University of Worcester International College

2019-06-04

The University of Worcester is a public research university, based in Worcester, United Kingdom. Worcester is the only university serving the English counties of Worcestershire and Herefordshire. With a history dating back to 1946, the university began awarding degrees in 1997 and was granted full university status in 2005. 

Locations

Since 2005, the University has expanded greatly and acquired many new sites across the city of Worcester. Its long term strategy includes building joint community and University facilities, and expanding to a 4th campus.

St John's Campus

The university's main campus is known as St John's and is the main base for all courses, support departments and academic institutes, except those related to business, computing, marketing or management. The site contains Halls of Residence with over 800 rooms, a sports centre, sports pitches, facilities for training nurses, midwives, and physician associates, a commercial standard digital arts centre and motion performance centre. The Peirson Centre provides study spaces, as well as ICT facilities, support and a Student Guidance Centre. The campus is located close to the local area of St Johns, Worcester.

City Campus

The university's second campus is known as City Campus, and is the home of the Worcester Business School. The campus opened in September 2010 on the site of the former Worcester Royal Infirmary in Infirmary Walk. The buildings of the original infirmary, which remain, are the work of the noted eighteenth-century architect Anthony Keck. Work began in January 2007, and cost approximately £120 million. Phase 1 was completed in time for the 2010 academic year. As part of this, new Halls of Residence with accommodation for 250 students were completed on the site as well as the restoration of the main buildings. All Worcester Business School courses are run here, including undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The Jenny Lind Chapel has been refurbished to its original state as has the Boardroom in which the British Medical Association was founded in 1832. The history of the building inspired the development of an interactive exhibition, The Infirmary, which opened on City Campus in 2012.Phase 2 has had to be reviewed due to deep cuts in government funding and caps on student numbers, but is still planned to be completed.

Riverside and Worcester Arena

See also: University of Worcester Arena

In addition, the University occupies a large site adjacent to the River Severn, now known as "Riverside". This includes an Art Space & Exhibition building and a 2,000-seat capacity Sports Arena built as a new facility for sports, events, a base for the Worcester Wolves basketball team, a national centre of excellence for disability sports and as a further teaching and office space. The facility, known as Worcester Arena is also accessible to the local community. 

Lakeside Campus (Outdoor Education Centre)

Lakeside Campus is located in the worcestershire countryside, just a 10 minute drive from the main campus. The 50 acre site includes watersports lake, grass pitches, woodlands and an activity centre

The Hive (Library & Study Facility)

Main article: The Hive, Worcester

The Hive, a joint venture between the University of Worcester and Worcestershire County Council, was officially opened by Her Majesty The Queen in July 2012. The Library is adjacent to the City Campus site in the centre of Worcester and brings a range of services under one roof including a fully integrated public and university library with adult, children's and academic sections, the Worcestershire Archive and Record Office, the Worcestershire Historic Environment and Archaeology Service, the County Archive record store and the Worcestershire County Council Hub Customer Service Centre.

The Hive contains over a quarter of a million books and 12 miles of archive collections, together with meeting rooms, exhibition spaces and a studio theatre. Individual and group working areas are provided throughout the five floors together with over 500 desktop computers.

University Park

The University plans to develop a third campus on the disused Grove Farm, a 47-acre (190,000 m2) piece of land 1-mile (1.6 km) from St John's campus. It is adjacent to the A44 and well connected to the City’s transport network. This third site is expected to take fifteen years to complete and will form part of a Business and Enterprise Park alongside expanded science, business and sport institutes.Parts of the site will also develop the University’s work in healthcare and wellbeing, again in partnership with local providers.

Other locations

The university also owns or operates various other halls and sports facilities across the city of Worcester, but these are not major university sites or campuses.

The university is one of the official venues to be included in the London 2012 Pre-Games Training Camp Guide. The guide features facilities and venues across the UK suitable for use by international sporting teams as a training base in the run up to and during the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.

Environmental standing

The institution has been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard.and it was the first university in England to receive a Gold EcoCampus Award for the whole organisation, just shortly after being awarded the Silver Eco-Campus status in 2008. The Green League awarded the university 16th position out of 18, for the First Class award among a total number of 126 contenders for the First Class, Upper Second Class, Lower Second Class, and Third Class awards.