[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL] Formerly Thames Polytechnic[EBOLD][PARA][BOLD]For general information about London: [EBOLD]see [ULNE]University of London[EULNE].[BOLD] [EBOLD]Don't be fooled by the name 'Greenwich'. Only Americans pronounce it 'green-witch'. [ITAL]It's 'grennidge' - get it right. Also, forget any images of the Cutty Sark, Maritime Museum, and Sunday markets.[EITAL] The largest site is in [ITAL]un-touristy[EITAL] Woolwich, 81/2 miles east of Trafalgar Square, and some sites aren't even in the Borough of Greenwich, including Dartford in Kent, and Roehampton. [ITAL]If you have images of chess players, beat poets, and the Village People, you're in the wrong country, and being very silly. [EITAL]In all, the sites are spread over 23 miles, never far from the river. The different sites offer different courses and students considering applying to the University should check which one they'd be based at, since [ITAL]they are largely self-contained and as different as chalk and cheese (or ice cream).[EITAL][HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]There are some universities which just bond: everyone knows each other - goes around hand in hand even - and the social atmosphere is pure harmony. Greenwich isn't one of those. Not as a whole anyway. Some sites, Avery Hill for instance, are genuinely friendly and buzzing and complete as a one-piece jigsaw, but there's no cross-university vibe. The new SU Building (see ENTERTAINMENTS) might change things, however. [EITAL][ITAL][HDNG]THE SITES:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Woolwich: [EBOLD](6,000 students - humanities, business, technology and sciences) Almost 1/2 the students are based at the Woolwich campus. Among the buildings is a tower block on top of a row of[ITAL] naff [EITAL]shops, a hall of residence with a few amenities like a cafeteria and bar. Local attractions include the Thames Barrier (the world's largest flood gate), the Woolwich Ferry across the Thames and the Woolwich Arsenal.[PARA][BOLD]Avery Hill: [EBOLD](4,025 - law, teacher training, social sciences) [ITAL]The most attractive site,[EITAL] 3 miles south of Woolwich, set in a 86 acre park with a listed mansion as the main building. However, a few modern [ITAL]monstrosities [EITAL]have been built around it. The nearest major shopping area is Eltham, a mile away.[PARA][BOLD]Dartford: [EBOLD](2,000 - architecture, surveying, civil engineering) The furthest campus from London[ITAL], [EITAL]out in Kent, 13 miles from Woolwich (40mins by train from Charing Cross), is a collection of modern rectangles with 5 halls of residence and some amenities including [ITAL]good [EITAL]sports facilities. It's actually about a mile from Dartford. Dartford is a fast expanding industrial town with a few shops and a direct escape route by train into London. The Faculty of Health is also based in Dartford at the Elizabeth Raybould Centre.[PARA][BOLD]Deptford:[EBOLD] (800 - environmental studies). A 3 storey building, just under 7 miles west of Woolwich[ITAL].[EITAL] For more details of the local area, see [ULNE]Goldsmiths' College, London[EULNE].[PARA][BOLD]Roehampton:[EBOLD] (1,000 - accounting, business). Mixture of styles, in parkland. [ITAL] A bit inaccessible from the other sites, but local pubs make it worthwhile.[EITAL][PARA]Other sites in Wapping and Shadwell are due to close in 1995.[HDNG]LIFE IN LONDON:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]Samuel Johnson wrote 'When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.' Obviously, he wasn't living on a student grant at the time; for there is only a certain amount in London that a student can afford. SJ was right in that London is second to none in its diversity, but you can't do it all. It's easy to feel that you're not making the most of London if you're not spending every waking minute at the theatre, ballet, opera or cinema, in clubs or fashionable markets, and in museums and galleries, sports grounds and parks. However, if the truth be known, even taking advantage of the many freebies you can dig up if you try, you'd be broke within a week if you tried to keep up with the tearaway pace. When it comes to opportunity, choice and life in the fast lane, London is the turbo-boosted Porsche. London is supposed to be the city that never sleeps, leaving the bright lights burning all night long. In fact, as international metropolises go, this one tends to shut down when the pubs close. Getting more than a cheeseburger after midnight can be as difficult in London as it is in a Turkish jail. Not everyone likes the pace or the impersonal atmosphere that many find in London. Whilst it's hard to be alone, it's easy to be lonely, and most students in London find this at some time. London can be oppressive and if you're not streetwise, or at least street sensible, it can be a dangerous place. Bomb scares are usually just that, but violent crime is on the up. [EITAL][PARA][ITAL] There are a number of responses to the high cost of living in London: (1) burst into tears; (2) mug someone; (3) live on credit; (4) ask daddy for lashings of cash. Alternatively, if these don't appeal, you can always use the following methods: (1) Limit your spending by only going out when and where you can afford it (ULU fits the bill, offering cheap events for students). (2) Buy second hand - for books, there's ULU, Charing Cross Road and Waterloo and, for clothes, try Camden Market, Greenwich, Brick Lane and Portobello Road. (Many a London student falls prey to fashion, but not always at vast expense.) (3) Get a job - [EITAL]more London students have part time jobs than anywhere else.[ITAL] [EITAL][PARA][ITAL] London also has more overseas students than almost anywhere else, which, in Britain's most international city, is an appropriate addition to the already spicy variety of life. The extent of London's cosmopolitanism is unique. Nowhere else are there as many students of every different shape, colour, vintage, creed and flavour.[EITAL][PARA][ITAL] To be young in London and have flexible demands on your time is an ideal recipe. The daily downers such as the time spent travelling have a minimal effect, whereas the opportunities are all there. If you happen to live in London, it's good to be a student, but if you're a student, London isn't necessarily a good place to happen to live.[EITAL][HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains: [EBOLD]London is the centre of the network: Bristol (1:40hrs, 1/hr); Birmingham (1:40hrs, 3/hr); Manchester (2:30hrs, 1/hr); Glasgow (5:20hrs, 12/day); Edinburgh ( 4:20hrs, 1/hr); Newcastle (2:45hrs, 2/hr); Leeds (2:30hrs, 1/hr); Norwich (1:49hrs, 1/hr). Trains come into the 8 mainline termini and if passing through London (for example from Canterbury (Kent) to Manchester), it is often necessary to travel by tube (at extra expense) between mainline stations.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] London is also the centre of the National Express system and a whole variety of other national bus services (Green Line, Blue Line and so on). Some example National Express journeys: Birmingham (ú9.50, 2:30hrs, 1/hr); Bristol (ú12.50, 2:15hrs, 1/hr); Edinburgh (ú25, 7:50hrs, 3/day); Glasgow (ú25, 7hrs, 7/day); Manchester (ú16, 3:30hrs, 7/day); Newcastle (ú17.50, 5:10hrs, 7/day).[PARA][BOLD]Local Trains: [EBOLD]Network SouthEast operates local overground trains [ITAL]which are a speedy and sometimes pleasant way to travel and are moderately efficient. The main problems are the ease of use (a fair level of understanding is necessary), the high fares and the early closing[EITAL] (last trains between 11pm and 1am).[PARA][BOLD]Underground:[EBOLD] The 'tube' is the largest underground train system in the world and generally,[ITAL] it is fast, easy to use, efficient (well, maybe not the Northern Line) and takes you just about anywhere you want to go, although South-East London is a bit hard done by. However, it is often crowded,[EITAL] shuts down at midnight,[ITAL] it's often disrupted by bomb scares[EITAL] and the minimum fare is 90p. [ITAL]Talking to other tube passengers is tantamount to threatening their mother - the only people who do it are tourists and people who want to talk to you about Jesus.[EITAL] Nearest tube to Senate House/ULU Building: Goodge St (Northern Line).[PARA][BOLD]Local Buses: [EBOLD][ITAL]In the tube you can't see the real sights, so why not take the buses which are just as efficient,[EITAL] offer even more destinations and are slightly cheaper (50p minimum). [ITAL]But buses are slow and, until you know your way around, it's difficult to know which ones take you where.[EITAL] After midnight, buses come into their own - Night Buses are London's only form of all-night public transport and[ITAL] if you don't mind how long it takes,[EITAL] you can go almost anywhere within 10 miles of the centre.[PARA][BOLD]Travelcards:[EBOLD] For a legal way of dodging the expense of tubes, buses and trains, Travelcards are available at ú2.60 for a daily pass for the central 2 zones of the network.[PARA][BOLD]Taxis: [EBOLD]There are 2 types:[ITAL] the classic black cabs which are well regulated and enormously expensive, and dodgy merchants in Ford Escorts which are almost as expensive. There are now also some run by and for women. Basically though, forget all taxis, except late at night when all else fails and/or you're in a party of 4 or more.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Parking in Central London is impossible, and, although there is only one rush hour every day it lasts from 6 in the morning to midnight. Driving in London is excellent training for being a volcano.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Air: [EBOLD]Served by 4 airports, including Heathrow, the world's busiest. Regular flights to anywhere and back.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[ITAL] [EBOLD]Not possible from Central London, but get out a little way on to the city's escape routes or beyond the M25 and a thumb's a first class ticket.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Bicycles: [EBOLD][ITAL] A popular form of student travel given the pros: it's cheap and you can get through traffic. But there are the cons: London is big, full of exhaust fumes, lacking in cycle lanes and a Houdini-proof lock is advisable. It's also an easy way to die.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] For Woolwich - Woolwich Arsenal Station (25mins to central London); for Dartford - Dartford Station (40mins); for Deptford - Deptford Station (15mins); for Avery Hill - Falconwood (30mins) or New Eltham.[PARA][BOLD]Buses:[EBOLD] All sites, except Dartford, are served by a wide range of regular London bus services including night buses. Dartford is connected by Green buses with central London.[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] Dartford is just within the M25 (London's outer ring road) on the M2/A2.[PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD][ITAL] Your life in the hands of juggernaut drivers.[EITAL][ITAL][HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Books: 350,000 [BULL] Periodicals: 2,240 [BULL] Study places: 1,000 [BULL] Computer workstations: 1,000[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA]Libraries at each site.[HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 3full/1part [BULL] Unemployed after 6mths (1992): 17%[ESTAT][PARA]Careers services at each site.[HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]The University follows an equal opportunities policy [ITAL]strictly [EITAL]imposed by the University and SU.[PARA][BULL]26% of undergrads are on sandwich courses and spend a year (usually the 2nd) working in industry.[PARA][BULL]New developments include the earth sciences department due to move to Chatham Maritime in Kent for 1994/5.[HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]Hale and Pace ('comic' double act); Rachel Heyhoe Flint (woman cricketer); Prof Charles Kao (inventor of fibre optics); Graham Ingham ('Newsnight' reporter); Brian Jacks (judo champ); Ann Packer (athletics champ).[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads and postgrads.
