Currently celebrating its 175th anniversary, University of Winchester, UK, which was founded as a teacher training school, has evolved into a top-rated multi-disciplinary varsity with an aggregrate enrolment of 6,878 students: SUMMIYA YASMEEN Founded in 1840 as a teacher training school, the University of Winchester (UoW) has evolved into a top-rated multi-disciplinary varsity offering undergraduate, postgrad and research degrees to 6,878 students. Currently celebrating its 175th anniversary, UoW is ranked #57 in the Sunday Times University Guide 2014 and #69 in the UK by the Complete University Guide 2014. The university also received the British Quality Foundation’s Excellence 600 certification for performing to an exceptionally high standard in 2014. Sited in the scenic town of Winchester (pop.45,000), which also hosts Winchester College (estb.1384) routinely numbered among Britain’s top public (i.e, exclusive private) schools, UoW’s four faculties — arts; business, law and sport; education, health and social care; humanities and social sciences — offer a wide menu of study programmes. In particular, the university has established an excellent reputation for teacher training — the latest Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills) inspection rated its teacher training programmes as ‘outstanding’ — in addition to offering business, performing arts, psychology, archaeology, history, creative writing, modern liberal arts, theology and religious studies education. Winchester. An hour by rail from London, this well-preserved medieval town combines the best of urban life with medieval history and scenic countryside. The city is packed with historic buildings and monuments, prominent among them being the Castle Great Hall which houses the famous Round Table of King Arthur, and the world-famous Winchester Cathedral which has the longest medieval nave in Europe and is the resting place of Jane Austen, Izzak Walton and several early English kings. The town also hosts several theatres, cinema, cafes, restaurants, bars and pubs. Shopping options include an array of unique, independent shops and boutiques as well as traditional and nationally-known stores. Winchester has excellent transport links including a direct train service to London’s Waterloo station. Travelling to and from Heathrow and Gatwick airports is easy by road and train and Southampton airport is a mere 15 minutes by rail. As elsewhere in Britain, winters are cold, wet and at times frosty, and spring is crisp. Average summer temperatures range between 14º-22ºC and winter 1º-7ºC. Campus facilities. UoW is spread across two campuses — King Alfred and West Downs — in the eponymous town. The main King Alfred campus is within walking distance of Winchester Cathedral and hosts contemporary academic and sports facilities and residence halls. For instance, the newly-built £6.5 million St. Alphege Building features ten lecture rooms and a mezzanine floor with open access computers. The three-storey Martial Rose Library houses a collection of more than 300,000 volumes and a range of online resources, including journals, e-books and databases. Open 24/7 during term, the library offers study spaces for 450 readers. Moreover 600 networked personal computers are available to students across the campus, including the library, faculty buildings, social learning spaces, the…
