St Mary's University

United Kingdom, Twickenham See a map

Waldegrave Road, Strawberry Hill, TW1 4SX

www.stmarys.ac.uk

OVERVIEW

St Mary's University Twickenham London is a strong and welcoming community of students and staff and is committed to the highest standards in teaching across the wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses they offer. In addition, they have a vibrant research culture and environment.

St Mary’s University is a modern, friendly and welcoming university situated in the leafy borough of Richmond upon Thames and just a short train journey away from the hustle and bustle of central London.

With a close-knit community of students, you’ll quickly feel at home, whilst still being offered all the challenges and excitement of a rewarding student experience.

University has been building a reputation of excellence in education since being established in 1850 and, whilst being centred by key Catholic values of fairness, respect and generosity, they are of course welcoming to students of all faiths and none.

St Mary’s used to be affiliated with the University of Surrey, but became independent in 2006. Since then we have developed an excellent reputation for student satisfaction and teaching quality: The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019 ranked St Mary’s 1st in London for Student Experience and Teaching Excellence, and the recent Guardian 2020 league tables ranked St Mary’s 1st in London for Course Satisfaction and Teaching Satisfaction.

Univeraity has also developed an excellent reputation for sport. They have one of the largest selections of sports degrees in the UK, and have a fantastic record in competition across a range of sports. At the 2016 Rio Olympic games, 23 students and alumni represented Team Great Britain, winning 6 medals in the Olympics and 3 in the Paralympics! All of their competitive teams have professional, fully qualified coaches, and last year their teams won division titles in Cross Country, Football, Rugby, Netball, Basketball, and more.

LOCATION

St Mary’s location is hard to beat. The University has all the advantages of a great London location along with the peace of a beautiful self contained campus in the safe, leafy suburb of Strawberry Hill. Kingston, Richmond and central London are close by so you’ll find plenty of things to do.

The large riverside towns of Kingston and Richmond are just a short bus ride away, and you will find a huge range of entertainment there. Cinemas, live music venues, pubs, several theatres, and a bowling alley await you, as well as an excellent range of shops, cafés and restaurants. Kingston night clubs offer special deals for St Mary’s students and you will find other discounts for students in the area.

On top of this, London is just over 30 minutes away by train from Strawberry Hill to Waterloo, giving the opportunity to take advantage of everything it has to offer from shops and entertainment to the cultural and educational benefits of access to theatres, galleries and the latest exhibitions. Public transport is frequent and runs late so it’s easy to get to and from the University.

You'll also find plenty of convenient local amenities right on your doorstep since the high streets of Teddington and Twickenham are within walking distance and offer a good range of shops, restaurants and pubs. St Mary’s is also in an excellent location for finding part-time jobs too.

The University is situated just a few minutes away from the River Thames in the grounds of the historic Strawberry Hill House. St Mary’s uses some of the 19th Century rooms in the house but also benefits from the lovely grounds and the self contained campus they provide. Additional sports grounds are located just ten minutes walk away.

LIVING COSTS

On-campus catered accommodation* (lower and upper price range):

Catered accommodation: £575 (twin room) / £950 (single en-suite)
Food: £30 / £180
Internet**: Included / Included
Mobile phone: £10 / £45
Clothes: £20 / £200
Transport: £10 / £100
Social activities: £30 / £150
Total: £675 / £1625

* One academic year typically consists of 9 months, from September to May.

** This is to cover lunch, as breakfast and dinner are included in your meal plan.

Private and off-campus renting (lower and upper price range):

Rent in private accommodation*: £400 / £1100
Food: £120 / £280
Internet**: £10 / £50
Mobile phone: £10 / £45
Clothes: £20 / £200
Transport: £30 / £100
Social activities: £30 / £150
Total: £620 / £1,925

*You will have to pay a deposit when renting private accommodation. If you are renting through an agent you may also need to pay agency fees.

** When signing up for internet be sure to compare several options, as many of them require you to sign for a certain amount of time with high termination fees.

Fun and socialising

Below are a few examples of what prices to expect for leisure activities:

Student cinema ticket: £8-13
Restaurant dinner: £15-35
A glass of wine: £4-£6
A pint of beer: £2 -£6 (average £5 in London)
Musical show tickets: £12–£80
A ride on the tube: £2.40
A bus ticket: £1.50
All day travel: £12.80

Everday items

A bottle of coca-cola: £1.50
A bottle of water: £0.60-£2
A loaf of bread: £1-£2.50
A litre of milk: £1
A snickers bar: £0.60
4 rolls of toilet paper: £2
1kg of rice: £0.50-£1.50
A latte from Starbucks: £2.80

Additional costs

Getting around London can be expensive. If you’ll be travelling to the city centre regularly, you may benefit from an 18+ Student Oyster Photocard (£20), which gives you 30% off your travels.

Another option is the 16-25 Railcard (£30), which reduces off-peak rail fares by a third. You can add this railcard to your Oyster card to extend this discount to off-peak travel on the London Underground and the Docklands Light Railway.