University of Northampton

Come to the University of Northampton and you will see that we do things a bit differently. We are one of the youngest universities in the UK but we are already leading the way in adding value to society, which we call social impact. We have won multiple awards for our work in this area, among others, but what matters the most to us is ensuring that our students and graduates have the opportunity to make their mark on the world too. That’s why we were the first university in the UK to be named as a Changemaker Campus in 2012.We want to break the mould of what Higher Education can be. This has led us to build a whole new University from the ground up that is designed to reflect the way that you actually learn rather than the way you are expected to learn. Waterside Campus opened in September 2018. Our commitment to transforming lives and inspiring change is at the heart of all that we do. We want to ensure that your experience studying with us enables you to transform your life and those of others too, no matter how great or small this may be.Northampton Technical College was opened at St George's Avenue—now the site of the Avenue Campus—in 1924. Eight years later, a new building for the College was formally opened by the Duke and Duchess of York. A School of Art opened later in 1937. At the beginning of the 1970s, Northamptonshire was one of the few counties in England to lack a teacher-training college. A college in Liverpool lost its home and was transferred to what is now the Park Campus. The College of Education was opened by the Secretary of State for Education and Science, Margaret Thatcher, in 1972. In 1975, this College amalgamated with the Colleges of Technology and Art to become Nene College of Higher Education, taking its name from the River Nene. In 1978, it integrated the Leathersellers College from London. In 1993, the college incorporated St. Andrew's School of Occupational Therapy and was granted undergraduate degree awarding powers. In 1997, it took in the Sir Gordon Roberts College of Nursing and Midwifery.It became University College Northampton in 1999 and gained full university status in 2005. To gain university status it had to convince the Privy Council that a Royal Decree banning the establishment of a university in Northampton, signed by King Henry III in 1265 following the Battle of Lewes, should be repealed. In 2005, the university also received the power to validate its own research degrees, which had formerly been validated by the University of Leicester. In the graduation ceremonies in July 2006, seven students received the first doctoral degrees validated by the University of Northampton. In January 2010, the School of Applied Sciences was renamed the School of Science and Technology and moved into the newly refurbished Newton Building at Avenue Campus. The Newton Building was officially opened in September 2010 by Princess Anne.Until 2018 the university had three main sites: Avenue Campus, just north of the town centre, opposite a large open park known as the Racecourse; Park Campus in Kingsthorpe to the north of the town which was the main and largest campus and an Innovation centre opposite Northampton railway station. The Avenue and Park campuses were replaced by the new Waterside campus in 2018. The university has various types of halls of residence on its two older campuses, with just over 1,600 rooms. Most first-year students live in halls, and few second- or third-years do so. Many of them live in the Abington area, north-east of the town centre. The main halls are now located in the student village of the Waterside Campus, and include Francis Crick; Margaret Bondfield; John Clare; and Charles Bradlaugh. A former ground-floor flat in the latter is a multi-faith Chaplaincy Centre, and another in John Clare houses the Centre for Community Volunteering; Bassett-Lowke. The university also offers accommodation at Belinda Ferrison House in the Mounts area of the town centre. In April 2012, Northampton Borough Council granted planning permission for a 464-room hall of residence on the site of the St John's Surface Car Park in the town centre. It opened in 2014 and mainly accommodates international and post-graduate students.The university took ownership of the Grade II-listed former Kingsley Park Middle School, next door to Avenue Campus. This underwent an £11m refurbishment and housed most of the School of Science and Technology, formerly split between Avenue Campus and Park Campus. The building has been renamed the Newton Building, after Sir Isaac Newton.  The university achieved the Ecocampus Silver award in 2011. In May 2012, the university announced plans to establish a new riverside campus in the town centre, on the site of the disused Northampton Power Station on the south bank of the River Nene and located within the Northampton Waterside Enterprise Zone (known simply as Northampton Waterside). The Waterside Campus opened to students in September 2018 with the facilities on both Park and Avenue campuses transferring to it. Proposals have been submitted to redevelop Park campus for housing whilst Avenue campus could be used for student accommodation. The Newton Building will be retained as university offices.

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