: the London Road Campus and Bulmershe Court Campus in Woodley. FacilitiesLibrariesThe university has two main libraries - the Main Library on Whiteknights campus has books for all students at all levels while the Bulmershe Library, situated on Bulmershe Court Campus, covers education, health, social care, art, film and drama. The uni also has an archives library and a map library with over 70,000 maps! You can get services including black and white and colour photocopying, binding and computer access in the library. The Main Library has over 80 PCs and scanner and printer s for student use as well as being wireless throughout (though you are warned that some areas have poor access to the wireless network due to the 'furniture' - you should move around and find a decent signal before setting up your laptop to work). The Bulmershe Library also has PCs, printers and a scanner, but does not have wireless. IT and ComputingThe Uni has a large number of places you can get PC use. Around the uni there are over 600 workstations, some of which you can use 24 hours a day. You can also get broadband access in university halls and there are some wireless connections around campus (such as in the library), though not all of campus is covered by this. The computing services have Microsoft Office on it's PCs and provide printing and scanning facilities. You can also brush up on your computing skills too with a drop in training sessions and online training that proves useful.
SportsIf you're into sports you'll love the facilities at Reading - they are some of the best in the country. The facilities at the Sports Park include
The uni keeps these pitches and courts in top condition which adds to the quality of the sport played on them. Over all there are probably over 50 sports clubs and you can play at all levels from just for fun to local teams and university teams in the BUSA leagues. Reading is also one of a few unis in the country which offer sports scholarships - these provide assistance with your training and free sports access at the uni, amongst other benefits. WelfareThere are many ways you can get Welfare help, so there is no need to feel worried or alone without getting the support you need. The uni offers a counseling service (including a drugs counsellor) and like at the medical centre, you can quite quickly get appointments. The Student's Union also has an advice team for welfare issues. Nightline is a SU run overnight phone line (other unis have them too) where volunteers can help on a range of issues. It's run by students, so why not also volunteer to man the phones once in a while? HealthcareThe healthcare centre is just off campus, and from what i hear, is pretty fast at fitting you in. When you register in the first week, they give a quick check over and arrange for any appointments you need - ie getting you to have a chat to an asthma nurse, contraception nurse, whatever is relevant. They seem very organised! As well as the GP services at the health centre on main campus, Bulmershe Court Campus has a it's own medical centre. ShopsThe main Whiteknights campus is not far from the town centre - it can be walked if you are particularly energetic! Buses run frequently (and on time) from all around the edge of the campus. There are small shopping avenues dotted around the edge of campus too. These include small shops, banks, pharmacies and bakeries. The Union also has a shop - R U Being Served? This has most things you will need - food, drinks, sandwiches, snacks, alcohol, medicines, stationary, birthday cards, DVD rentals, pick 'n' mix and magazines. There is also a Blackwell's bookshop on campus to purchase course texts. RestaurantsReading University has 'Cafe Mondial' which is a small cafe serving cakes, salads, sandwiches and drinks. 'Mojos' is a pub/bar which sells really good lunches and meals in the evenings. There is also a restaurant on site called 'Cedars' which has loads of food. You often find people have lunch here. Reading town has 'Riverside' which is lined with restaurants, including Wagamamas, Yo Sushi, Bella Italia, The Slug and Lettuce, Nando's, Pizza Express, Chillis, and many, many more. A taxi from Whiteknights campus to Riverside can be as little as £5 a journey. There's quite a few little restaurants dotted around the rest of the town centre too. BanksIn the centre of Whiteknights Campus, near the library, is a Lloyds cash point that can be used by anyone. A couple of minutes walk from the Uni sports centre is a Natwest machine (on Shinfield Road). Most other banks have branches and machines in town somewhere, but since most machines will give you money for free, you'll be fine to get money out with any account. TransportThe University is well served with local bus services and national rail services. To get to and from the main campus there are regular bus services. Nationally, the train station in Reading has links to many cities with trains to London Paddington taking just 30 minutes, so a trip in to London is an easy option for a day out. Careers servicePart-time jobsThere is the uni job shop where you can find adverts for part time work and there are loads of pubs/bars/shops etc in the town centre. The SU also has a load of jobs, but they are usually very popular and hard to get. Religious facilitiesThe uni has a diverse religious community. There is a Christian Chaplaincy that offer help and care to people of all faiths. It is situated in a building where regular prayer can take place and has facilities for more social occasions. There is also a Muslim centre which is run by the Muslim Society which ca be used for daily prayer. There are also links with other religious groups within the Reading area and other student groups on campus too. SocialBars, Pubs and clubsPlenty of good pubs in town (Pavlov's Dog, Upin Arms, Back of Beyond, Monk's Retreat to name the better ones) and then there's the main clubby places - Bar Risa, Sakura (used to be Fez), Q-Bar, Vodka Revs, Dogma I was quite surprised by how few places there are for a student town like Reading, but then again I'm also surprised how I'm not bored of the place yet. The Students Union at 360 every Wednesday and Saturday get boring after a while, but to be quite honest as long as you don't milk it too much and go EVERY single time you'll be okay. Every Friday from 9p.m-2a.m Bulmershe has its own 'club'- Breeze Bar, which plays cheesy music and the odd contemporary tune. However, for £2 (with an N.U.S. card) £4 (guests, non-N.U.S. card holders) it doesn't break the bank. However, it's probably best to get there after 11 because it's pretty dead before then... There is also Mango on Hosier St - although its relatively small, it has some very good nights- Erotique every first Friday of the month, Voodoo on the second Saturday of the month, Loco on the 3rd Friday
EventsClubs and societiesThere are over 100 clubs at Reading, including over 50 sports clubs - a large number for any university. So you'll find something for you, whether it's agriculture, cocktails, lock picking or video games! AccommodationAccommodation policyThe university has a huge amount of student accommodation compared to many unis - over 5000 places. So if you want a place in your first year, you'll almost certainly get one if you apply in time. You'll be sent an accommodation application form once you've selected Reading as your firm choice and have until 1st August to send it back to be guaranteed a place. Insurance choice students are still likely to get a place too, though it might not be in your first choice of accommodation as many places will already be taken up.
All in all, Reading is great for getting in to accommodation you want and is relatively stress free in terms of worrying about if you'll get a place or not when compared to many unis. FacilitiesEach Hall has it's own laundry room. The machines are larger than a normal domestic one and there are dryers as well. Make sure you have change to put in the machines. usually costs between about £1.20 and £2 for a load of washing depending on where you are. ResidencesWessex Hall: self catered with corridor layout rather than flats. kitchens refurbished in 2005 (i believe) as it used to be catered accommodation. situated right by the lake (gorgeous!) in the top right hand corner of the campus. about a 10 minute walk to the centre of campus swipe card access to the building, with keys for your room and your kitchen. shared postbox for each letter of the alphabet (also key access) - parcels kept securely in reception to be picked up with I.D. good sized bedrooms with sinks, big wardrobes (very old ones!), huge pinboard, four big shelves, normal sized desk and a decent sized single bed around 8-10 people to a kitchen, plenty of storage, two fridges and freezers, and also two ovens, two sets of hobs and two sinks. vacuum cleaner kept in kitchen which people can use on their rooms cleaners empty your room bins twice a week, but other than that do not come in your room (we put out bins in the corridor to stop them coming in at all). they clean the kitchens twice weekly as well, and empty the kitchen bins most days. toilets, showers and corridor are cleaned daily as well. a couple of shower rooms on each floor - each room has four showers and a bath (?!) in separate locking cubicles. i have never even encountered anyone in the shower room, let alone had to wait to use a shower! same goes for toilets - we have a pair of toilets along our bit of the corridor, but there's quite a few sets around each floor. ours is unisex, but you only have to walk round the corner if you wanted a single sex toilet. good bar with jukebox/games machines, friendly staff, and a large projector which shows football matches and anything else popular, alternatively it shows films some nights TV room with sky channels, four big sofas and lots of little chairs laundry has four washing machines and four tumble driers - £1.40 for a wash and £1 for a dry. 2 irons and ironing boards in the laundry room which are free to use, also a reasonable sized sink which you could use for handwashing clothing items quick warning - there are no aerial sockets to plug TVs into. the signal here is not great, some people have managed to get signal with portable aerials, but i would definitely recommend waiting until you're here before you buy a TV license - try it out first! a two minute walk out of the campus will get you to a bus stop on the number 17 route (one of the main routes in reading). you can get to town in about 15 minutes (bus lanes are fantastically useful!) each journey is £1.50, regardless of where you are going - or £2.90 for a return ticket. the machines only take exact change though
The corridors are mixed (except M block which is girls only!). All the bathrooms however are single sex and on the ground floor. There are 3 floors. Kitchens on every floor for each 'block'. Each corridor is massive, however this is split into blocks. There may be 3 blocks on one long corridor for example. At a guess, I would say there was no more than 30 rooms on a corridor.
Some rooms are en-suite, but shared bathroom and toilets are within very easy reach of other rooms. The rooms can be big too and the hall has great food compared to some other places!
Windsor's great. Good room sizes, lots of people on our corridors so you'll make friends no problem. Food is supposedly best on campus..gets a bit boring after a while though! It's also nearest to the main lecture buildings! It's also right next to the main post depot thing so if you get mail, you haven't got far to go. Communal showers and bathrooms really are OK once you get used to it too!
It's the original accommodation, built back in 1908 when Reading University was still an extension college of Oxford University. It's built in the style of an Oxbridge college, with an absolutely gorgeous quad. Indeed some people know it as 'the Harry Potter' Hall for this reason! Wantage has far more formals than any other Hall, all of which involve eating in the extremely atmospheric dining hall. Freshers' Dinner, Founder's Dinner, Christmas Formal, Burns' Night - the list goes on... There are also various traditions, such as Sheep Night and numerous special events organised by the JCR committee. Because it's quite a small Hall, there's a very friendly atmosphere, which is great - Wantage is famous for its community spirit.
The rooms & Corridors are smaller than average, but by no means small. I think as long as you live with nice people & you have a good time, the size & quality of the place is irrelevant. The pantries, although a bit crappy are well equipped and do the job well enough.
The main halls of residence which surround the quad, including Mitford and Winchcombe usually house 8 students, however, the corridors along the bottom house 6 students are all en-suite (as far as I know). The shower room contains a shower (no bath), sink, cabinet and a toilet and is a fairly good size, however, the shower water goes onto the floor as there is no where for it to be stored, i.e. a bath, so don't leave anything on the floor when you have a shower. The bedrooms are also a fairly good size and come complete with a desk chair, a desk, wardrobe, chair, bed (with storage underneath), mattress, cupboards above the wardrobe for storage and a shelf over the door for storage. There is also a bedside table which comes with a lamp. The room is also equipped with a TV aerial socket, as well as an internet socket. You are given and internet cable when you move in. The other halls on campus, including Blackstone, as far as I know do not have an en-suite, and I also believe many people living in them are part-catered and eat in the dining room on campus. The kitchen is a good size and, because many of the halls are catered, it comes with 2 ovens, complete with electric hobs, a microwave, a toaster, 2 fridge/freezers, plenty of cupboard storage for everyone to have at least 2 cupboards each, an ironing board, iron, mop and bucket, a broom, 2 bins for general waste and a bin for recyclable materials. There is a glass recycling facility beside Breeze bar. Be warned, you need to recycle your glass yourself. If any glass is left in the kitchen at the end of term you can be fined... The kitchen bins/kitchen and bedroom bins are emptied twice a week, although you are expected to clean up after yourselves/ not let the kitchen get too messy otherwise the cleaners will not clean the kitchen. The kitchen also has a table and chairs where you can socialise/ eat if you so wish. There are also tabletops to prepare food, etc. You will need to provide your own cutlery, plates, pans, etc. as the kitchen is not equipped with very much. There is a large patch of grass which can be used to play football, etc. There is also a field at the back of the campus which can be used for sports and is where football matches take place. Woodley is not far from Bulmershe, where there is an Iceland, Waitrose, Boots, Clinton Cards, Superdrug, various newsagents, Oxfam charity shop (books and clothes), New Look and another clothing shop, cafe and various takeaways/ smaller shops, as well as a pub. The town centre is a fair walk, however, the number 63 stops right outside the campus and it will take you into town. I also believe ASDA and Tesco deliver to the campus if you shop online. However, there is a small conveniance shop on campus- "Bully's" which is a smaller version of RUBS on the Whiteknights campus. Like the other halls of residence there is a JCR as well as a small bar- Breeze Bar which hosts "Breezing through the Decades"- a club which opens from 9p.m to 2a.m on a Friday (£2. NUS, £4 for guests and non-NUS card-holders). The laundrette on campus has a number of washing machines and driers. The washing machine costs £1.40, however, you need to use a £1 coin and two 20p coins... The tumble drier costs £1. However, you need to supply your own washing liquid/ powder as it is not provided in the laundrette.
It was a good size with a wash basin looked good . Although it did look a bit of a dump as everything was grey and old. But don't be put off by the look of the place. cos at the end of the day its not gonna kill you if your rooms badly decorated. It's also far from most other uni buildings.
As for the food, if you go determined to dislike the food then you will. It was perfectly reasonable in my mind, and hey, if you don't like it, you don't have to eat it or you can move to a different hall. Private sectorThe Student Village A University Partnerships Programme (UPP) development There are 384 study bedrooms with private bathrooms. The bedrooms are arranged into six person self-contained flats sharing kitchen/dining facilities. A variety of room types are available, including: standard private bathroom; enhanced private bathroom (equipped with higher quality furnishings); and room with double bed. Data points in all rooms. Laundry. Computer room linked to the University network. Walking distance to Whiteknights campus and close to shops and bus routes. 39 week, 40 week and 50 week residency periods available. St George's Hall Also a University Partnerships Programme (UPP) development There are 301 rooms with en suite bathrooms, 107 rooms with own washbasin and 25 studios. All rooms are self-catering - shared kitchen/dining facilities. Located next to Whiteknights campus, a few minutes walk from most of the academic buildings on campus. Laundry. Data points in all rooms. Computer room. Some single sex corridors available. 39 week and 50 week residency periods available. Student unionThere is a great SU building at Reading. It houses the following: The Hub - the main 'office' for the SU and a place to get welfare advice, find out about support services and see what volunteer opportunities there are. R U Being Served - the great little shop for snack food and you can get stationary and your uni branded clothing. (Bulmershe campus also has a similar, but smaller shop). Mojo's Bar' - food, drink, pool, big screen TV. 3sixty - nightclub Cafe Mondial - cafe for sandwiches, cakes and coffee. Wicked Juice Bar PricesTickets are cheap, the place is usually packed - especially on nights like Halloween. The silent disco in freshers week is definitely a highlight and good value for money! Drinks are expensive if you're looking to buy spirits - around £4.30 for a double with mixer. but drinks like snakebite or wine are pretty cheap though, about £2 a go Bus prices in Reading, particularly on the main bus routes, are £1.50 for a single ticket and £2.90 for a return. However, a bus-a-bout costs £3 and you can basically use almost any bus in Reading in a day, which is pretty useful if you forget something. You can apply for a Reading passport (obtainable from Reading libaries) which is basically a card which enables you to get discounts from various shops. It's available to all members of the Reading borough. EnvironmentThe university is situated on a nice campus with a lake in the middle of it. It provides a pleasant place to live and study. ArchitectureLocal areaReading is surrounded by various towns and is in close proxemity to London (25 minutes via train) Reading town itself is packed with various chains, as well as two shopping centres- The Oracle and Broad Street Mall. The Oracle houses a large array of clothes shops, such as Topshop, Topman, Gap, H&M, Oasis, French Connection, Ben Sherman, New Look+ many more, as well as two major deparment stores- Debenhams and House of Fraser, as well as shoe shops, card shops, Boots, The Disney Store, HMV, Mamas and Papas, Thorntons, various eating places and a Starbucks. The main 'high street' houses various chains such as Marks and Spencers, Fat Face, mobile phone shops, Woolworths and various other stores. There's also a Primark opposite Broad Street Mall. Teaching qualityReading has a reasonably high position in league tables and has a very good reputation as a university for the standards of it's teaching and research. Certain subjects, like English, Psychology and archaeology, are rated particularly high. Applying to ReadingThinking of applying to Reading? Why not read some Personal Statements which were used for applying here? Other Reading ArticlesWhy not read these other Reading Articles? Links | 
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