Keele University

Age: 62

History: It began as the University College of North Staffordshire in 1949 and received full university status in 1962. A school of medicine recently opened at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.

Address: Square mile of parkland situated near Stoke and Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Ambience: Green campus, miles away from it all. Mostly modern blocks but one 19th-century building, Keele Hall, lends grace to the Sixties effect.

Vital statistics: There are around 7,500 undergrads and over 2,000. Pioneered the dual honours course, whereby students take two principal subjects and can take further modules in a third. Ninety per cent of all students do dual honours, studying two subjects to degree level.

Added value: Almost every student gets the chance to spend a semester abroad. The university boasts a whopping 50 acres of sport facilities, including playing fields, eight tennis courts, six squash courts, two sports halls and state-of-the-art fitness centre. On-campus facilities include restaurants and cafés, a supermarket, bookshop, newsagent and bank, as well as several GPs and an NHS dentist.

Easy to get into? Degree courses ask for between 260 and 340 UCAS points.

Glittering alumni: Leading barrister Michael Mansfield QC; Lord Melchett, aristocrat eco-warrior and researcher into cannabis addiction; award-winning novelist Marina Lewycka; Jem Finer, founder member of The Pogues and co-writer of festive classic 'Fairytale of New York'; Alun Michael MP, former first minister for Wales.

Transport links: No train or coach station at Keele, so you have to catch trains and coaches at nearby Stoke or Crewe. Local buses run between campus and surrounding towns every 15 minutes. Good for cars because of proximity of M6.

Who's the boss? Professor Nick Foskett took up the position of vice-chancellor in August 2010, following his departure from his previous job as dean of the faculty of law, arts and social sciences at the University of Southampton.

Teaching: 13th out of 116 in the Complete University Guide.

Research: 53rd out of 115 in the Research Assessment Exercise.

Overall ranking: 45th out of 116 in the Complete University Guide.

Nightlife: Recent acts to play the students' union include Example, Razorlight, The Enemy, Pigeon Detectives, The Hoosiers, The Twang, We Are Scientists, The Courteeners, Taio Cruz and Mr Hudson. Four bars on site, as well as four club nights a week and the Paramount Comedy Club. A hedonistic six balls a year.

How green is it? So, so - came joint 63rd out of 138 universities graded by People & Planet for their 'Green League 2011', an assessment of environmental performance.

Any accommodation? Yes - an incredible 3,200 rooms on campus, costing between around £68 per week for a standard room and £114 per week for premier en-suite.

Cheap to live there? Far cheaper than average, with private sector rents of just £55 per week.

Sports ranking: 78th in the BUCS league table.

Fees: £3,375 for full-time home undergrads starting in 2011. Keele plans on charging the maximum tuition fee of £9,000 per year as of 2012.

Bursaries: The Keele Bursary offers up to £800 per year to full-time undergrads who are in receipt of a full maintenance allowance. A second, mandatory, bursary offers £325 per year to students with a residual income of less than £25,000 per year. There are also scholarships in music and maths, and for new students who achieve three As at A-level.

Prospectus: 01782 732 005; www.keele.ac.uk

UCAS code: K12