The City

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city in the north-east of England situated on the north bank of the River Tyne facing it’s counterpart on the south bank, Gateshead. It is a beautiful city set in some of the best scenery the UK has to offer including the Northumbrian coast.

A city of about 200,000 people, Newcastle is a compact city where almost everything is within walking distance, or at most, a very short bus trip. The campus is centrally located with the main entertainment and cultural sites, literally only minutes away.

Newcastle is famed as the UK’s “Party City” with many bars and clubs serving a very mixed crowd. No trip to Newcastle is complete without sampling the local nightlife in the Bigg Market; the Quayside and the various other pubs and clubs. If you want cutting edge music, historical pubs or just to party the night away, then Newcastle can provide whatever you want.

Our city is a vibrant cultural centre with arts and entertainments to suit all tastes. The Laing Art Gallery holds an impressive collection of 18th and 19th century works and many important British watercolours. The Theatre Royal presents over 380 performances to over 300,000 people each year and is the regional home of the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, Opera North and Rambert Dance Company. There is both mainstream and art house film available to the public at The Gate and Tyneside cinemas.

The latest addition to Newcastle and Gateshead’s cultural scene is The Sage building. An iconic building from Norman Foster, it is the UK’s newest opera house and the finest acoustic building in the world. Auditorium Number 1 seats 1700 people, and is the location of both ESL and Main Final Debates.

Newcastle University

Newcastle University has the unique claim to be Britain’s newest old traditional University. Our roots are in the School of Medicine and Surgery that was set up in 1834. This became a college of Durham University in 1870. Newcastle is a historic city of industry and engineering, reflected in the fact that the next part of the University to develop was Armstrong College, named for the famous industrialist William Armstrong, and dedicated to the teaching of natural sciences and engineering. The medical and sciences parts became Durham University’s King’s College in 1934.

Newcastle became an independent University in 1963. Student’s celebrated their new status by throwing their traditional mortar board hats into the River. Since then, Newcastle students have graduated without them.

Today’s Newcastle University is a modern institution serving 18,000 students in many varied fields. It is a leading research institution, especially in medicine, genetics and bio-sciences.