[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL] Formerly Birmingham Polytechnic[EBOLD][PARA][BOLD]For general information about Birmingham: [EBOLD]see [ULNE]University of Birmingham[EULNE].[BOLD] [EBOLD]Perry Barr is not the name of one of Dr Who's sidekicks. Instead it's an area of Birmingham 23/4 miles to the north of the centre where UCE's main site is planted, but fewer than 1/2 the students are here. It has 6 other sites around the city centre and another out on a limb at Bournville. Sites differ in atmosphere and looks as much as the Hilton and a Happy Eater - from the [ITAL]elegant [EITAL]Victorian gothic College of Art in Margaret Street to the brown brick and dark glass slab at Perry Barr. Over the last few years, UCE has undergone the kind of face-lift that would make Joan Collins jealous.[HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]UCE students complain of having a harder time with locals than those at central Birmingham's other 2 universities, but they say they like the city anyway and the factory full of fun it offers. As for University facilities, there's the Union services and okay, so they're limited, but that just broadens students' horizons. Doesn't it? Maybe not, but it does mean they have to get out and explore their city.[EITAL][HDNG]THE SITES:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Perry Barr:[EBOLD] (3,780 students - most courses) [ITAL]Despite being the main site, it isn't all that big and its student are very business-like. Perry Barr itself is a fairly scruffy, grubby part of the city (although the campus itself is a large enough and pleasant enough island)[EITAL]. Its best features are a good number of local shops, a greyhound stadium (opposite the campus) and a station to get you out of there.[PARA][BOLD]Bournville: [EBOLD](art and design) 4 miles from the centre, near the choccy factory, Bournville is one of 4 sites housing art and design courses, and [ITAL]unsurprisingly, the students here are arty and exciting[EITAL].[PARA][BOLD]Others: [EBOLD]Gosta Green (art and design), Westbourne Rd, Edgbaston (education), Margaret St (art and design), the Birmingham Conservatoire (music) and the Jewellery School in the city's Jewellery Quarter [ITAL]which is turning touristy[EITAL]. The last three are undergoing expansion and renovation on a big scale.[HDNG]THE CITY:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Population: 2,200,000 [BULL] London: 105miles [BULL] Manchester: 75miles [BULL] Bristol: 75miles[ESTAT][PARA][ITAL]Birmingham is best known for being ugly and run down - the Handsworth Riots and the Birmingham Six (you can still visit the pub they didn't blow up - The Tavern in the Town by the Odeon). And there's the vowel-boiling accent sent up by everyone as the hallmark of the typical ignorant oik and Frank Skinner.[EITAL][PARA][ITAL] But (courtesy of EC cash) Birmingham is on the up, like a phoenix rising from the fag ash of the Industrial Revolution, coughing and spluttering and spreading brand new space age wings.[EITAL] The canals (of which there are more in Birmingham than Venice) have been cleaned up. Grotty alleys have been cobbled or paved and pedestrianised ([ITAL]and often dehumanised as a result[EITAL]). The Broad Street area in the centre now has the New Convention Centre, [ITAL]one of the best venues for miles with some of the best acoustics.[EITAL] It has the Birmingham Rep Theatre, Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club, a new indoor arena and a modern modish piazza full of [ITAL]cache [EITAL]cafes and [ITAL]chic [EITAL]shops. Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery has the kind of collection (particularly Pre-Raphaelites) that turns Lloyd Grossman's drawl into a drool. The Sadlers Wells Ballet has moved back to 'Brum' (as those who know it, know it) and the D'Oyly Carte Opera has joined them here. The Bull Ring shopping centre, [ITAL]the ugliest ever spewed onto Britain's streets[EITAL], is destined for demolition and monstrosities are being replaced by [ITAL]swish [EITAL]shopping centres like the Pallasades (incorporating New Street Station), the Pavilions and City Plaza, which usually has a man playing Grand Piano at the bottom of the escalator. [ITAL]If you haven't got the idea by now, the message is: forget your prejudices, Brum is breaking into brilliance. [EITAL][ITAL][HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Trains: [EBOLD][ITAL]Being the belly button of Britain, Brum is brilliantly placed for rail links.[EITAL] Inter City links from London (1:40hrs, 3/hr) and just about every city in the country all come into New Street Station, from where there are 4 Cross-City Line trains every hour to the University Station.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches: [EBOLD]National Express services to London (ú9.50, 2:30hrs, 1/hr), Manchester (ú7.00, 2:20hrs, 8/day), Leeds (ú12.00, 3hrs, 6/day), Bristol (ú9.50, 1:50hr, 7/day), Cardiff (ú11.25, 2.20hrs, 5/day), Stoke (ú4.75, 1hr, 7/day) and all over. Also West Midlands Travel and London Liner.[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] From the north-west and north Wales: M6, M54 and A41. From the south-west and south Wales: M5, A38 and A456. From London and south-east: M6 (to the M1), M40, A45. From north-east: M42 and A38.[PARA][BOLD]Air:[EBOLD] Birmingham International Airport, 9 miles from the campus to the east of the city, operates flights to the USA, Europe and Ireland as well as inland services.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Well located for branching out to the whole country - plenty of traffic and a motorway ring road all round the city as a launch pad. [EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Local:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Bus services are very comprehensive, but all too often crowded (especially in rush hour).[EITAL] [ITAL] However, while there are plenty of services from the outskirts to the centre, it's quite difficult to skirt the edge. [EITAL] They run late into the night and are quite cheap (65-70p anywhere and ú6.50 for a 2 week pass). Overground trains run around the city -[ITAL] they're faster than buses, but more expensive and very unreliable. Not worth using, except by students who live in Selly Oak.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Taxis:[EBOLD] [ITAL]The cowboy outfits are cheaper than the black cabs (minimum charge ú2) but when God invented taxis, she wasn't thinking of students.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Routes are juggernaut jungles and a cyclist's life expectancy has got to be about the same as James Bond's girlfriend's. If a cyclist is lucky, their bike might well get nicked first.[EITAL][ITAL][HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Books: 415,562 [BULL] Periodicals: 2,195 [BULL] Study places: 1,195 [BULL] Computer workstations: 780[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA]The main Kenrick Library is at Perry Barr with 5 specialist libraries on other sites for the courses based there. There are computer rooms at each faculty site (IBMs and Macs), all linked through 1 network[ITAL].[EITAL][HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 4full [BULL] Unemployed after 6mths (1992): 10%[ESTAT][HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]Apache Indian (Bhangramuffin megastar); Alfred Bestall (Rupert Bear's creator); Betty Jackson (fashion designer); Larry (cartoonist); Judy Simpson (one-time Olympic heptathlete, now Nightshade in 'Gladiators').[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads and part timers. For a student's point of view, get a copy of the UCESU Handbook, intended for freshers rather than applicants.
