Summer Accommodation

Southampton

The University of Southampton

The University of Southampton has a long history as a top higher education institution dating back to 1862. It is located in a glorious part of England, along the south coast, and close to the Isle of Wight and the New Forest. The main campus is just north of the city centre, surrounded by large, managed woodland, making for a beautiful landscape to learn within.

Research

The university invests millions into research facilities and as a student you’ll have access to the best equipment and facilities in your chosen field, including the BAE-funded flight simulator and Large Anechoic Chamber. The World Wide Web would not exist in its current form if it were not for groundbreaking research at the University of Southampton, where low-loss optical fibres were developed that form the basis of the global Internet today.

Libraries

The libraries at the University of Southampton are geared towards excellence. Five libraries are open in total throughout the university, including over three million books, journals, and specialist collections. There is also access to nearly 500,000 e-books and other digital educational resources, which can be accessed anywhere on the planet by members of the university.

The Hartley Library on Highfield campus is regarded as one of the best research libraries in the whole of the UK, and it is here that you’ll find the Learning Centre and Assistive Technology Centre. There is wide ranging support available through the libraries, both in person and via email, web chat, and telephone, with subject specific support also available. To study in the libraries you can utilise any of the 2,200-computer workstations spread throughout campus, and have access to the Southampton Virtual Environment (SVE) helping you to learn and study from any location, 24-hours a day.

Jobs

The university also aims to help students find part-time work alongside their studies, but also to help further future career options and employability. UniWorkforce helps with temporary and flexible work within the university itself, whilst the Careers and Employability Service can arrange internships and placements within industry to help bolster a student’s CV and relevant industry experience. It also provides one-to-one business mentoring, and specialist advice and guidance on everything to do with a future professional career. You’ll also have access to four annual careers fairs and networking events throughout the year, where over 400 employers visit and over 130 employer-led events take place on campus.

The Students’ Union

The Students’ Union is a large venue, and is home to four bars, a café, plenty of shops, a gym, a regular market, and even a 330-seat cinema. There are over 300 student clubs, groups, and societies from which to join, and at the SU you can take part in regular quiz and karaoke nights, take in live comedy and music concerts, as well as big cultural festivals. SURGE radio runs from the SU, as does a TV Station, a student newspaper, and a magazine.

Southampton Solent University

Southampton Solent University is an ambitious university that encompasses engineering and technology, maritime, media, sport and tourism, and many of the creative industries. It has developed extensive facilities, including one of the world’s leading maritime training academies.

The student satisfaction levels at the library at Southampton Solent University are extremely high, with the 24-hour library winning Customer Service Excellence awards in recent years. It offers a modern and open learning environment that is spread out over five floors and has access to over 450 computers. For student jobs, Solent Futures has links to over 3,000 employers based not just locally, but also throughout the UK and abroad. There is a focus on part-time local work, but also volunteering roles, work placements, and graduate opportunities that make for a promising future career.

The Best Places To Eat

Southampton is a really pleasant city to walk around and have a bite to eat. Whether you are searching for a quick coffee break in between your studies, or you are after some fancy food at the marina at night, there is something for everyone, for all tastes and all budgets. For many students you’ll immediately want to find out where the closest McDonald’s, Subway, and KFC are to your new student accommodation in Southampton, and you don’t have to worry. There are plenty of fast food takeaway outlets and chain restaurants to satisfy your needs, the type of comforting food that you can find in every city. This is important sometimes, especially when you are first moving away from home.

The Marina

One of the nicest areas to have a wander and find a good restaurant or coffee shop to have something to eat is down at the marina. You can sit and watch the yachts docked at the marina at Ocean Village and take in some cocktails at Banana Wharf and a tasty meal at Maritimo Lounge. There are plenty of restaurants and bars to keep you busy here, and a cinema too if you fancy taking in the latest Hollywood blockbuster.

Oxford Street

Oxford Street is a historic location, and the place to be in Southampton for independent traders and restaurants however, and you’ll find plenty of great coffee shops and places to eat along here. The variety and quality of food is astounding really, and as it is a pedestrianised street it is a wonderful place to sit outside and dine al fresco when the weather allows.

Restaurants

The London on the corner of Oxford Street and Terminus Terrace is an iconic building and offers great Sunday roasts, and lovely pub grub, whilst also being a cabaret bar at night on the weekends! Max’s Bar and Brasserie is authentic Italian of the highest quality, whilst Simons at Oxford is a real treat!

Coffee Shops

Good coffee is not hard to find in Southampton and The Docks Coffee Shop on Oxford Street is one of the best around. Here, you can partake in some mouth-watering homemade cakes and a delicious breakfast and brunch menu. Another favourite on the coffee scene is Coffee Lab, which has two city centre locations and is a dream for coffee nerds, as it brings together high quality coffee ingredients and specialist brewing techniques.

The Nousha Lounge is home to coffee topped with edible glitter, great cocktails, and tasty cakes, whilst Café Thrive is a more relaxed affair and is the first 100% vegan café in Southampton. The Art House and its art gallery, music space, café vibe, alongside Cafémonde are both worth mentioning too.

Explore The City

Southampton comes alive at night, and you’ll find a wide range of venues and diverse pubs, bars, and clubs to explore as a student in the city. From your base at our Southampton student accommodation you can find the best craft beers, some amazing cocktails, and brilliant clubs.

Pubs and Bars

For a laidback vibe The Social serves food and drink in a pub setting, and hosts plenty of live music events and DJs. The Orange Rooms is open seven days a week and is the place to be for a quiet pint, a big birthday bash, or a standard party night out it caters for all. The kitsch bar is the perfect setting for 70s inspired debauchery until the early hours. For a relaxed pub vibe The Grapes is a great venue, and with its links to the Titanic is one of the most famous pubs in the entire city. Caskaway on the other hand is a modern, independent micro-bar with a massive selection of ales, cider, wines and spirits.

Clubs

One of the best clubs in the city, and one that students flock to on the regular is Oceana. It is spread over three massive floors, has five bars, and an underlit disco-style dance floor. There are always promotional offers and student discounts to enjoy, as well as student nights on a Wednesday (especially good are the student nights early in the semester).

Expect to dance along to some smash hits, cheesy tunes, and a range of classics from Atomic Kitten to Bon Jovi, and everything in between. Jester’s is the place to be every Monday night, with its student night providing plenty of cheap booze and cheesy tunes. It might be a cliché of a student night, but even the snobbiest will admit to having a really great time at a night out at Jester’s!

Sobar is home to another great student night, with Tuesday night thought to be the best student night in the city by many students. The music makes for a classic night out, and isn’t all just cheesy tunes, and you can get lost in the affordable vodka shots and the wonderfully heated outdoor area that makes it a great place even during the depths of winter.

Student Nights

Chocolate Factory is a student night put on by the guys at Café Parfait on a Thursday, and it offers some interesting drinks offers and amazing music on a night that is often one of the better during the week (you’ve done most of the hard work and it feels like the start of the weekend really, even if you do have to go to uni in the morning for a bit!). For a Friday night out Switch is the place to be with a student-friendly night called ‘Juiced’, in a massive space on multiple floors.

Football

If you are a football fan or not it is difficult to escape the fact that Southampton Football Club (or The Saints as they are affectionately known) is a massive deal in the city. It is well worth a visit to St Mary’s Stadium, where Premier League football is played every other week, with some of the biggest names in world football travelling to the south coast to play for their teams against Southampton (and Southampton themselves being a staple part of the top flight). If you are a student aged between 18-21 you can access some cut-price tickets starting at just £19. This is an incredible price to see top-flight professional football in this country.

Get Outdoors

Living on the south coast means that you are within touching distance of some amazing countryside and coastal walks. Cycling and hiking routes can be found in abundance, as can plenty of watersports at Southampton Water Activities Centre. Just a short ferry ride away is the Isle of Wight, which is home to some stunning beaches and natural landscapes, whilst the New Forest is close by and a wonderful place to go on a hiking trek and camp overnight with friends.

Sport Clubs

There are over 90 sports clubs to get involved with at the University of Southampton, and what this means is that you can get involved with any sport that takes your fancy. Sport can be a great way to meet and make new friends when moving away to university, so whether you just want to play casually and for fun and play some rugby or football, or you wish to do Zumba to get really fit and active, there are choices available to you. There is pitch hire available for a wide range of sports, as well as access to sports fitness and physiotherapy experts.

Alternatively, there is a wide range of sports open to those looking to compete at a higher level. Sport and Wellbeing within the University of Southampton provides access to outstanding sporting facilities and an extensive list of courses and classes aimed to help you stay fit, take on watersports and swimming at a 25m swimming pool, a multi-floor gym with over 160 fitness stations (one of the largest of its kind in UK universities) whilst also working alongside the SU to support competitive levels of sporting endeavour through inter-university competition.

The Best Places To Shop

You’ve just moved into your new Southampton student accommodation and you want to get settled. One of the first things you need to do is work out where the best supermarkets are to buy in cheap groceries, but also where all the top high street brands and shopping centres are located. You are bound to need access to those as you make your new home cosy, comfortable, and really ready to live in for the next year or more.

Shopping Centres

Whether you are on the hunt for fashion and beauty products, tasty food, technological items, or other important goods, there is plenty to see and shop in Southampton as a new student. Westquay Shopping Centre is widely regarded as the premier shopping destination of the south coast and it is easy to see why. You’ll find some of the biggest retailers around and shops are also open late on a regular basis.

The Bargate has recently undergone a huge redevelopment project and the Grade I Listed medieval gatehouse is home to an abundance of great retail and also a space where the weekly market is held, as well as the annual Christmas Festival and markets.

Independent Stores

For smaller stores, independent traders, and wonderful boutiques head on over to Bedford Place at the north end of the city centre. You’ll also find a plethora of restaurants, bars and coffee shops that make for a pleasant few hours of shopping. The independent retail scene is absolutely thriving in Southampton though, and there is plenty to explore in order to find hidden gems in this fine city.

On Above Bar Street you can find Beatnik Emporium, which is a treasure trove of vintage clothing, including both men and women’s clothing and accessories dating anywhere from the 1940s through to the 1990s. It is the longest running vintage shop in Southampton. A wondrous cavern of trinkets, antiques, and collectables, Robin’s Nest Emporium can be found out on Oakley Road but is a wonderful place to spend a few hours looking for that hidden gem.

If you are after a trip into vinyl heaven then Vinilo Record Store on Queensway is definitely the place for you. Spin some records from new independent releases, to classic dream pop, new wave, funk, and many other styles of music – a great way to impress your new mates. Frederick’s Chocolates at The Marlands on the other hand is an award-winning chocolate shop and café and you’ll find everything to satisfy your sweet tooth – choose from traditional handmade fudge and chocolate or one of the 500 types of traditional sweets.

Attractions

With its location on the coast you are never too far away from water at your new Southampton student accommodation. The water is a really important part of the city’s identity, and as such it is important to get a real feel for the history of the city and its relationship with the water.

The SeaCity Museum

The SeaCity Museum is a fantastic landmark that is well worth checking out. You can see the real stories of people who have arrived at the port of Southampton over the centuries, and those who have long-since departed. The city has heavy links to the Titanic, as it sailed from its port in 1912 on its way to disaster, and there is a particularly poignant section of the museum dedicated to this.

The Titanic Trail is a pretty cool way to get to know the city actually, and there are many sites around town linked to the ill-fated passenger ship. You can pick up Titanic Trail maps from various tourist information offices located around the city, and find the Titanic Engineers’ Memorial and the Titanic Musicians’ Memorial amongst other things. To continue the maritime feel, the SS Shieldhall is the largest working steamship of its kind in the whole of Europe. Built in 1954 as one of the Clyde sludge boats it has been restored to become an educational beacon in the city and can regularly be seen at the Southampton Maritime Festival.

Galleries, Exhibitions and Museums

In terms of history and culture away from the water there is plenty to see, with Southampton City Art Gallery a fine example of cultural delights. The National Motor Museum is another interesting attraction with plenty of exhibits to explore.

One of the best ways to discover any city is to take on a walking tour, and one option in Southampton is to walk the walls over a 90-minute session that takes in the medieval vaults, the Romans, the city during WWII, and everything else of relevance. It’s the best way to learn everything you need to know about your new home.

The new Bargate development highlights the exquisite walls that date back to 1180. There are some wonderful historic walks along the walls and towers to be had. The Tudor House & Garden and Medieval Merchant’s House are other important historical buildings in St. Michael’s Square, and include exhibitions covering 900 years of local history.