[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL] Formerly Luton College of Higher Education[EBOLD][PARA]Ever since October 1979, when Cats UK reached number 22 [PARA]with their only ever hit 'Luton Airport' and Lorraine Chaise [PARA]mentioning Luton in a Campari ad, the town has had [ITAL]a hard time [PARA]living down the image [EITAL]of dropped aitches and having a local [PARA]Vauxhall Cavalier car factory[ITAL] as its most interesting feature[EITAL]. [ITAL]Not [PARA]being too far from the truth hasn't helped, although Luton has [PARA]some things to offer.[EITAL] Most of them are outside town though, like [PARA]the Chiltern hills and London (1/2 an hour by train). For all its [PARA]faults, Luton is a [ITAL]lively, [EITAL]growing place with 150 acres of pleasant [PARA]greenery. It also has the University of Luton, which sure is going [PARA]some on the expansion front, having only just gained university [PARA]status and having grown unrecognisably since 1989, when it [PARA]became a college of HE rather than a technical college. The last [PARA]3 years have seen a huge increase in degree students and [PARA]expenditure of over ú21 million on buildings. The main site is at [PARA]Park Square in the town centre in a large,[ITAL] ugly,[EITAL] dark rectangle of [PARA]the sort that passed as a building back in the 60s. There's [PARA]another 3 sites: Dallow Rd (Design and Technology Faculty) also [PARA]in the town centre; Castle St (Humanities), [ITAL]ugly [EITAL]60s [ITAL]office [PARA]block-style[EITAL], 5 minutes walk from the main site; and Putteridge [PARA]Bury (Management, Conference, and Research and Consultancy[PARA]Centres), an [ITAL]elegant [EITAL]Elizabethan mansion 4 miles away.[HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]Most courses are related to the real world, jobs 'n' that, in some [PARA]way or other, usually involving placements and the like. Students [PARA]are realistic about what they have to do, although the general view[PARA]is that degrees lead to jobs, not that they are an end in [PARA]themselves. The authorities reflect the same attitude that getting [PARA]a job at the end of the day is what it's all about. But [PARA]generalisations are unfair (aren't they always?) because the [PARA]social and ethnic mix is more colourful than a packet of smarties,[PARA]and the University has proved popular with mature students.[EITAL][ITAL][HDNG]THE TOWN:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Population: 167,300 [BULL] London: 28miles [BULL] Bedford: 25miles[PARA][BULL] Birmingham: 80miles[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA]Luton, which started as the centre of the hat and lace industry - [PARA]don't knock it - is now a busy business town, not suffering the [PARA]high unemployment that some are. It's the largest town in [PARA]Bedfordshire, which doesn't say much since Bedford is just [PARA]about the only competition. Nevertheless, it has all the [PARA]cosmopolitan paraphernalia like shops, libraries, banks, markets [PARA]and the rest in plentiful supply. [ITAL]Worth a particular mention[EITAL] is the [PARA]massive modern Arndale Shopping Centre, right by the [PARA]University, containing a huge sculpture of pink flamingoes.[HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] Luton is the nearest station, 5 minutes walk from the [PARA]University with trains to, among other places, London Kings X [PARA](1/2hr, 6/hr), Birmingham, Edinburgh, Bristol, Bedford and Milton [PARA]Keynes (25 miles away).[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] Green Line and National Express services to Bristol [PARA](ú17, 4:20hrs, 4/day), Birmingham (ú7.50, 2:10hrs, 4/day) and [PARA]Manchester (ú13.75, 5:10hrs, 3/day).[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] Luton is on the edge of the M1 at the junction where it splits [PARA]with the A6 which goes straight through the town. The A1 is only [PARA]5 miles east, and the end of the A5 is 2 miles south.[PARA][BOLD]Air:[EBOLD] Luton Airport operates inland and international services to [PARA]Europe, Ireland and the USA.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Despite the good connections, it's easier to pick up the [PARA]white lines on the road than pick up a lift in the Home Counties. [PARA]It's none too safe either, but a few students try anyway.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Local:[EBOLD] Little 'hopper' buses scuttle round the town[ITAL] reliably although[PARA]not particularly cheaply and not late.[EITAL] No local trains around the [PARA]town, but an [ITAL]excellent [EITAL]link into London which students often use [PARA]for a day trip, [ITAL]however, the last train's all too early and easy to [PARA]miss[EITAL].[PARA][BOLD]Taxis:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Not cheap, but worth using at night because Luton's not [PARA]too big or congested.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Although Luton is flat, not many students bike it. Maybe[PARA]because about 3 heavy padlocks are needed to hang on to a bike [PARA]for more than a week, but there's no denying it would be useful [PARA]for the many students who don't live on site.[EITAL][ITAL][HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Books: 120,000 [BULL] Periodicals: 1,200 [BULL] Study places: 620 [PARA]Computer workstations: 600[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA]The main library is in the Learning Resources Centre at Park [PARA]Square (which also houses many of the computers and provides[PARA]24 hour access) with a smaller library at Putteridge Bury, [ITAL]but [PARA]most undergrads have little to do with this site. [EITAL][ITAL][HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 3full [BULL] Unemployed after [PARA]6mths (1991): 10%[ESTAT][EITAL][ITAL][HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA]Paul Young (singer).[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads and postgrads.
