Settling into your new home

To ensure you have the best experience whilst living with us, each University residence has its own Customer Service Manager (CSM):

• Louise – Maple Bank, Elgar Court and Shackleton
• Hannah – Mason
• Jackson – Chamberlain and Aitken
• Alicia – Tennis Court and Green Community
• Chloe – Selly Oak Village
• Adele – Pritchatts Park Village

Your CSM is a friendly face you can talk to if you ever have any concerns, queries or just want a chat. They’re also your first port of call if you have urgent maintenance issues (e.g., gas leak) or need help settling into university life.

You can get in touch with them through the Student Living Helpdesk, or by calling your village reception: 0121 415 8520 (The Vale Village), 0121 414 9022 (Pritchatts Park Village) or 0121 415 1011 (Selly Oak Village). 

Each accommodation site has staff available to support and advise students. Accommodation sites have 24-hour security in place and have their own dedicated reception service to enable students to report issues and access support 24/7. 

If you have concerns such as noisiness, flatmate issues, or you’re just generally feeling like you're not getting everything out of your accommodation experience, we recommend you speak to your site reception.

• Oak Brook Park - 0300 303 8642/bookings@unitestudents.com
• Battery Park - 0300 303 8642/bookings@unitestudents.com
• Calthorpe Court - 0372 291 3016/salesenquiries@wearehomesforstudents.com
• Broderick House - 0121 201 3160/broderickhouse@iqstudentaccommodation.com
• Belgrave View - 0161 850 6664 
• Queen's Hospital Close - 0121 817 8307/queens@host-students.com
• The Metalworks - 0121 285 1770/salesenquiries@wearehomesforstudents.com 

Free high-speed Wi-Fi and wired internet are included with your accommodation. To get set-up, connect to the ASK4 Wireless Wi-Fi network and follow the instructions on your device. For further information, visit our ‘Contracts, inventories, and facilities’ page.  

If you have any issues with connecting, please let your village reception team know. Living with one of our partners? You will need to connect to your accommodation's Wi-Fi. Get in touch with your accommodation team to find out more. 

Connecting to the campus Wi-Fi network

Eduroam is the main campus Wi-Fi network for both students and staff. You can connect to eduroam using your full University of Birmingham student email address and password.

Simply select the eduroam network on your device and enter your details when prompted. For further information on how to connect, visit our online guide.

A TV Licence is not included in your accommodation. You will need to buy one if you wish to watch or record live TV programmes on any channel; watch TV on any streaming service; or watch BBC iPlayer. This applies to all devices, including games consoles, mobile phones, tablets, and laptops.

If you don’t have a TV Licence, you may be fined up to £1,000 and ordered to pay for any legal costs and/or compensation. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Don’t think you need a licence? Let TV Licensing know.

Buy a TV Licence 

Your accommodation includes free contents insurance, including free bike insurance up to £400 (with an £25 excess charge), provided by Endsleigh.

Please see our certificate of insurance for a full breakdown of what’s covered in your accommodation contract. We recommend confirming your cover in your first few weeks with us. Download the My Endsleigh mobile app to get started. This is available for free from the App Store and Google Play. 

Confirm cover with Endsleigh

Confirming your cover allows you to find out:

• What is and isn't covered 
• How to make a claim and your policy excess (the amount you have to pay if you make a claim)
• How to personalise your cover 

Free contents insurance is a standard in most student accommodation. If you're living with one of our partners, please ask your reception team what is and isn't included in your cover.

All our villages have their own washing and drying facilities. They run 24/7 and are provided by Circuit Laundry (Pritchatts Park) and Washstation (Selly Oak and The Vale).

You can wash and dry your clothes from as little as £2.10 and, thanks to the Washstation and Circuit Laundry mobile apps, it’s never been easier to pay. You just need a credit or debit card or PayPal account. Washstation also accepts Apple Pay and contactless payments. 

Through the apps you can also see what machines are in use, reserve a machine and top up your balance. For more information on using the machines, check out the ‘Your room’ section of the Accommodation Pass. 

Living with one of our partners? Contact them directly if you're not sure how to use your laundry facilities.

While you live with us or one of our trusted accommodation partners, you can enjoy exclusive resident perks. These include free social events and sport and fitness sessions, plus one-to-one support from fellow students. Find out more about how you can enhance your experience with us by visiting our ‘Time to thrive’ page today. 

If you live in partner accommodation, chat to your reception team about any additional events happening in your halls.

Our campus is incredibly well connected to Birmingham city centre and surrounding areas, making it easy to explore on foot and by public transport.

We have lots of well-lit walkways, including the Preferred Walking Route, which connects The Vale Village to the city centre, and low-traffic cycle routes make it easy to travel sustainably. We have secure bike stores at all our villages too.

There's also a free shuttle bus, the Selly Express, run by the Guild of Students. It operates in the evenings during term time, helping you get from campus to Selly Oak and surrounding areas after dark. For more information, please visit our ‘Getting around Birmingham’ page.

To help you find your way around campus, we recommend downloading the UoB Campus Map, a free app for iOS and android devices. 

As a student, you can make the most of discounted tickets and offers from Transport for West Midlands and National Express West Midlands. Grab a free four-week regional Network bus ticket (valid until 1 October for freshers only) and enjoy 20% off bus passes. Visit out sustainable travel pages to find out more.

No matter if you're in catered or self-catered accommodation, you can enjoy having fantastic food and drink on your doorstep. There’s the award-winning Vale Infusion restaurant at The Vale, plus over 20 places to eat and drink across campus.

From fresh salads to burrito bowls, authentic curries to delicious Italian fare, you’ll be spoilt for choice. This is all brought to you by Food Fellows, the University’s catering team, specialising in sustainable, authentic and inclusive food.

Discover University food and drink

When it’s time to cook up a storm yourself, there are plenty of grocery stores and shops nearby. You’ll find an Aldi, Sainsbury’s, and Tesco in Selly Oak, and Costcutter at The Vale. Costcutter offers a click-and-collect service; simply place your order through the Food Fellows app.

If you live at Pritchatts Park Village, the bustling suburb of Harborne is just a ten-minute walk away. Here you’ll find all the usual food shops, including Iceland and Co-op, plus local grocers.

Student Living Plus

Did you know that you can make the most of our catered accommodation package, Student Living Plus, even if you’ve booked a self-catered room? You can upgrade to it at any point during the academic year by contacting us through the Student Living Helpdesk. We offer taster sessions throughout the year so you can try before you buy.

Please note, if you’re a postgraduate student, Student Living Plus will only be available to you for the 34-week undergraduate academic year. Student Living Plus is not available in partner accommodation.

Find out more about Student Living Plus

Living in accommodation means you’re at the heart of campus life. And our campus is brimming with some of the most exciting places to visit and things to do in Brum. We’ve rounded up some of our favourites, which are an easy walk from your halls.

Discover a green oasis at Winterbourne

Winterbourne House and Garden boasts acres of botanic garden and over 100 years of history just waiting to be explored. A TripAdvisor Top 10 attraction, it’s the perfect place for nature lovers and Arts and Crafts enthusiasts alike. Enjoy free entry with your student ID card.

Sweat it out at Sport & Fitness 

Whether you’re a sports devotee or enjoy going to the odd fitness class now and again, campus’ Sport & Fitness centre has everything you need to get active, all under one roof. We’re talking Birmingham’s only 50m swimming pool, 100 cardio stations, and more!

Get your culture fix at the Barber

One of the finest small picture galleries in the world, the Barber Institute of Fine Arts features an outstanding collection of Western art. Here you can discover masterpieces by Van Gogh, Rossetti, Botticelli, Turner, Gainsborough and many more. Free entry for all.

Step back in time at the Lapworth

Home to one of the UK’s finest fossil, mineral, and rock collections, the Lapworth Museum of Geology is a treasure trove of natural wonders. Here you can immerse yourself in over 3.5 million years of history and come face-to-face with a life-sized allosaurs – all for free! 

Find your people

There are over 250 student societies and clubs you can join on campus. From crafts to cocktails, Harry Potter to Shakespeare, there’s a group for pretty much anything you can think of. Explore them all over on the Guild of Students website. 

Student life at University of Birmingham is so much more than what’s on campus.

Here, you have the UK’s second city on your doorstep, in all its vibrant, diverse, and dazzling glory. We’ve rounded up our favourite thing to see and do to help you get to know Brum.

Things to see and do 

Did you know Birmingham has more canals than Venice? And more parks than Paris? It’s also home to some of the best attractions the UK has to offer.

If you’re a chocolate lover, visiting Cadbury World should be at the top of your list. Taking a photo with the Bullring’s bronze bull after visiting all the shops is also a must; it’s a Brummie rite of passage. Looking for art and culture? You can’t beat the Midlands Arts Centre and the Ikon Gallery. Make sure you pay a visit to The Electric, the UK’s oldest working cinema too.

Find out more about what Brum has to offer on our ‘Living in Birmingham’ webpage.  

Nightlife

Forget New York, Brum is the city that never sleeps. From live music and drag shows to bars and nightclubs, there’s something for every night owl to enjoy. These are some of our favourite haunts:

• Harborne – the place to be if you want cosy bars and cocktails with your friends
• Selly Oak – boasts a great collection of student pubs and DJ bars
• Digbeth – buzzing with quirky late-night bars offering arcade games, mini golf, and more  
• Broad Street – Birmingham’s main party street, aka the ultimate clubbing destination, home to the iconic Snobs
• Brindley Place – canal-side bars and restaurants just off Broad Street
• Paradise – home to the famous Albert’s Schloss, ‘nough said
• Southside – here you’ll find The Nightingale – Brum’s legendary gay nightclub – as well as comedy clubs, live music venues, and Birmingham Hippodrome

A melting pot of cultures

Birmingham is proudly diverse and home to over 180 nationalities, making it one of the most multicultural cities in the world.

Across the city, you’ll find African and Caribbean restaurants, black hairdressers, international and European supermarkets stocking a range of halal and Kosher foods, plus restaurants catering to cuisines from pretty much anywhere in the world you can think of.

One of Brum’s most popular areas is Chinatown – a vibrant area filled with authentic Asian flavours and culture. Japanese, Malaysian, Chinese, Korean, and Cantonese restaurants abound, and there are plenty of Asian and Chinese supermarkets too for all your cooking needs.

A quick Google search will help you find your go-to place in no time. We also recommend joining one of the Guild of Students’ cultural groups, such as African Caribbean Society, Islamic Society, and Turkish Society, for more information on what’s available in the local area.  

Getting to the city

The city centre (Birmingham New Street) is only a seven-minute train ride away from University Station or a 15-minute ride from Selly Oak Station. No matter where you live, you can make the most of being connected to the city’s best transport links. Find out more on our travel pages.