[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA]Leicester (along with Nottingham to the north, and Northampton to the south) is one of the principal cities of the East Midlands. [ITAL]But it doesn't really feel all that big[EITAL]. [ITAL] It's something about the attitude of the people, which is generally full of small-town small-talk friendliness. The suburbs are attractive,[EITAL] [ITAL]but the centre, steeped in history, has a few less salubrious quarters[EITAL]. Parts have been pedestrianised, mainly the shopping areas. 1 mile from the centre, flanked by a large cemetery and the rather [ITAL]pretty [EITAL]Victoria Park, is the city's older University - older than [ULNE]De Montfort University[EULNE] which was the Poly and is situated in the [ITAL]trendiest [EITAL]part of the city. The University is a mixture of [ITAL]pleasant [EITAL]old architecture, such as the original Georgian building, and new-fangled post-war [ITAL]horrors. [EITAL]3 of these are particularly prominent on the skyline: the Attenborough Building, 18 storeys high, which won a design award [ITAL](but then, Rin Tin Tin nearly won an Oscar);[EITAL] the 10-storey Charles Wilson Building; and the Engineering block, which leaks and [ITAL]looks like it's got a crane sticking out of the top [EITAL]and which is Grade II listed (having won an award in the 1960s for its use of aluminium).[HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]The University's left-wing reputation which lasted until the 80s, has dissipated and now, students are more concerned about the quality of coffee from the Union than whether or not it comes from Nicaragua. Students are into having a good time, in a gentle, shambling, indie-kid sort of way. Relations with the locals are fine, for the few students who can be bothered to get away from the campus.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]THE CITY:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Population: 270,660 [BULL] London: 98miles [BULL] Birmingham: 33miles [BULL] Nottingham: 21miles[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA][ITAL]Leicester is large enough to have all the local amenities that a student grant can bear, yet small enough to have some kind of homeliness[EITAL]. Apart from the 700-year old market place, local highlights include a bookshop on Market St, the largest open-air market in Europe (for clothes, fruit and veg, fish and so on), the 2nd hand clothes stalls in Silver Arcade, Malcolm Arcade and Silver St, and Gary Lineker's dad's fruit stall. A more touristy tour takes in the Newarke House Museum, the City Museum and Art Gallery, Snibston Discovery Park and Rutland Water (very popular with students in Summer). There's a large Asian population, [ITAL]adding further variety to the culinary and sartorial availables[EITAL]. [ITAL]Leicester may not be the hottest night spot in the land[EITAL], 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 many services direct all over the Midlands and the rest of the country, including London (1:11hrs, 2/hr), Birmingham, Bristol and Edinburgh.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] National Express and other services to London (ú10.75, 2:10hrs, 9/day), Manchester (ú10.75, 3:05hrs, 3/day), Birmingham (ú3.40, 1hr, every 2hrs) and elsewhere.[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] The M1 skirts the edge of Leicester and the M69 connects with the A5 from the city's outskirts. Also, the A6, A46, A47, A50 and A607.[PARA][BOLD]Air:[EBOLD] Flights from East Midlands Airport (16 miles away) inland and to Europe.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Excellent [EITAL]for London or Birmingham. Catch a bus out to near the M1 or M69 motorway junctions.[PARA][BOLD]Local:[EBOLD] Buses are [ITAL]reliable, well used[EITAL] and run until 11pm. From the 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 with a local firm to get a rank outside the Union Building. (ú2 to station, but ú4 to the halls).[PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Leicester, 'Britain's First Environmental City', is steadily introducing cycle ways and there are racks on campus. Theft is a problem, though.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]FACULTIES and STUDENT NOS:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Arts[EBOLD] 1,542[BOLD][PARA]Science[EBOLD] 1,989[BOLD][PARA]Soc Sci[EBOLD] 1,059[BOLD][PARA]Law[EBOLD] 641[BOLD][PARA]Medicine[EBOLD] 663[HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Books: 1,000,000 [BULL] Study places: 1,246 [BULL] Computer workstations: 1,500[ESTAT][PARA]The University has 4 libraries: the Main Library; Chemistry; Clinical; and School of Education.[HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 7full/2part [BULL] Unemployed after 6mths (1992): 10.3%[ESTAT][HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]3 terms of 12, 10 and 8 weeks. In the weeks in between, the halls are usually used for conferences, which means some students have to cart most of their stuff away every vacation.[PARA][PARA][BULL]Leicester University has inspired various literary works, including C P Snow's 'Strangers and Brothers' and 'Lucky Jim' which was written by Kingsley Amis after a visit in the 1940s to see his friend, the poet Phillip Larkin (to whom the book is dedicated), who was working as a librarian in the University at the time.[HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]Malcolm Bradbury (writer); Sue Cook (TV presenter); Heather Couper (TV astronomer); Michael Jack MP (Con); Bob Mortimer (comedian); Pete McCarthy (comedian, TV presenter); Michael Nicholson (ITN newscaster); Tony Underwood (rugby player); Sir Alan Walters (former Economic Adviser to Thatcher and now to the World Bank).[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads and postgrads. Alternative prospectus from the SU.[PARA][PARA]
