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Duration at BRGS Sixth Form: 2000-2002 |
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school: BRGS |
| University
you are at, why you chose this university,
and give one interesting fact about your university: |
|
| I am at Cumbria Institute of the Arts in Carlisle. I chose it because I wanted to go somewhere small and quiet where I wouldn’t feel overpowered by the environment. But then I did a gap year in London for a year and realised the fun of being with lots of people! It’s cool because you can say you are from C.I.A! One interesting fact…it’s on a hill so it doesn’t flood… | |
| Best things about your university city: | |
| Because
it’s small it is so easy to get equipment
and personal attention from tutors. You
know everyone so it’s quite a little
community. And Carlisle has the
BEST bonfire night firework display I
have ever seen in my life! |
|
| Worst things about your university city: | |
| It takes half an hour to walk from uni into town, and if you are in halls, there are very strict regulations about being in each other’s flats and having parties and hanging around in the courtyard. Carlisle is TINY even though it’s a city but it does have everything you could need because people come from miles around- the nearest city to Carlisle is Newcastle- 60 miles away. | |
| Social scene/nightlife in your university city?: | |
| Hmm…well, when I arrived, there was 2clubs and a venue for bands. Everyone went to just one of the clubs (called XS) and fell into the routine of going every week. So the other club shut down. Then, a new club opened on the other side of town called Concrete, and everyone moved there instead so now XS is like a ghost club. But it has meant that it has now become a rock club for three nights of the week- very fitting for art students! There are a few nice bars and that, but again, because there’s so few of us, we tend to stick together in which is our favourite place at the time. Social scene- there are loads of nice cafes, a lovely acoustic venue called ‘The Source’ which sells everything from beer to ‘nettle champagne’- very nice. | |
| Popular activities at your university/ in your university city?: | |
| There are no clubs or societies at the moment apart from the Christian Union, but it does mean there’s loads of scope for people to set up their own things. A mate and me are setting up a climbing club, and there’s a football team. There’s a leisure centre down the road, with gym and climbing wall ETC, and Dave Spikey (Phoenix Nights), and Aled Jones are two acts performing there soon. There’s two cinemas, swimming baths…shops……… lots of nice fields and parks………………………… but we are only 10 minutes train ride from the Lake District! | |
| How
much on average per week do a) Halls of Residence,
b) Renting a house, cost in your university town/city? |
|
| Weirdly, halls are more expensive than houses, and there are only 113 spaces! Lots of people don’t get in but it is a good experience. My house now is two-and-a-half minutes walk from uni, right near the Spar shop and the pub! And it costs… £49/week- bills included. Which is pretty good really. Houses on average cost between £48-52 per week, some with bills paid for and some not. | |
| What is the accommodation like in your university town/city? | |
| Halls are nice, they are only about ten years old. Fairly regularly sized rooms, they just look tiny when you first go to move in which is scary! But they are pretty average. Houses vary greatly! They are all quite Victorian I think, some with up to 11 bedrooms! | |
| How much on average do you spend on food shopping per week? | |
| Not a lot! I can only be bothered going once every couple of weeks and spend about £25 a time. But I live really well and eat loads of veg and things so it’s not a problem. | |
| What is the course you are studying? - Was it your original choice when applying for university? | How many years does your course last? |
| I am studying BA Media Production which is quite groovy! It’s supposed to be 60% practical and 40% academic, but I seem to do quite a few essays anyway. It was my first choice when I finally decided what I wanted to apply for! | 3 years. |
| What you enjoy most about your course/ what impresses you about it?: | |
| I didn’t have a clue about media when I started because BRGS didn’t do it then… But I was integrated into it no problem and now I can run with the best of them! You get to try a bit of everything; music video, alternative, film, broadcast news, documentary, radio, TV, and it’s all backed up with theory lectures. But you also have to do practical written things like call sheets, budgets ETC. The amount and quality of equipment here is absolutely awesome, you get to use 3grand's worth of editing suite as freely and for as long as you like! That is the good thing about being a small uni; there isn’t the fight for equipment there would be at bigger universities. And you can have personal attention from lecturers and technicians to help you. | |
| What you enjoy least about your course, and what could be improved : | |
| First year was all good, but my second year has been organised into semester (two halves) and because of how our work is marked, and currently in the middle of a three week stint with nothing to do! Which sounds great but gets a bit boring after a while. | |
| How
do you rate the teaching standards on your
course, and do your tutors/lecturers/the university give you the right support for your studies?: |
|
| They are great actually! Most of them have or still do work in the media industry, which is fab! One of my tutors is trying to organise me a work experience placement at Songs of Praise in Manchester for over summer, which is awesome because I’ll be able to do it from home, and it’s just because she has worked there and happens to know the director! That’s totally off the record too, so it proves how helpful they are. Also there’s lots of support for people who have difficulties writing essays and things, as long as you go through the right lines. | |
| What A Level Grades/UCAS points did you have to achieve to be accepted onto your course? | Why did you choose the particular course you are studying? |
| The grades required were two Cs, it didn’t mention points so when I only got 2Ds, a C and an E for general studies (don’t tell Dr Edwards!) I had to ring and check, so whatever UCAS points that equals is also acceptable. | I wanted to do something that wasn’t too academic but more practical; that was creative but a change from straight art. This seemed pretty close, although even though it’s supposed to be only 40% academic we do a hell load of essays, so if you like writing, it’s still good! |
| Best thing about being at university: | Worst thing about being at university: |
| Being away from home but still with the support of your parents and an institution to fall back on. | Having to try to balance your money, but I guess that happens anyway. Otherwise, there are no down sides once you make friends. |
| What do you plan to do after you graduate? | |
| I haven’t got a clue! Although with the BBC moving some of it’s head offices to Manchester, hopefully work there. Religion is already in Manchester though, so as I want to live in Rossendale that’d be pretty good. Within that though I don’t know. But this course has been really good at giving us a taste of everything so it’s been good to discover what I like and don’t like within the broad spectrum of ‘media’. For example, I love doing news. | |
| If you were to recommend going to university, what would you say? | |
| Being at uni is like no other life experience you could possibly have. I didn’t want to come originally, but now I have, it’s been so worth it. | |
| Do you get homesick? If so, how do you deal with it? | |
| Not really, but I miss my bloke at uni in York! Grr. Uni is pretty laid back so as long as you don’t abuse the system too much, you are free to nip home for a few days if you are really desperate and keep up with your work. | |
| Do you think you made the right choice? Or looking back, would you have gone to a different university/started a different course? | |
| In some ways I wish I had gone to a bigger university, but I think that’s just because I spent a year in London so got used to city life! Carlisle is a city because it has a cathedral (!) but it is the only city within a 60-mile radius, so you are here for the duration. It’s easy enough to get home from here, just an hour on the train to Preston, then to Burnley, but it’s not like you can go to the nearest big city for a night out because this is the ‘big city’ in Cumbria! Newcastle is 60 miles away, and the last train back leaves at 9pm! We go for nights out at quiet country pubs in the lakes though (Penrith) because the last train leaves just after closing at 11.30, which is perfect! | |
| What have you achieved whilst being at university? | |
| What
have you achieved whilst being at university? Er…a degree! That’s the obvious one! Various computer related things, I managed to miss all that at BRGS somehow! But alongside I think the biggest learning experience I’ve been through is getting used to living with people who aren’t your family, and who you wouldn’t naturally choose to get along with! |
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