[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]Lancashire is typified by the industrialised urban landscape of the[PARA]south of the county,[EITAL] but the county town, Lancaster, to the north, [PARA]is quite a different proposition and only a few miles south of the [ITAL][PARA]luscious [EITAL]Lake District beyond. Lancaster is hemmed by [PARA]countryside on most sides and reaches out to Morecambe and [PARA]Heysham on the north-west coast, 4 miles away. [ITAL]The town itself[PARA]is as quaint as a Laura Ashley valance,[EITAL] with cobbled streets, old [PARA]fashioned cottages and fast food shops designed to look like [PARA]listed buildings.[PARA]The University is 31/2 miles from Lancaster and is situated on a [PARA]large greenfield campus on a hill in the middle of [ITAL]stunning [EITAL][PARA]countryside. Despite the surroundings however, many of the [PARA]buildings were put up during the 60s [ITAL]and are now looking [PARA]decidedly naff[EITAL]. At the centre of the campus is Alexandra [PARA]Square, a large paved area with a few trees and surrounded by [PARA]light-coloured brick buildings. It has steps all down one side [PARA]where the trendier students sit and chat in summer. Around this [PARA]square, there are 250 acres of spacious landscaped woods, [PARA]fields and geometric buildings, including 9 of the University's 10 [PARA]colleges. The 10th is Charlotte Mason College, which teaches [PARA]primary education courses in Ambleside, 40 miles away in the [PARA]Lake District.[HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]The campus is small and seems isolated and can feel very [PARA]claustrophobic (even though it's not far from Lancaster's outer [PARA]reaches). This can be made worse, or better, by the smaller [PARA]'communities within a community' in which most students live: the[PARA]colleges. [EITAL] The colleges don't conduct admissions (although [PARA]students can voice a preference),[ITAL] which means that, in [PARA]atmosphere, they don't differ enormously. The main difference [PARA]between them is size,[EITAL] varying from 450 to 800 undergrads. [ITAL]The [PARA]college system is not as strong as, say, Oxbridge, they're not [PARA]that much more than glorified halls of residence. However, most [PARA](non-clinical) teaching is based in colleges, so there are many [PARA]academics around the place, and students, even if they no longer[PARA]actually live in their college, are still members and can always [PARA]treat it as a kind of home. The college system is one that owes [PARA]more to boarding schools than trendy rave culture and students [PARA]can't expect to be on the leading edge of fashion's latest fad. [PARA]There is, however, plenty of enthusiasm for being flat out on the [PARA]playing field or flat out under the college bars. Recently, local [PARA]relations have taken a dive, but the SU have opened their doors to[PARA]the public as much as possible and soothed a few savage brows.[PARA]Climatically, the atmosphere is wet, windy and woeful in winter.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]CHARLOTTE MASON SITE:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA]Charlotte Mason College (CMC) is a primary school [PARA]teacher-training college with 600 students (only 18% male), based[PARA]in the mostly traditional slate covered Victorian buildings in the [PARA]small lakeside town of Ambleside, although they do spend their [PARA]2nd year at the main campus. Most students are out in schools [PARA]all day and preparing classes most evening [ITAL]and so it's very quiet [PARA]and even, some say, lonely. But what it lacks in social buzz, it [PARA]makes up for in the sheer breath-taking beauty of the south [PARA]Lakeland setting[EITAL], which can accommodate 200 students in [PARA]catered rooms. There is a JCR (housed in 'The Overdraft') which[PARA]provides a bar, disco, small shop, the Barn Theatre (a stage in a [PARA]room), a TV room and offices. [ITAL] Nothing elaborate, though. Nor [PARA]does Ambleside provide more than ambling entertainments -[EITAL] a [PARA]few pubs, a cinema and a pizzeria.[HDNG]THE CITY:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Population: 125,600 [BULL] London: 223miles [BULL] Manchester: [PARA]48miles [BULL] Blackpool: 20miles[ESTAT][PARA]Lancaster is a [ITAL]quaint [EITAL]tourist centre dominated by the Ashton [PARA]Memorial on one hill and the castle on another. At the moment, [PARA]parts of the castle are used as a high security prison, however, [PARA]there are plans to convert it into a tourist attraction. Until then, [PARA]some parts are open to the public, including the dungeons, but not[PARA]the prison cells. The rest of the city goes up and down all over [PARA]the place and is battered by wind and rain, [ITAL]but is lovely when the [PARA]sun dares to shine.[EITAL] It has the usual facilities like a public library, [PARA]supermarkets, late night shops, bookshops and the Maritime [PARA]Museum.[HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] Lancaster Station, 3 miles from the campus, has direct [PARA]connections to London (2:55hrs, 7/day), Manchester, Glasgow, [PARA]Leeds, Edinburgh and Birmingham - but not Liverpool.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] National Express services from the campus all over [PARA]the country including London (ú19.50, 5:40hrs, 3/day), [PARA]Birmingham (ú12.25, 3:10hrs, 4/day), Windermere (for [PARA]Ambleside, ú6, 1:07hrs, 4/day).[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] The M6 bypasses Lancaster from north to south slicing past[PARA]the edge of the campus. The A6 and A683 go right into the [PARA]centre. [ITAL] A car is useful around town, especially for students who [PARA]live out - they may find themselves as far away as Morecambe.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Ferries:[EBOLD] Service from Heysham to Douglas on the Isle of Man.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[EBOLD] Students have set up a [ITAL]great [EITAL]hitching system. There is [PARA]a special shelter on the campus and an established point in town [PARA]for pick ups, but these are for trips to and from the University. [ITAL][PARA]For longer journeys the M6 is a good bet.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Local:[EBOLD] There is an [ITAL]unreliable [EITAL]minibus shuttle service to campus [PARA]every 10 minutes (90p return) and a double decker that runs via [PARA]the local estates.[PARA][BOLD]Taxis:[EBOLD] There are ranks at the rail and bus stations, [ITAL]but they work [PARA]out expensive[EITAL] at about ú3.80 to the campus.[PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD] [ITAL]A bike is even better than a car (the fuel is free) [PARA]although the squash factor from traffic is high. [EITAL] There are a [PARA]number of cycle paths.[HDNG]NOS and REQUIREMENTS:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Science[EBOLD] 1,745 22pts[BOLD][PARA]Management[EBOLD] 524 23pts[BOLD][PARA]Soc Sci[EBOLD] 1,401 22pts[BOLD][PARA]Humanities[EBOLD] 1,822 23pts[BOLD][PARA]Education[EBOLD] 749[HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Books: 850,000 [BULL] Periodicals: 3,000 [BULL] Study places: 820 [PARA]Computer workstations: 1,150[ESTAT][PARA]Students complain that the library on Alexandra Square is poorly [PARA]stocked and that the opening hours are too short. [ITAL]Another [PARA]problem is the close dribbling fountain, the sound of which [PARA]constantly drives students to the library loos[EITAL]. The small Music [PARA]Library houses 15,384 scores. [ITAL]Good computer access.[EITAL][HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 7full[ESTAT][HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]The 1st year of study is very flexible; students study 3 [PARA]subjects. By the 2nd year, 30% do a course other than the one [PARA]for which they originally applied.[PARA][BULL]Students claim that Alex Square (as it is known) was named [PARA]after famed hurricane-tempered snooker player Alex Higgins. In [PARA]fact, it get its name from Princess Alexandra, the University [PARA]Chancellor. [ITAL]Yawn.[EITAL][HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]Roger Ashton-Griffiths (actor); Robert Fisk (journalist); Green [PARA](Scritti Politti); Michael Hindley (Euro MP); David McMaster [PARA](former editor, 'The Correspondent'); Simon Smith (England [PARA]Rugby Union); Susan Tirbutt (journalist, 'The Guardian'); Gary [PARA]Waller MP (Con); Peter Whalley and Marvin Close (Coronation [PARA]St writers).[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads, postgrads and mature students, [PARA]as well as a video. Alternative Prospectus available from SU [PARA]Welfare Department.[PARA][PARA]
