London University’s “campus in the country” occupies 135 acres of woodland between Windsor Castle and Heathrow.

The 600-bed Founder’s Building, modelled on a French chateau and opened by Queen Victoria, is one of Britain’s most remarkable university buildings.

The merger with Bedford College, and the sale of Bedford’s valuable site in Regent’s Park, enabled Royal Holloway to embark on a major redevelopment of the campus, which has since been extended with a £100-million building programme.

Recent projects have included a major new auditorium, extensions to the School of Management and other academic buildings, an extension to the main library and new student residences, which have been praised for their comfort and ecofriendly features.

Multimedia

• Good University Guide table

Related Links

• Royal Holloway University of London

Multimedia

• Royal Holloway website

Development

Other developments include an expanded academic staff, better student services and a portfolio of scholarships and bursaries that pre-dated top-up fees.

One offers free places or reduced fees to those who stay on for a postgraduate degree. The conversion of the huge Victorian boilerhouse into a performance space for drama and the establishment of formal links with institutions such as New York, Sydney and Yale universities, demonstrate that progress has not just been a matter of bricks and mortar. Closer to home, another link allows music students to take lessons at the Royal College of Music. Both partners in the merger which formed the college were originally for women only, their legacy commemorated in the Bedford Centre for the History of Women.

Subjects

The arts and humanities still account for most of the top ratings, but the gender balance in the student population is now roughly equal. French, German, geography and music were considered internationally outstanding in the latest research assessments, when three quarters of the academics entered for assessment were in departments rated in the top two of seven categories. The successes placed Royal Holloway in the top dozen research institutions and have helped cement a place in the top 30 of The Times League Table.

Royal Holloway is not just about the arts: the college offers a science foundation year at further education colleges in the region, and the balance of disciplines is gradually shifting. Psychology and biological sciences registered perfect scores in teaching assessments. All the sciences were judged nationally outstanding for research in 2001 and physics produced the best results in the first National Student Survey. All 18 departments encourage inter-disciplinary work, which is facilitated by a modular course structure with examinations at the end of every year.

An Advanced Skills Programme, covering information technology, communication skills and foreign languages, further encourages breadth of study. Immediate expansion plans centre on the college’s areas of excellence, as well as on distance learning and research. Royal Holloway already offers e-degrees in classics, history, business management and postgraduate courses in information security and management to add to its University of London external programme. It is spearheading the development of the University of London Institute in Paris, allowing students to spend part of their course in France.

Access

Applications for courses beginning in 2007 were up by more than 14 per cent, following good results in the first two national surveys of student satisfaction. The latest survey showed the geography students to be the most satisfied in the country. The college still draws a quarter of its undergraduates from independent schools, although the proportion coming from working-class homes has been rising.

However, the ethnic mix is above average and a rise in the projected dropout rate to almost 12 per cent may turn out to be temporary, after several years of much better figures. Over 2,900 students are in halls of residence, many of them in the Founder’s Building itself.

The college’s green belt location at Egham, Surrey, 35 minutes from the centre of London by rail, ensures that social life is concentrated on an extended students’ union. However, the West End is close for those determined to seek the high life. Sports facilities are good and have been upgraded recently – Royal Holloway claims to be “the University of London’s best sporting college”. A high proportion of students come from London and the Home Counties, so many go home weekends, but the lively students’ union puts on entertainment and activities seven days a week.

Times recommends

• Degree classifications not fit for purpose says watchdog
• Five essential tips for your year abroad
• Are students killing television?