[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL] Formerly Leeds Polytechnic[EBOLD][PARA][BOLD]For general information about Leeds: [EBOLD]see [ULNE]University of Leeds[EULNE].[BOLD] [EBOLD][PARA]Right in the middle of Leeds, there is a university. Right next door[PARA]is another one. Somewhere one ends and the next begins, [ITAL]but [PARA]it's not easy to tell where. [EITAL] Like its bigger brother, the Met's [PARA]buildings are a [ITAL]jumble [EITAL]of old and new, but it centres on 7 concrete[PARA]tower blocks. The central building is a 60s block [ITAL]with all the [PARA]beauty of Alexei Sayle and the colour and character of John [PARA]Major's pants. [EITAL]Escape comes at the Beckett Park Campus, 3 [PARA]miles out in a [ITAL]picturesque wooded[EITAL] site arranged [ITAL]tastefully [EITAL]around[PARA]a cricket square.[HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]Not a place to take itself too seriously, Leeds Met students know [PARA]the meaning of fun ([BOLD]n.[EBOLD] a source of enjoyment, amusement, [PARA]diversion, etc - Collins Dictionary). The Met bops are famous [PARA]throughout Leeds student population as the most good-natured [PARA]cattle-market this side of Kentucky. Leeds University is laid back,[PARA]but Leeds Met's City campus is marginally less horizontal. [PARA]Beckett Park, however, has just plain passed out. Man.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]THE SITES:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][BOLD]City Centre:[EBOLD] Brunswick and Calverley sites. 300 yards from the [PARA]civic centre and 200 yards from [ITAL]the most unattractive [PARA]supermarket outside Moscow.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Beckett Campus: [EBOLD](Education, Cultural Studies, some business [PARA]departments) Beckett Park is on a hill in a wood affording views [PARA]across Leeds, [ITAL]but otherwise beautiful. [EITAL] The main Carnegie Hall [PARA]dates only to 1933, although some of the buildings on site were [PARA]built back in the mid-18th century. It's home to 3,000 students and[PARA]some [ITAL]excellent [EITAL]sports facilities, including the regional HQ of the [PARA]Lawn Tennis Association.[HDNG]THE CITY:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Population: 674,400 [BULL] Manchester: 40miles [BULL] London : [PARA]189miles[ESTAT][PARA]Although the bombs of 2 world wars missed the city, the 60s [PARA]developers and town planners didn't and Leeds one-way system [PARA]provides endless entertainment. On tour, the frustrated driver will[PARA]trundle round in circles, passing huge, interminable Victorian civic[PARA]buildings - the Town Hall, City Museum, Henry Moore Gallery and[PARA]The Grand Theatre, (home to Opera North). The driver, however,[PARA]will miss the semi-pedestrianised, bustling main street, known as [PARA]the Headrow, [ITAL]the site of every local amenity a student could ever [PARA]want and many they wouldn't.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]LEEDS TRAVEL:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] Leeds BR Station (1 mile from the campus) is the centre [PARA]of the West Yorkshire metro train network which serves all the [PARA]local Yorkshire towns (Bradford, Wakefield, Sheffield and York).[PARA]Many direct services operate further afield to, for example, [PARA]London (2:30hrs, 1/hr), Birmingham, Bristol and Edinburgh.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] National Express to London (ú12.00, 3:40hrs, 9/day), [PARA]Manchester (ú3.50, 1:15hrs, 1/hr), Sheffield (ú2.20, 50mins, 1/hr), [PARA]Birmingham (ú12.00, 3hrs, 5/day) and other destinations. Also [PARA]served by Greenline.[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] 10mins off the M1 and on the M62 to Manchester. The A64 [PARA]runs to the nearby A1, [ITAL]but a car is unnecessary for local travel, [PARA]due to the good public transport.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Air:[EBOLD] Leeds/Bradford Airport for inland and European flights.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[EBOLD][ITAL] Excellent prospects for long distance on the A1, M1 and [PARA]M62, but as ever, there are safer ways of getting around.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Local:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Very reliable, frequent trains and buses[EITAL]. A bus journey to [PARA]'student land' from the city rarely costs more than 50p.[PARA][BOLD]Taxis:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Quick and efficient[EITAL], costing ú2.50 for the mile from the [PARA]station to the campus.[PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD] [ITAL]The city's the right size for bike travel, but has the [PARA]wrong contours and too many people who believe all bike [PARA]ownership is an invitation to theft.[EITAL][ITAL][HDNG]LOCAL TRAVEL:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA]Beckett Park is 3 miles from the city centre served by a regular [PARA](every 6-10mins), cheap (60p) bus service. Taxis between the [PARA]sites are also [ITAL]cheap and safe[EITAL], and there's a Women's Minibus [PARA]between 6 and 11 every night.[HDNG]NOS and REQUIREMENTS:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Business[EBOLD] 3,226 14-18pts[BOLD][PARA]Cult/Educ[EBOLD] 3,085 14-20pts[BOLD][PARA]Environment[EBOLD] 2,272 12-18pts[BOLD][PARA]Health[EBOLD] 2,233 14-20pts[BOLD][PARA]Info/Engineering[EBOLD] 2,683 14-20pts[BOLD][HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][EBOLD][PARA][BOLD][STAT][BULL] Books: 500,000 [BULL] Periodicals: 2,800 [BULL] Study places: 1,080[PARA][BULL] Computer workstations: 1,100[ESTAT][EBOLD][PARA]There are 3 main libraries and a specialist Environment Library. [PARA]The Beckett Park effort has a selection of sports and leisure [PARA]volumes, as well as the more academic stuff. Computer facilities[PARA]are currently being upgraded but students still complain of [PARA]difficulties getting access.[HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 4full/4part [BULL] Unemployed [PARA]after 6mths (1992): 9.8%%[ESTAT][HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]13 week autumn and spring terms allow students to get away [PARA]with a 3rd term of just 8 weeks hard labour in the summer.[PARA][PARA][BULL]In an effort to boost enrolment figures, and maintain funding [PARA]levels, the University is asking its own staff to become part-time [PARA]students .[PARA][PARA][BULL]If you haven't heard the story about Marc Almond, find out [PARA]now. [HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]Marc Almond (singer); Betty Boothroyd MP (Lab, Speaker of the [PARA]House); Cud (NME faves); Green (of Scritti Politti); Mick Hill [PARA](javelin thrower); Ron Pickering (sports commentator).[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads and postgrads. The SU also [PARA]produces an Alternative Prospectus.
