Newton St Loe
Bath BA2 9BN
Tel 01225 875 875
admissions@bathspa.ac.uk
www.bathspa.ac.uk
Open days: September 23, October 17, October 24, December 2; February 10, 2010

PERFORMANCE

Sunday Times ranking 76= (57)

Student satisfaction 77.2%
Head teacher ranking 46= (24=)
Peer ranking 88= (62)
Research quality 47.3%
A-level/Higher points 283
Unemployment 6.9%
Firsts and 2:1s 67.7%
Student/staff ratio 21.6:1
Dropout rate 10% (13.6%)

Multimedia

• The Times University Guide table

VITAL STATISTICS

Undergraduates 4,359 (523)
Postgraduates 653 (1,934)
Teaching staff 202
Applications/places 10,988/1,932; 5.7:1 (+0.7%)
Clearing entry 4.7%
Live in 20% (85%) £75-£122
Bursaries 58%: £360-£1,436
Scholarships 10: £100-£1,200

SOCIAL MIX

EU/overseas 1.5%/0.8%
Mature 21%
State school 95.1%
Lowest social classes 30.1%
Low-participation areas 8.9%

There aren’t many universities that can rival the unique Newton Park campus setting at Bath Spa. The lake, fields and woodland were landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th century and students can easily find themselves cramming in a 14th-century castle tower or performing in the award-winning theatre on site.

The Sion Hill campus, which accommodates most of the art and design students, is within walking distance of the city centre. It has undergone an extensive refurbishment and its well-equipped workshops and studios are now among the most modern in the country.

Rated excellent nationally for environmental science, the university practises what it preaches. Last year, Bath Spa was the first university in England to be awarded EcoCampus silver accreditation, closely aligned to the international environmental management system accreditation ISO 14001, which the university is also working to achieve. All students are required to support its extensive recycling schemes and there is no use of animals in research other than observing them in their habitats.

Means-tested bursaries are available to all eligible applicants, worth up to £1,200. There are a limited number of scholarships available to students in the School of Science and the Environment.

Newton Park campus gained a new gym earlier this year and the university has on-site facilities for football, rugby and cricket. Indoor and outdoor floodlit hard-play areas are available at reduced rates within three miles of Newton Park and all students are eligible for concessionary membership of Aqua Terra leisure and fitness facilities throughout the Bath and North East Somerset local authority area.

Bath Spa actively encourages young people from groups and areas with a poor record of participation in higher education to consider university as an option. Students are also offered a free development and training programme, which is designed to help them acquire the professional and personal skills they will need for life beyond university.

STUDENT VIEW

Joey Cozens-Smith, students’ union president:

First impressions The grounds are stunning and kept to a very high standard. There are lakes and manor houses — it’s all very picturesque.
Worst feature The overall lack of sports facilities and 24-hour library.
Facilities We’ve got a new gym in the students’ union with top-of-the-range equipment.
Deal clincher The modular scheme lets you combine courses which allows variety and flexibility.

Rated excellent (6)
Art and design; education; English; environmental studies; sociology; theology and religious studies.

Student satisfaction
Management 84.2; Other subjects allied to Medicine 83.5; Philosophy, Theology and Religious studies 82.9; History and Archaeology 81.4; Business 81.3; Sociology, Social Policy and Anthropology 80.8; Physical Geography and Environmental Science 80.1; Education studies 80; Other Creative Arts 78.7; Psychology 77.6; English-based studies 76; Media studies 75.9; Performing Arts 75.7; Art and Design 73.5

Times recommends

• Students face big rise in university fees
• Students to rate lecturers online
• Lord heads team to look at raising tuition fees