Newcastle guarantee accommodation to all first year undergraduates who have chosen Newcastle as their first choice, providing they live in an area from which it would be unreasonable to commute. Experience shows that this is around 10 miles. If you still want accommodation but live within those 10 miles, then it is likely you will get accommodation within the first few weeks.

Accommodation is done on-line https://accommodation.ncl.ac.uk/apply/ It usually starts up in the second week of March and the accommodation office asks that you get your accommodation sorted by 30th June.

The accommodation office ask for a first preference and a second preference. It also asks what you prioritise out of LOCATION, COST and FACILITIES and asks if you have any special needs such as disabilities or dietary requirements if you live at the catered halls.

Accommodation is allocated as follows. It may seem complicated but does work. UNCONDITIONALS receive their accommodation places in late July and early August. The FIRMS are then allocated their places as soon as the accommodation office receives word that you are going to Newcastle (your university department does that, you need to do nothing). You will receive your accommodation packs within two weeks roughly of your results day.

INSURANCES are allocated on a day by day basis but are unlikely to receive anything before the beginning of September. You should receive your accommodation pack within a few weeks of your confirmation of offer.

If there are 30 people going for 25 places, then the accommodation office looks at the dates you submitted your accommodation application form on the net. The people who applied first get their places, the other 5 are allocated to their second preference or a suitable alternative choice.

Your move in date is decided by the accommodation office. Freshers week officially starts on the Sunday but entertainment of some kind will be provided for those who arrive on the Saturday.

Undergraduate Accommodation

The University provides security for all of its premises including accommodation. You can contact them 24 hours a day and they respond very quickly. They are very reasonable with parties, requesting that you shut it down or keep quiet. Its very rare they ask your housekeepers to issue fines, but they are better to deal with than the police and council noise enforcement.

They are very good with post. Depending on where you live you get a direct delivery to your flat or the postman delivers to a locker. Big pieces of post or anything not delivered by Royal Mail gets delivered to your accommodation reception, which you can pick up as long as you present your university SMART card.

Some of the Accommodations have a TV in the common room. If you are bringing a TV to university, you will need to purchase a TV licence. If you put off buying it to October, you can get a three month refund from the TV licensing people.

University Accommodation is to a good quality. Every room gets a bed with mattress, desk, chair, wardrobe, cupboard and bedside table. The desk usually has a small light on it as well. The accommodation is furnished to a good standard.

I personally found the light a little small for my use and also bought a proper desk chair for my room. I also found a rug was useful as the carpet in university bedrooms is designed to last for a decade and is not the nicest thing to walk on in the morning.

Nearly all bedrooms have the internet. Once you have registered for your course, you will be able to log on to the internet using the data lead (Ethernet Cable) supplied in your room.

Undergraduate Accommodation - Catered

Castle Leazes

Located 15 minutes walk away from the campus across a field full of cows. Its closest to the medical and dental school as well as the Sports Centre and the Royal Victoria Infirmary. It is the biggest accommodation (at 1,050 bedrooms), and is split into three halls - Havelock, Freemans and Eustace Percy. Castle Leazes has its own hall bar and is large enough to host its own events. It also has a Social Committee for organising large social events such as the Castle Leazes Ball.

It has flats on eight floors with lifts to help you

It also has its own IT Facilities- a computer cluster room on the ground floor in Havelock Hall.

It does get a higher than average number of posh students, however, its is really big and many of residents find they do not notice it.

Rooms are grouped into flats. Flats are grouped into houses and houses are grouped into Halls at Castle Leazes. Houses provide an easier way of locating which block you are in. There is also a shop for basic food and vending machines for when the shop is closed.

Here are some pictures of a room at Castle Leazes

Nicknames - Castle Sleazes

Henderson Hall

Located a mere 4 miles away from the campus, Henderson Hall is near many of the sports grounds and despite being a bus ride away from the campus, it has a great atmosphere in its own bar. There are a large number of buses that take students into Newcastle.

Students who want to travel to or from Henderson Hall, should get either the Stagecoach 1 bus from outside Northumbria University or the Arriva 306/308 from Haymarket Bus Station.

Nicknames - Hendo

Undergraduate Accommodation - Self-catered

Richardson Road

The biggest self catered accommodation halls, Ricky Road has a reputation for being infiltrated by cows (the black and white ones with 4 legs). It also has a reputation for partying, with some having gone on as late (or early) as 5am.

The only problem with it is the lack of sinks in the room. Aesthetically it is not the most stunning building, with regular comparisons being made between it and Swedish prisons. It was built in 1959.

The triangular windows are where the kitchens are located.

The flats are given letters. The higher the letter, the higher you are above the ground.

For example

Flat 32A is in block 32 and on the ground floor.

Flat 4H is in block 4 and on the third floor.

Nicknames - Ricky Road

Marris House

Located at the rear of Richardson Road, next to the Sports Centre. It is popular with those students that want to be in a smaller and slightly quieter version of Richardson Road.

It has large rooms and large flats. Students located at Marris House are located next to the medical buildings and around 10 minutes from the main university campus.

St Mary's College

St Marys College has a truly unique atmosphere. Located two miles from campus and having no hall bar, large groups go on the town several times per week.

It is a reasonably quiet accommodation, with the odd flat party thrown in. It is also the cheapest. It sits in its own grounds making it a really nice place to be during warm days, when students sit out front, gain a few rays and socialise. However, if you are unfortunate enough to have a room towards the front of the building, you will occassionaly hear others arriving back drunk at around 2-3am. This can be very annoying when you have a 9am lecture in the morning.

Some students walk to campus, whilst others buy a Stagecoach Unirider from the newsagents on Northumberland Street which gives them unlimited travel. It is also within a good cycling distance. Journey times for cycling is around 10-15 minutes depending on how late you're getting for your lecture. The route towards the uni is downhill, which means you dont really have to pedal much (good in the mornings). The route back is slightly uphill, but it is still not bad and easily manageable.

During the day two buses per hour (15) runs from St Mary's to St Thomas Street next to the university (ask for St Thomas Street or Haymarket). Other buses run past St James Park, the 36 and 63. The 63 runs four times per hour and is usually double deckers. It runs a very direct route to Gallowgate then heads through Eldon Square before going to Killingworth. The 36 (run eight times per hour) travels a slightly longer route (probably a few minutes longer) serving some of the terraced blocks that make up Fenham and the student area. It then travels straight to the train station. To go to university, you need to get off at St James Park as it now turns right to get to the train station due to construction work.

The 50 runs roughly the same route as the 15 but is run by Dunn line so your unirider is not accepted on it. It is also slightly more expensive and runs hourly during the day only.

Taxis cost roughly £6-8 from the centre to St Marys College. Make sure that the driver takes you direct to the college (either past St James or on the motorway) and not into Benwell.

There are numbered flats located in the older sections and the lettered flats are located around the back in the new (sixties) extension

If you want to see more pictures of St Mary's College, please click here

Windsor Terrace

Next to the Law School and the library. It has very easy access to the university. It is one of the few university accommodations to have an en-suite. Unfortunately all its advantages make it a very popular choice for accommodation.

It has large rooms and very large kitchens. It's atmosphere is OK although it is not as good as other places like Richardson Road and St Marys College.

Victoria Halls

Victoria Halls is a brand new self catered accommodation that was opened in 2008. It is located around 10 minutes walk away from the university and the city centre. There will be four ensuite rooms sharing a kitchen.

Victoria Halls is very nice to live in and many say it is like a Travelodge, which is quite a good review for student accomodation.

It is shared with Northumbria University students. The central block houses Newcastle University students, whilst the blocks on the left house Northumbria Students.

The picture to the right was taken on 20th April 2008 before construction had been completed.

Bowsden Court

Located north of Newcastle in South Gosforth, next to the Metro station. Students usually get a Metrocard to commute in with. Haymarket Metro station is next door to the university. It has reasonably sized rooms and is quite a nice place to live

Postgraduate accommodation

Magnet Court (managed by UNITE)

Located on Gallowgate. It is managed by a private company called UNITE. It is very popular with International Students and is great for those who just want to roll into bed after a night out. This year, Magnet Court is undergraduate but it is becoming postgraduate accommodation in 2008.

Jesmond Road

This accommodation is undergraduate this year but is switching back to postgraduate for 2008. It is next door to Windsor Terrace, sharing its facilities, and less than 5 minutes from the library. Its is also a very popular accommodation

Leazes Parade

Located next door to Castle Leazes, it takes only 48 postgraduates. The rest of the rooms are filled with International Students who are taking part in the INTO programme. The rooms are a good size with the kitchens being quite big

Leazes Terrace

Located in the shadow of St James Park. Its has a great cosmopolitan look as it is located in Georgian housing.

Easton Flats

These flats are located in Jesmond.

North Terrace

These are mainly university owned houses located near to Richardson Road

Claremont Place

A tiny accommodation located near to North Terrace. It is university owned housing

Grand Hotel

Located right above Blackwells Bookshop and Campus Coffee, Grand Hotel sits at the entrance of the university. Great Location.

Private sector

In the 2nd year and beyond, most students move to private accommodation around the city. The main student housing areas are Jesmond, Heaton, Sandyford and Fenham.

The Accommodation Office located at 19/21 Windsor Terrace (near to the Robinson Library) offer a Find a Flatmate scheme and a shareboard for those struggling to find a group and a house for the next year. They also offer a lot of help to students looking for accommodation in conjunction with the student advice centre and are more than happy to look through any contracts, to spot anything that has been included or omitted by landlords. They also offer their own private accommodation.

Jesmond and Sandyford the most popular areas due to their relatively close distance to the university. As a result it is one of the most expensive at around £55 - 90 per week. The city centre tends to be very expensive sitting at around £80 - 100+ per week

Moving down the cost chain is probably Spital Tongues, with rents ranging between £60 - 70 per week

Heaton is a popular student area, about 30 minutes from the centre. Most ride a bike or get the bus in. Rents start at around £30 and range up to £60.

South Gosforth is another popular area for students. Prices are roughly the same as Heaton. Most get the Metro in

Fenham is cheaper at around £40 - 60 per week. Those further away get the bus, those closer to the university, living in the Arthur Hill area, tend to walk.

Other areas are less popular with students due to few student houses being available to them. Very few live in Gateshead across the river.

Links

Accommodation Homepage

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