Edge Hill University

Edge Hill University

Age: 124

History: Founded in 1885 in the Edge Hill district of Liverpool as the first non-denominational teacher training college for women. Moved to Ormskirk in 1933. It was granted taught degree awarding powers in November 2005 and full university status in Spring 2006. Research degree awarding powers were granted in August 2008.

Address: Main campus on the edge of Ormskirk, Lancs. Continuing Professional Development is at Woodlands in Chorley. Business Learning Centre in Merseyside.

Ambience: The 75-acre Ormskirk site comprises a number of steel and glass edifices built around the original 1930s building. Wrought-iron sculptures adorn the grounds. Close to some lovely countryside and the seaside at Southport. Manchester and Liverpool are near enough for easy access and frequent kicks.

Vital statistics: Applications to Edge Hill University have increased three-fold since 2000, and with a further 14.1 per cent rise in 2008 the University now boasts around 23,000 students - a third of who are postgraduates and two-thirds part-time. Edge Hill is the largest provider of Initial Teacher Training for secondary education and foundation degrees for classroom assistants in the UK. Most recent HESA performance indicators (covering 2007-8) rank the University as first in the North West for participation of under-represented groups in higher education.

Added value: More than £80m has been spent on campus regeneration since the early Nineties and a further £70m of investment in new facilities is planned in the University’s estates strategy. A new £14m Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning opened in 2008, which won the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors' (RICS) North West Award for Sustainability, 2009. A new £8m Business, Law and Criminology building opened in January 2009. The University also won 'Outstanding Student Financial Support Package' at the Times Higher Awards 2006 and was nominated for University of the Year in 2007 in the same Awards.

Easy to get into? For most degrees you need 220-280 UCAS points. At the higher end are Primary Education and English & Chinese

Glittering alumni: Freda Lightfoot, novelist; Jonathan Pryce, actor; Stuart Maconie, DJ and author and the late Steve Sinnott, former General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers.

Transport links: To get to Ormskirk from London, you need to take a train to Liverpool and change. Nationwide connections can also be made at Preston, or you can simply hop on a bus. The M6 and M58 motorways are just three miles away.

Who's the boss? Social geographer, Dr John Cater.

Teaching: Rated 45th out of 113 in the National Student Survey.

Research: Ranked 109 out of 113 in the Research Assessment Excercise.

Overall ranking: Came 109th out of 113 in the Complete University Guide.

Nightlife: The Venue is the social hub on campus, with dance nights, quizzes, resident and visiting DJs and live music. For a more cosmopolitan buzz, try Garlands in Liverpool or Manchester's "village" area.

How green is it? The University takes its sustainability and environmental responsibilities seriously. Groundbreaking initiatives include the introduction of an energy wall within the new, £14m Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning to monitor the building’s energy usage. Through modern construction and design, the building is reducing its carbon emissions by more than 100 tonnes a year. The building won the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors' (RICS) North West Award for Sustainability, 2009. Additional projects include replacing personal computers with server-backed desktops that use a fraction of the electricity of a standard PC.

Any accommodation? Yes. It costs £53-£90 per week for a room in student accommodation, depending on whether you want self-catering or full board. The University is constructing 144 additional modern flats for students due for completion by September 2009

Cheap to live there? Yes. Private sector rents are around £65 per week.

Sports ranking: Ranked 92nd out of 144 in the BUCS league.

Prospectus: 0800 195 5063; www.edgehill.ac.uk

UCAS code: E42