Student Accommodation

Birmingham

Thriving Education

Birmingham is one of the largest centres of higher education that can be found anywhere outside of London. 

With 5 leading universities in this city, you can choose the one that suits your needs the best. Plus, you will also be living in a city that has a thriving student heartbeat giving you the best of both worlds.

The University of Birmingham

The University of Birmingham is a Russell Group university and is home to over 20,000 students in total. It is a large institution, with a cherished history and is easily recognisable due to its distinctive red brick buildings.

The University of Birmingham has been recognised as a global university since 1900. It was the first civic university to allow students from all backgrounds to study there. It provides high-level research-intensive teaching, including Nobel Prize winners on staff, and has over 300 programmes available.

It is no surprise that there are over 1.8 million print and 500,000 online books available through the library service. We offer student accommodation in Birmingham city centre within walking distance of most of the universities.

The Guild of Students

The Guild of Students has a long and successful history of student representation and runs over 250 student groups and societies. These societies cater to all tastes and interests.

Intervol sends 100 students around the world to take part in volunteering projects each year. This includes aids awareness in Cambodia and conservation work in Africa.

High Ranked Faculty

Just a 3-minute walk away from Birmingham City University is Aston University. Aston University is regularly ranked as one of the top Birmingham options for teaching (in fact ranked number 2 in 2017).

It offers plenty of work placement opportunities as part of the study. Around 70% of students experience a year of work as part of their course at Aston University. It was one of the first institutions to offer placement years in the 1950s and has continued this approach to teaching.

Book Lovers Favourite

For book lovers, the large on-campus library is open 24 hours during the exam period and has a wide range of resources available.

Students also have access to over 50 computer laboratories and free high-speed Internet throughout campus.

There is also a Students’ Union at Aston University, providing even bigger and better social spaces for social meetings, events, and everyday student life.

There are over 400 course reps to represent the interests of students, with over 100 societies and clubs to join.

Opportunities

Birmingham City University can be found located across three campuses. It is very popular within local students and is known for its network of local work placements and educational opportunities.

University College Birmingham is a university that focuses more on direct vocational training alongside coursework and theory. Students can expect to receive vocational training in professions such as tourism, beauty, hairdressing, and business enterprise.

Newman University is based in the suburbs and prides itself as a beacon of inclusivity as a relatively new university.

A Hearty Meal

You’ll have access to a well-designed and functional kitchen at your home away from home at our private student accommodation in Birmingham. But we also know that it is always fun to have a nice meal out from time to time. 

If you are studying at the University of Birmingham for instance, you’ll never be short of an option during the day.

Whether you fancy a quick coffee to perk up for the next lecture, a hearty breakfast, or something a bit healthier, you will have plenty of options.

There are over 30 cafés, bars, restaurants, food courts and takeaway options to be found across campus.

Fine Cuisine

Birmingham is also one of the best cities for fine cuisine, with specialist food found all over the city and from all corners of the earth.

There are a few different areas that you have to explore, and all are within easy reach of your student accommodation in Birmingham. Balti Triangle can be found just to the south of the city centre and is home to the highest concentration of curry houses.

The Best Curries in The UK

You will be able to find some of the best curries in the whole of the UK in the Balti Triangle. Some of the curry houses here are the oldest around, with Birmingham said to be the home of the Balti. It’s well worth a visit if you are partial to a curry.

The Chinese Quarter on the other hand is home to plenty of top-notch Chinese restaurants. You can also find spots offering a Chinese buffet at cheap prices and friendly and welcoming environments. This can be the perfect place to spend a student’s budget on food without compromising on the quality of what you’re eating!

Award Winning Digbeth Dining Club

It’s all about searching for those hidden gems when you first move to a new city as a student. A place we would highly recommend is Digbeth Dining Club.

It has won a national Street Food Award in recent times and is open Thursday – Sunday every week. It hosts a range of independent street food stalls and world cuisine outlets.
Keep an eye out throughout the year for the different cuisines on show, from Vietnamese to Indian, US barbecue food to Pizza and Pasta. Plates are usually priced around the £6 mark.

Syrian Coffee

Another student-friendly place to eat includes Damascena, a Syrian Coffee House with three branches in the city. Tasty snacks include falafel, kofta, hummus, fresh kibbeh, and much more. Meze platters here cost as little as £6.95 – a great way to share delicious food with friends.

Vietnamese Food

Min Min Noodle Bar is a crowd favourite with Birmingham students, home to the best Vietnamese food on a budget. You can enjoy delicious prawn, fish, and seaweed stuffed Vietnamese rolls and a great, relaxing ambience!

A Night Out for Everyone

University is all about knuckling down and studying hard right? Of course, there is more to life than just studying! Fom our comfortable student accommodation in Birmingham, you’ll want to know exactly where is best to head out for a night on the town. As it is such a big city, you’ll find something no matter what the day of the week it is. 

Alternative Music

Uprawr is another student classic at The Asylum, hosting various metal, punk, and rock nights just outside the city centre.Eddies Rock Club takes place at The Tunnel Club once a month, playing rock and metal all night. It is the perfect home for the alternative crowd! 

Great Live Music

Birmingham is also full of fantastic live music venues! You can find everything from local bands playing live for the first time to megastars of music coming through on tour.

The O2 Academy on Bristol Street is the biggest venue in the centre of Birmingham, alongside its sister venue at O2 Institute in Digbeth. Digbeth Arena is an open-air venue that hosts mini-festivals and touring bands. The Mill on the other hand hosts alternative bands and up-and-coming bands locally and nationally.

Mainstream Clubs

If you are on the hunt for something a little more mainstream there are plenty of options open to you in Birmingham. Popworld is a student favourite, playing all the cheesy pop hits from throughout the decades. There’s a great student night called Zoo on a Wednesday involving cheap drinks and number 1 hits all night long. Nightingales is another great place to head for student offers .The LGBT-friendly venue can be found in the heart of the gay village.

Indie Music

If you are into indie music there is a pretty lively scene here. We all know what it’s like to throw our hands into the air and start singing along at the top of our voices as the first few lines of Mr Brightside are played by the DJ at an ungodly hour of the morning. It’s been a student institution to do just that for the last 15 years, so why should it stop now? Snobs is one of the places where there is a fantastic indie student night where you can do just that.

Urban Music

For urban music in Birmingham head on over to SugarSuite on Broad Street. It’s a popular venue every night of the week, but on a Friday they play solely R&B and Hip-Hop. You can enjoy the latest releases alongside classics from back in the day. Players on a Tuesday is the place to be with three different rooms of DJs, all playing bangers, and great student offers for drinks.

PRYZM Club

Birmingham has always been a centre of dance music, and this continues to be the case. PRYZM is one of the best dance music nightclubs in the UK, with four huge rooms and an Ibiza vibe all year round. It can be a little expensive for a student’s budget, so keep it for special occasions and big nights out.

Lab 11 is in the Digbeth warehouse district and is the perfect place to get lost in the stark surroundings and dance away for the night. The Hare & Hounds is another venue with a great reputation for fantastic DJs and underground artists over in Kings Heath.

Commonwealth Games Host

Sport is massive in Birmingham, and from your home at our student accommodation in Birmingham, you are within easy reach of some amazing sporting venues and events. Football is king here, and it is no wonder with so many professional football clubs in the city and surrounding region.

Aston Villa Football

Aston Villa are former European Champions, so head on over to Villa Park to see Dean Smith’s side play in the Premier League. You have both West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers not too far away by train or other public transport.

Cricket is also big in Birmingham. Edgbaston not only plays home to Warwickshire but also to England cricket (with an Ashes test and Cricket World Cup Matches taking place there in 2019).

Birmingham is a city that is well renowned for being a fantastic venue for live, competitive sports. If you are into running, The Great Birmingham Run takes place every year, with local and national competitors taking on the challenging course.

Sports Clubs

It could be that you are looking for sport as a way of making new friends and having fun. In this case, there are plenty of sports teams available for relaxed games, whether it is football, rugby, hockey, or cricket. 

Other Individual sports such as tennis, swimming, and badminton amongst others are also available to keep you in your best shape. 

For those who want to compete at a higher level through university sports teams, you can compete against other universities in the BUCS league.

High Street Shopping

Living at our student accommodation in Birmingham you’ll need to find the supermarkets and shops located close to where you’ll buy your staple groceries. In such a big city, you’ll find standard supermarkets as well as discount stores, and local outlets. Birmingham is a culturally diverse city, with plenty of authentic food and items from different parts of the world for you to purchase and enjoy. What about high street shopping though?

The Bull Ring

For most students studying in Birmingham in any of the five universities, The Bull Ring is the place to shop. It is a massive retail centre set in the heart of the city. It is home to over 160 shopping outlets, including a flagship Selfridges. Between Bull Ring, LinkStreet, and Grand Central, you can find all of the best and brightest brand-name shopping that you know and love. Between the three there are over 200 shops to be perused.

Arcades and Pop-Up Stores

Away from the main shopping centres though Birmingham is richer for its love of regal arcades and pop-up stores. There is certainly loads to choose from in this regard, including Great Western Arcade, Burlington Arcade, and Piccadilly Arcade. Custard Factory is the heart of the creative and digital district and is home to plenty of innovative and quirky pop-ups. They are all located within restored Victorian Factories. The Great Western Arcade is home to a completely unique way of shopping that has to be visited to really understand.

Jewellery Quarter

The Jewellery Quarter is one of the biggest areas of British jewellery in the country. It is home to a thriving arts scene, loads of great bars and restaurants and some fantastic independent shopping experiences (over 100 independent retailers). It offers some brilliant gifts, diamond rings and much more (over 40% of British jewellery is reported to be made here). It is a magical area that is home to over 200 listed buildings, stretching back 200 years.

There is plenty to experience and explore when shopping in Birmingham, and certainly, plenty for you to look forward to over the course of your studies. From your base at our Birmingham student accommodation, you’ll be close to everything you could ever need.

Star City

It is no surprise that there is so much to see and do in a city as big as Birmingham. One of the biggest places for entertainment in the city is Star City, located just 10 minutes away from the city centre. It is home to the biggest cinema in the UK (30–screens), a laser station and a mammoth 22-lane bowling alley. As well as that you’ll find plenty of food and drink at Star City. If you are looking for a big night out, Star City is a great choice! It can be easily reached from your student accommodation in Birmingham via public transport.

Variety To Do

For seasonal attractions, Birmingham has some fantastic events throughout the year, including the mesmerising Christmas markets that begin in late November. Bonfire Night is another massive event each year, with plenty of displays throughout the city in its many public parks.

Film Festival

Birmingham Film Festival brings some of the finest filmmakers and movies to the city during November, and the Magical Lantern Festival at the Botanical Gardens is a magical night out. Other big festivals throughout the year include Birmingham International Dance Festival in June, and Birmingham Comedy Festival in September.

Fine Arts

In terms of attractions and cultural locations, there are brilliant examples of art and history throughout the city. Barber Institute of Fine Arts was founded in 1932 and is located in an Art Deco Grade II listed building. It is a tremendous example of fine art, one of the best in the country.

For contemporary art, IKON Gallery is an internationally acclaimed venue located in Brindley Place. Birmingham Museum, with such a rich history to draw upon. The Coffin Works is a relatively new museum of the social history and cultural changes that have influenced the Jewellery Quarter over the years.

Car Collection

The British Motor Museum is home to the largest collection of British cars anywhere in the world (including the very first Land Rover). Cadbury World is an amazing experience where you can discover the history behind the greatest chocolate in the world at the site of the original Cadbury factory in Bournville.