FUN WORCESTER FACTS FOR STUDENTS

Worcester is small but beautiful city located on the banks of the River Severn in south central England.  It’s a popular university city with great nightlife, excellent parks, lovely walks, and a lively city centre perfect for coffee and shopping.  It also has quite a fascinating back story.  Here are fifteen fun facts about Worcester, UK.

• Worcester is never pronounced as ‘War kest err’. The correct and local way to say the name is ‘Wuss ter’.
• One of England’s most famous Kings is buried in Worcester Cathedral. Most kings of England were buried in Westminster Cathedral in London, but King John wanted to be different.

• The Battle of Worcester was the final battle of the English Civil War, where Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army defeated King Charles I’s Cavaliers.
• The world-renowned BMA (British Medical Association) was founded in the Board Room of the old Worcester Royal Infirmary in 1832. This is now part of the University of Worcester.
• Worcester is the home of the world-famous Worcestershire Sauce invented by British chemists (pharmacists) John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins. Inspiration for the sauce is said to come from Bengal in India.

• Worcester Academy and Worcester Sauce are both featured in the Third film of the phenomenally popular Shrek film series. Apparently, the makers of the film love the sauce.
• Very few people know that the locals often call the city ‘The Woo’.
• The American city of Worcester Massachusetts was originally named after Worcester in England. It even features a medieval style castle-monument in the British style.
• Famous ‘Game of Thrones’ actor Kit Harrington who played ‘Jon Snow’ lived in Worcester from the ager of 11 and has said he thinks of the city as home.

• Worcester probably got its name from the Latin word ‘Casta’ meaning fort or castle and was combined with the Saxon word Wegeraceaster, meaning war castle. Others believe it got the first part of the name from the word ‘Wir’ meaning winding river.
• Horses have been competing at Worcester Racecourse for over 300 hundred years.  The Pitchcroft site was first used for formal racing as early as 1718, making it one of the oldest in the UK.
• According to some researchers, it looks like the world-famous English playwright, William Shakespeare, was married to Anne Hathaway in Worcester. At the time, Stratford-upon-Avon was part of Worcestershire, and it is highly likely that the couple were married at St Martins in Worcester in 1952.

• There are more than ten places around the world named after Worcester in Worcestershire England. These include, the towns of Worcester Massachusetts (USA), Worcester Southern Cape (South Africa), Worcester Limpopo (Zambia), Worcester – Saint Catherine (Jamaica), and even part of the Pensacola mountains, Worcester Summit in Antarctica.
• Britain’s longest river flows directly through Worcester. In fact, Worcester is the only city where the river flows directly through the main centre. Only two other cities lie on the river, Gloucester and Bristol.  In both these cases the river runs significantly to the side.

We hope you’ve enjoyed these fun facts about Worcester.  It really is a great place to live and study.

Would you like to book a viewing now? Contact us on info@virginiahouse.net today!

FACILITIES AT VIRGINIA HOUSE

Virginia House is more than accommodation. It is somewhere to live, to work, to socialise and ultimately, to be happy and comfortable.

We are the next step for university students, graduates and young working professionals in Worcester who want a living set-up that is unique and tailored to their lifestyles. Our residents will be a part of something NEW and fresh for our city. There is no other accommodation which offers what we do.

We brand ourselves as ‘no worries lifestyle living’. Working / studying full time is hard work and stressful but Virginia House is set up to minimise these every day worries that would come with living in a shared property.

Do you have an important delivery arriving whilst you’re at work? No worries. We have staff to collect that. There is no need to call out electricians / maintenance / cleaners because we have an on-site team. Do you want to hold a dinner party with all your friends? Hire out the dining room for the evening.

You get the gist. There is nothing that we haven’t thought about at Virginia House.

As well as these everyday conveniences, we also provide facilities which should ensure your overall costs are cut down.

Bills are included with the rent which means no budgeting for extra costs. We have a private gym and yoga studio on the ground floor. You can cancel that gym membership! We also have a ‘coffee and catch up’ area, perfect for catching up with friends without having to spend money in a cafe in town.

The list is endless.

Would you like to be a part of this new movement for Worcester?

You can book a viewing now to get access to our showrooms end of March.

Would you like to book a viewing now? Contact us on info@virginiahouse.net today!

WHAT IS LIFESTYLE LIVING

What is lifestyle living?’, we hear you ask…

Whilst lifestyle living is a new concept for the city of Worcester, it is well established in the big cities such as London and Manchester and further afield including Berlin, Los Angeles and New York.

We believe Worcester has the potential to be more and that lifestyle living will give the city the community and edge that it needs. We have attached some great articles which detail the benefits and facts about this modern and innovative way of living.

Work / Life Balance

“Experience from major cities in North America such as in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles and other European Cities such as Berlin suggests that the provision of co-living accommodation is playing a significant role in meeting the requirements of the millennial generation who often place a higher premium upon flexibility and an all-inclusive experience with access to high quality shared amenity spaces in which they can develop their social and professional networks”.

Read more: https://www.bisnow.com/manchester/news/multifamily/co-living-comes-to-manchester-89021

Affordability

“Co-living is another alternative to sharing a home with mom and dad.

As rents continue to rise, more people are looking beyond websites like Craigslist for a shared living arrangement that offers lower costs and better perks. As a result, the number of co-living offerings has expanded dramatically in the last few years.”

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/02/why-co-living-is-becoming-a-popular-housing-option-in-major-cities.html

Flexibility

“Co-living assets are disruptive and innovative solutions for the changing housing needs of the modern urbanite, particularly in areas where supply and financial pressures are increasing the demand for more flexible living space,” Richard Lustigman, director of living capital markets, co-living at JLL, said.

Read more: https://www.propertyinvestortoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2019/10/is-co-living-about-to-become-a-thing-in-europe

Lifestyle living is the way forward for the young working professional in the city. We are very excited to be the first in Worcester and give you more information and photos when our showrooms are ready.

Would you like to book a viewing now? Contact us on info@virginiahouse.net today!

COVID-19 UPDATE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WORCESTER

Information for students, staff and partners about the coronavirus and our response at the University of Worcester.

The World Health Organisation has labelled the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, defined as a disease that is spreading in multiple countries around the world at the same time.

Latest update – 21 May
The University is preparing to re-start in-person teaching in September, under a careful plan to Save Lives; Protect the NHS; Live; Learn. Professor David Green CBE, Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive, has outlined the plans in this message to students:

Studying and the Campus in the new academic year (Thu 21 May)

Dear Student,

I hope that your health and that of your loved ones is good and that your assessments have been going well.

This email provides you with some information on the approach the University is taking to the new academic year in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Please may I take this opportunity to thank you personally, and also the leaders of the Students’ Union, for the very responsible way in which Worcester students have reacted both individually and together to the pandemic and its effects.

Since the ‘national lockdown’ began in March the focus of the University has been on supporting each and every student to continue with their studies as well as possible in the new circumstances.

I am very grateful to my colleagues who have reacted so positively and professionally to moving teaching, learning and assessment online so that your studies and educational progress can continue as well as possible in the face of the pandemic. Thank-you for all your positive engagement, understanding, suggestions and support.

The University has done our best to support the NHS locally and to contribute to saving as many lives as possible by providing specialist equipment, helping our 3rd year nursing students join the NHS if they so wished, and in other practical ways, as well as by working closely with the Students’ Union in promoting volunteering in particular.

There has been active support for those students who have remained in residence and the big increase in requests for various aspects of student welfare support has been met with the compassion and empathy for which student services at Worcester is renowned.

Arrangements for next Academic year

The next academic year (2020-21) will begin as originally scheduled.

What will next year look like?

Provided the national situation continues to improve, including the effective implementation of the Government’s proposed test, track and trace programme, we hope to be able to move most of our learning back on campus by the start of the term.

We envisage running many in-person lecture programmes, often with smaller groups, strictly respecting physical distancing guidelines, with simultaneous online broadcast where possible and appropriate.

We will aim to deliver the majority of other teaching, including tutorials, workshops, lab work and practicals on campus as long as this can be done in a ‘Covid-19 secure’ way and fully in accordance with Government regulations and World Health Organisation guidance.

This will mean some significant changes – particularly making full use of the teaching day with the timetabling of more late afternoon and early evening classes in particular, in order to avoid busy ‘peaks’ at campus, which would make social distancing difficult. In addition, groups will be split into ‘bubbles’ who will have more teaching together. In some courses we will also use a buddy system for tasks which need to be carried out together.

A great deal of work is currently underway to ensure that our campuses are carefully prepared for the safest possible, socially distanced return to in-person study. Our actions will be guided by science and entirely up-to-date best practice and will likely include, for example:

• The creation of student residential, study and activities ‘bubbles’, where students are organised into groups;
• Full use of the contract tracing ‘app’ system. We will aim to be an exemplar generally of the national programme to ‘test, trace and isolate’, ensuring that any case of Covid-19 is quickly identified and that there is the minimum transmission;
• A further enhanced cleaning regime and the installation of facilities such as outdoor sinks, as well as easy access to hand sanitisers and wipes for computer equipment, desks and other frequently touched items;
• Careful management of the timetable, making full use of the teaching day, to minimise ‘peak density’ on campus;
• Physical distancing within our campuses, including increasing the distance between study spaces in such facilities as the Peirson Study and Guidance Centre;
• One-way circulation within buildings, wherever possible and appropriate;
• The creation of covered outdoor space for dining and informal learning;
• The creation of more cycle hoops and car parking spaces and continued access to a bicycle loan scheme;
• The availability of equipment, such as face shields, to help improve the safety of the whole community as well as managing occasions where social distancing is difficult, such as using public transport.

Acting in this way, we will be highly responsible, aiming to provide outstanding educational opportunities in which our students will be able to both learn and live on campus, as well as virtually. We will of course comply with all relevant government regulations and the latest World Health Organisation guidance and will keep all of our plans under continuous review, ready to act if the situation changes and to make full use of scientific advances. Together with the Students’ Union, we will continue to gather feedback, questions and ideas from our students to inform our approach. Your good ideas are crucial and most welcome so please do share them through our website. Of course, the safety and wellbeing of our students, staff and visitors to the University will remain our primary concern and will be the foremost consideration in our decision-making. There will be a special programme of support for students who are unable to come to campus due to their own health condition.

There is a lot of detailed work to do, and we will keep you updated throughout the summer.

As there is so much news about some universities being ‘online for lectures’ all next year, I thought it only right to be in touch now to let you know about the approach that we are taking.

Stay in touch

We remain here to help and support you and will write to you again as we develop more detail about next year, including further timetabling information. Please do refer to our Students’ Union Help and Advice website and continue to follow our Coronavirus FAQ pages as these will be regularly updated with new information. If you have immediate questions, you can contact us at firstpoint@worc.ac.uk.

With all best wishes.

Yours sincerely,

Professor David M A Green CBE
Vice Chancellor & Chief Executive
University of Worcester

26 February 2020

New Boutique Accommodation in Worcester

Virginia House Lifestyle Living. The next step for university students, couples and young working professionals to share contemporary, stylish living focused on community and convenience.

Virginia House, our sister accommodation, is under construction and due to open in September 2020 and will offer luxury boutique living in the heart of Worcester.

Visit the website

We are members of One Worcestershire!

We love Worcestershire. Proud to be members of @OneWorcestershire – a network of champions for Worcestershire. It reflects the community’s pride in championing the county as a place to live, work, invest and of course, study!

Check out One Worcestershire’s website for more information – http://www.oneworcestershire.com/

How purpose-built student accommodation delivers more than a place to live…

Text quoted from Estate Gazette.

“Those in purpose-built student accommodation are 26% more likely to report top grades in their first year, and the trend continues throughout, compared with those living in halls of residence. Ultimately better accommodation results in better grades.”

What is meant by purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA)?

Farrier House is a leading PBSA in Worcester. With our communal facilities and dedicated team of staff, we are more than a ‘student house’. Everything in Farrier House has been purpose built to suit our hardworking students, from the TV rooms to the rooftop garden.

It is widely recognised that students are a vulnerable group in society with the pressure of achieving good grades and being away from home which is why it is so important that the students are happy in their accommodation. “Purpose-built student accommodation providers therefore need to proactively consider their customers’ needs and how wellness can tie into student accommodation”.

“As a market advocate, we recently conducted a survey of more than 1,100 students, aiming to identify how quality PBSA can support them. The results were striking. Throughout every year of university, living in PBSA makes for better grades and wellbeing.

The UK’s global reputation for educational excellence is long established, as evidenced by The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019 which includes even UK universities in the top 50” – The University of Worcester has been shortlisted in six categories of these prestigious awards.

We are dedicated to continually listening to and meeting student’s needs. What would you desire in your student accommodation if you had the choice?