University of Winchester guide: Rankings, open days, fees and accommodation
Overview
A small university in a pretty cathedral city, Winchester was founded in 1840 as the Diocesan Training School for teachers - and this training remains a key offering today. Both primary and secondary teacher training programmes gained outstanding ratings from Ofsted in all areas last year. However, there is a rare balance of disciplines evident on campus, with almost equal numbers of trainee teachers, healthcare students and those following degrees in psychology, business, social sciences, creative arts and history. UK admissions grew by 6% in September 2024 after some lean years, which the university will hope represents a corner turned. About two-thirds of students come from the immediate South-East region, with just under half coming from homes where parents did not attend university. Winchester is split between two principal sites - the King Alfred Quarter, the university's main campus; and the West Downs Quarter, which opened five years ago and is home to the faculty of business and digital technologies. The King Alfred campus, close to the city centre, contains an attractive mixture of old and new buildings and houses modern learning and teaching facilities, as well as the social hub, the library and the Queens Road and Burma Road student villages.
Paying the bills
Winchester has consolidated a somewhat fragmented bursary and scholarship structure this year within its new catch-all Widening Participation bursary. Up to 50 students in each year group will benefit from the award which is worth £1,000 a year - totalling £3,000 over the course of a three-year undergraduate degree or £4,000 for those on foundation-year degree programmes. The bursary is targeted at the traditionally under-represented groups most likely to experience financial pressures during their studies, including care leavers, young carers and those estranged from their parents. Prices for the 1,600 places in university-owned accommodation start at £6,061 for a 39-week let in a West Downs standard room with shared bathroom, rising to £7,958 for 39 weeks in an ensuite room in the Queens Road and Burma Road student villages. A double bed costs just under £10 a week extra, while a catered option offers 34 weeks of accommodation with ten meals a week for £7,223.
What's new?
The rarely awarded clean sweep of outstanding ratings for primary and secondary teacher training - covering quality of education and training, leadership and management, and overall effectiveness - was a triumph for the university. Ofsted inspectors praised the primary education programme for being 'highly ambitious' and 'meticulously constructed', while secondary teacher trainees benefited from an 'inspirational' programme and leaders who are 'relentless in their drive to ensure that the quality of education and training trainees receive is exceptional'. The new academic year will see the opening of the revamped Martial Rose Library, the main library on the King Alfred campus, which has been brought up to the standard of the recently opened West Downs Library. It is hoped the Martial Rose Library will become a new central hub for students on the campus where the majority live and work, with collaborative, modern working spaces; new seminar rooms; retreat rooms; and virtual interview rooms. The university is also developing a new condensed timetable for students, which groups teaching into blocks of time within days or into particular days of the week. Many universities are looking at doing the same, acknowledging that students often have other family or part-time work commitments to juggle alongside their studies.
Admissions, teaching and student support
The university's new Discover Winchester scheme provides additional support to applicants who may have faced extra challenges in their lives or who might otherwise struggle to access higher education. Those who qualify for the scheme will get more support throughout the application process, a guaranteed interview for courses where it is required, a contextualised offer pitched at eight Ucas tariff points (equivalent to one A-level grade) below the standard advertised offer for a course, and a travel bursary to help with the costs of attending an applicant day for offer holders. The university anticipates an increase in the number of contextual offers made under this new scheme, further diversifying its intake. All students have a personal academic tutor to help them navigate university, and Winchester uses engagement analytics to help identify and communicate with students in need of additional assistance. Supporting mental health, wellbeing and positive relationships lies at the heart of Winchester's Welcome Week activities. The university's wellbeing app offers 24/7 support, and mental wellbeing workshops are held throughout the year, covering managing stress and anxiety, and presentation skills. Winchester also delivers the Look After Your Mate online training programme, which helps students learn to support their friends' mental health. There are compulsory induction sessions on sexual consent; being an active bystander; racial, social and sexual tolerance; and the misuse and abuse of alcohol and drugs, too.