My year at the Newcastle University is coming to an end in September 2011 so it is about time that I took you all on tour on the University Campus. First, a brief history of the University. It was earlier a part of the federal University of Durham and can trace its origin to the School of Medicine and Surgery formed in 1834. The federal university later split and two separate universities, University of Durham and University of Newcastle Upon Tyne were formed. The University of Newcastle Upon Tyne later came to be known as the Newcastle University.
The Newcastle University is situated in Newcastle Upon Tyne along with Northumbria University. The city of Newcastle Upon Tyne has been rated the best student city for the past 4 years and is famous for its nightlife.
Anyways, now we start the tour of Newcastle University.
This the the Student Union building which is currently being renovated. But when it was functional, it housed some wonderful cafes and bars and gaming zones with pool tables. It was also home to many societies that the students could become a member of . The building with be back in action soon. Even now, the Student Union functions out of another building.
The university has lots of ramps for accessibilties. This is really helpful for students with disabilities. In fact almost all universities of the UK are quite good in their support for students with disabilities. This is something we can learn from.
The Northern Stage is run by the largest producing Theatre Company of the North East of England and is regarded as one of the top eleven producing theatres in the UK. It has a bar and a restaurant in its grounds and the Northern Stage itself is located on the University Campus though it is independent of the University.
The Kings Gate houses all of the student services under one roof. It offers Career, Accommodation, Visa, Well-being, and Finance advice. It was forbidden to take pictures inside the building.
Culture Lab is the place where students and staff connected to the Creative Arts can do research or organize events. In the past one year, we have attended a lot of workshops and poetry readings in this building.
This is the reception area of Percy Building which houses the School of English Literature, Language, and Linguistics which runs the MA in Creative Writing, the course that I am persuing. The building also houses Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts that is organizes a lot of literary events in the city.
This is the Percy Building from the outside. When compared to the larger Armstrong building, this building is low-rise and simple.
This area just outside the Percy Building is called the Quadrangle. It has wonderful landscaping and has a classic feel to it. In fact, this area feels the most campus-y of the entire campus. On the left side is the Old Library Building. On the right is the Armstrong Building. And straight ahead is the Hatton Gallery and the Arches.
This is the Old Library Building that also houses the Open Access Cluster where students can access Internet and do self-study in over 50 languages.
This is the the entrance of the Armstrong Building that opens into the Quadrangle. The building itself is massive as you'll see later.
Me in front of the Percy Building, my school.
The tall and beautiful Armstrong Building. This picture was taken from across the road next to the Royal Victoria Infirmary. This was also the site of the Original Armstrong College. This building houses a number of subject areas and also the King's Hall where the Graduation Ceremonies are held.
This is the Bedson Building that houses the Bedson Teaching Centre. The building has a number of conference rooms and classrooms that are used by various subjects for their classes.
A bridge connecting the Armstrong Building to the Arches.
The parking inside the compound of the Armstrong Building
The Student Union Shop that houses a lot of University merchandise. I have to make a visit here to get something for myself soon before I fly back to India.
The Hatton Gallery is a part of the Great North Museum and hosts many touring and temporary exhibitions. It also has a good permanent collection of paintings and sculptures.
A stone beneath the Arches. You can see the date on the stone. The campus has grown over years. As of now, it contains some buildings from the 19th century (Armstrong Building) and some very modern state of art structures (King's Gate).
And finally, here are the Arches. They were erected in 1911 and the statue of King Edward VII is visible in the picture. The street beneath the arches are cobbled, The Arches connect the quadrangle to the King's Road.
This was the main campus. Some more parts of the Newcastle University will be covered in the next post.
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