Northampton had a university in the thirteenth century, but it took until 2005 to get it back after Henry III dissolved the original version – allegedly because his bishops thought it posed a threat to Oxford.

More than 80 places separate the two universities in The Times League Table, but Northampton will hope to narrow that gap somewhat in years to come.

It has already registered good results in the first three National Student Surveys, with sports science and physical geography, environmental science history producing the highest levels of satisfaction in 2007.

The modern university has its origins in teacher training and, as Nene College of Higher Education, lobbied unsuccessfully to become a polytechnic.

Vocational

The later campaign, to establish a university in one of the few counties without one, eventually bore fruit, but only after almost a decade. By then, it had incorporated vocational courses for the leather industry, occupational therapy, nursing and midwifery. All remain in a surprisingly broad portfolio of more than 100 degree and diploma courses. The business school is taking part in a national pilot to develop two-tear degrees and four-year work-based equivalents.

Specialisms such as leather technology, fashion and waste management have helped to build up the recruitment of overseas students to some 700 a year from 100 different countries.

The university has two sites: an 80-acre campus on the edge of Northampton, where £73 million has been spent on improvements in recent years, and the smaller but more central Avenue campus, which specialises in art and design, media, technology and the performing arts.

Both sites have new halls of residence, and the main Park Campus has also seen several new teaching developments, a management centre and a research centre.

Facilities

Another £80 million of investment is planned over the next ten years. In the first phase, new arts facilities at Avenue will form the centrepiece of the town’s “cultural mile”, while an innovative student centre on the Park Campus will provide administrative and support services both during and outside office hours.

The university has taken over a school next to the Avenue campus, which will house the School of Education after a £9-million refurbishment. Student numbers have been steady for several years, but are expected to rise from the current 10,500 to about 12,000 by 2010.

Applications were up by more than 23 per cent at the start of 2007, having bucked the national trend with a small rise when top-up fees were introduced, and remained healthy at the start of 2008 in spite of the reduction in the number of choices allowed in the UCAS process.

Foundation degree students pay £1,100 a year less than the £3,145 fee for honours degrees. Business is the most popular area, but health subjects are not far behind.

Teaching strengths

Art and design produced the best teaching quality score, while English and history were highly rated in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise.

Northampton takes its mission to widen participation in higher education seriously: almost all the undergraduates attended state schools or colleges, while nearly 38 per cent come from workingclass homes.

The projected dropout rate had improved in the latest official figures, but still nearly one in five of those who began courses in 2004 will is not expected to complete in the expected time – marginally more than the national average for the university’s courses and entry grades.

Some of the degrees – such as podiatry and furniture design and manufacture – recruit from all over Britain (and farther afield) but in other subjects most of the students are from the region. As a result, the 1,620 residential places are enough to guarantee accommodation for all first years who make Northampton their first choice.

Social scene

Sports enthusiasts have a Premier League rugby club and the home of the British Grand Prix on their doorstep, as well as a more modest football club and first-class cricket.

The university has added a £100,000 gym to its sports facilities, which include a sports hall and outdoor pitches. The town of Northampton has a number of studentoriented bars, but the two campuses’ union bars remain the hub of the social scene.

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