[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL] Formerly Leicester Polytechnic[EBOLD][PARA][BOLD]For general information about Leicester:[EBOLD] see [ULNE]Leicester University[EULNE].[PARA]The name commemorates Simon De Montfort - an [ITAL]allegedly [PARA]anti-semitic [EITAL]13th century local earl and army pimp who led the [PARA]baronial revolt against Henry III, ate babies and killed his sister's [PARA]pet rabbit. Or something like that. [ITAL]Still, it could have been worse -[PARA]Lady Thatcher University, for example. [EITAL]The main site is in the [ITAL][PARA]trendy [EITAL]part of Leicester near the city centre and [ITAL]it can't be said to [PARA]be attractive[EITAL] (maybe it's getting its own back on ole Simon De M).[PARA]It mainly consists of [ITAL]offensively obvious[EITAL] concrete blocks, but [ITAL]the [PARA]Union Building adds brutal insult to injury - a long low affair [PARA]covered in mud grey roofing-type material. Inside the buildings, [PARA]it's pretty shabby too, but disguised by the hoards of students.[EITAL] [PARA]Other sites are almost entirely self-contained with some level of [PARA]their own services. The [ITAL]nicest looking[EITAL] is the wood-rimmed [PARA]Scraptoft site, 6 miles from the main campus and a little way out [PARA]of town - [ITAL]an inconvenient distance from anywhere and a bit of a [PARA]poor cousin[EITAL]. The newest site, which only opened in 1991, is 44 [PARA]miles south at Milton Keynes. [ITAL]All the jokes about 'MK' are true - [PARA]more of a space station than a town, its greatest asset is one of [PARA]the largest multiplex cinemas in the country.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL]There are a large number of middle and upper class students [PARA](including many locals) who are bright enough, but who've never [PARA]had to work too hard before. Suddenly it has dawned on them [PARA]that jobs are the root of all money and a degree is good for [PARA]getting one of them and, as a result, they've become rather more [PARA]motivated towards studying than saving whales, whatever the [PARA]bizarre aquatic cinema ads (with Tony Hawks voiceovers) might [PARA]indicate. Although each campus is distinct, they're not [PARA]enormously different except that there's much more to do at the [PARA]main site. Whatever the site, students tend to favour the grunge [PARA]look.[EITAL][HDNG]THE SITES:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]City Centre:[EBOLD] Houses most courses and student services [ITAL]as well [PARA]as being the most conveniently positioned for the laughs and [PARA]larks of Leicester.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Scraptoft:[EBOLD] (health and life sciences, performing arts, education, [PARA]public policy and managerial studies, public administration) A [PARA]large and [ITAL]spacious [EITAL]campus, with [ITAL]lovely [EITAL]18th century buildings, but[PARA]only home to about 1,200 students. It has [ITAL]limited [EITAL]services, some [PARA]accommodation and [ITAL]poor ents[EITAL]. There's a University bus that [PARA]runs between this and the city centre site every 1/2 hour all day - [PARA]the traffic is all one way into town.[PARA][BOLD]Milton Keynes (MK):[EBOLD] (business, computing, architecture, land [PARA]management, social work, engineering) 2,500 students are now [PARA]based here, 4 miles from the centre of MK, but building is still [PARA]going on and the long-term target is to attract 8,000 students to a [PARA]largely independent college. SU Bar, accommodation for 340 [PARA]students in self-catering halls.[PARA]Offshoots are also sprouting in Bedford and Lincolnshire.[HDNG]THE CITY:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Population: 270,660 [BULL] London: 98miles [BULL] Birmingham: [PARA]33miles [BULL] Nottingham: 21miles[ESTAT][PARA][ITAL]Leicester is large enough to have all the local amenities that a [PARA]student grant can bear, yet small enough to have some kind of [PARA]homeliness[EITAL]. Apart from the 700-year old market place, local [PARA]highlights include a bookshop on Market St, the largest open-air [PARA]market in Europe (for clothes, fruit and veg, fish and so on), the [PARA]2nd hand clothes stalls in Silver Arcade, Malcolm Arcade and [PARA]Silver St, and Gary Lineker's dad's fruit stall. A more touristy [PARA]tour takes in the Newarke House Museum, the City Museum and[PARA]Art Gallery, Snibston Discovery Park and Rutland Water (very [PARA]popular with students in Summer). There's a large Asian [PARA]population, [ITAL]adding further variety to the culinary and sartorial [PARA]availables[EITAL]. [ITAL]Leicester may not be the hottest night spot in the land[EITAL], [PARA]but Birmingham and London are close enough for day trips.[HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] Leicester BR Station, 3/4 mile from the campus, operates[PARA]many services direct all over the Midlands and the rest of the [PARA]country, including London (1:11hrs, 2/hr), Birmingham, Bristol and Edinburgh.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] National Express and other services to London (ú10.75,[PARA]2:10hrs, 9/day), Manchester (ú10.75, 3:05hrs, 3/day), Birmingham[PARA](ú3.40, 1hr, every 2hrs) and elsewhere.[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] The M1 skirts the edge of Leicester and the M69 connects [PARA]with the A5 from the city's outskirts. Also, the A6, A46, A47, [PARA]A50 and A607.[PARA][BOLD]Air:[EBOLD] Flights from East Midlands Airport (16 miles away) inland and[PARA]to Europe.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Excellent [EITAL]for London or Birmingham. Catch a bus out to[PARA]near the M1 or M69 motorway junctions.[PARA][BOLD]Local:[EBOLD] Buses are [ITAL]reliable, well used[EITAL] and run until 11pm. From the [PARA]city centre to the halls at Oadby costs 55p.[PARA][BOLD]Taxis:[EBOLD] Taxis are [ITAL]cheap enough[EITAL] to persuade the Union to negotiate[PARA]with a local firm to get a rank outside the Union Building. (ú2 to [PARA]station, but ú4 to the halls).[PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Leicester, 'Britain's First Environmental City', is steadily [PARA]introducing cycle ways and there are racks on campus. Theft is [PARA]a problem, though.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Books: 250,000[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA]There is 1 library on each site, the largest being the smart new [PARA]Kimberlin Library at the city site. MK has very few books, but [PARA]students can use the library at the headquarters of the [ULNE]Open [PARA]University[EULNE]. Each department has its own computer network with [PARA]a jungle of Amstrads, Olivettis and IBM Apollos. There is 24 hour[PARA]computer accessibility at MK.[HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 5full/4part [BULL] Unemployed [PARA]after 6mths (1992): 12%[ESTAT][HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]To get access to the University facilities SU cards have to be [PARA]worn at all times.[PARA][BULL]There's a spanking new Engineering Building, [ITAL]for spanking [PARA]new engineers[EITAL].[PARA][BULL]The University's taken to adverstising itself in cinemas by a [PARA]subtle ad involving whales, seals and no students.[HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]Charles Dance (actor); Justin Chadwick (actor); Richard [PARA]Packwood (Wildlife Photographer); Janet Reger ([ITAL]nice knicks[EITAL]); Liz[PARA]Tilberis (Editor, 'Vogue').[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads, postgrads and American students[PARA](and we thought they spoke English). Also a prospectus for the [PARA]Milton Keynes site.[PARA][PARA]
