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