Reading is another of the medium-sized campus universities that have demonstrated their appeal through the National Student Survey. Consistently in the top 20, it again satisfied almost 90 per cent of its final-year undergraduates in the results published in 2008. Archaeology boasted 100 per cent satisfaction, while architecture, building, business studies, computer science, history, teacher training and geography and environmental science all scored well.

The university was ranked among the top 200 in the world in 2008 and did well in the latest Research Assessment Exercise, despite entering a much higher proportion of its academics than many of its peers. More than half of their work was considered world-leading or internationally excellent, with archaeology and art and design doing particularly well.

Location

There are three main sites within Reading, including the original 320-acre parkland site, and the university also owns 2,000 acres of farmland at nearby Sonning and Shinfield, where the renowned Centre for Dairy Research (CEDAR) is located. To these have been added the former Henley Management College, which became the university’s business school in 2008. The Greenlands site, on the banks of the river at Henley-on Thames, houses postgraduate and executive programmes, while undergraduates are taught at the university’s Whiteknights campus.

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Reading was the only university established between the two world wars, having been Oxford’s extension college for the first part of the last century, but the attractive main campus now has a modern feel. A new School of Pharmacy opened in 2005 and sports facilities have been extended. A multi-million pound student services building, providing a one-stop-shop for student support and welfare, followed in 2007.

Applications were up by more than 11 per cent at the start of 2009, following a healthy increase in the previous year. The university’s location, a bus ride away from Heathrow Airport, and an international reputation in key areas for developing countries have always ensured a healthy flow of overseas students.

Access

About one undergraduate in six is from an independent school and fewer than a quarter come from working-class homes, rather less than average for the university’s subjects and entry qualifications. However, the retention rate exceeds national norms, with under 7 per cent of undergraduates who started courses in 2006 expected to leave without a qualification.

The university is involved with a number of centres of excellence in teaching and learning, including one focusing on career management skills. All undergraduates take career management skills modules that contribute five credits towards their degree classification. The online system, which has 200 web pages of advice, exercises and information, has been bought by 30 other universities and colleges. Sessions are delivered jointly by academics and careers advisors, with input from alumni and leading employers.

Student life

The town – only a short walk from the campus – may not be the most fashionable, but it has plenty of nightlife and an award-winning shopping centre. It also offers temporary and part-time employment opportunities for students. London is easily accessible by train, but the cost of living is on a par with the capital. More than 4,500 residential places include a landscaped student village, while first-rate sports provision includes accessible rowing and sailing boathouses, scholarships and an academy. Teams have a good record in inter-university competitions and the campus has been chosen as a possible pre-Olympics training camp for basketball and fencing.

Students praise the social scene, although the high proportion from the South East means that many go home at the weekends. The large students’ union had a £500,000 refit in 2007, improving and extending its popular main venue. The union has been voted among the best in Britain, and has won numerous awards including Best Bar None status for encouraging safe drinking. Students who live in town can make use of the free night bus service to take them back into Reading.

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