37 Facts About Leeds University

1.

University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

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2.

Leeds University has 36,330 students, the 5th largest university in the UK.

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3.

Victoria Leeds University was established in Manchester in 1880 as a federal university in the North of England, instead of the government elevating Owens College to a university and grant it a royal charter.

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4.

The Victoria Leeds University had been established by royal charter in 1880; Owens College being at first the only member college.

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5.

Leeds University now found itself in an educational union with close social cousins from Manchester and Liverpool.

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6.

Victoria University was a short-lived concept, as the multiple university locations in Manchester and Liverpool were keen to establish themselves as separate, independent universities.

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7.

The University of Leeds soon followed suit and had been granted a royal charter as an independent body by King Edward VII by 1904.

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8.

Victoria Leeds University continued after the break-up of the group, with an amended constitution and renamed as the Victoria Leeds University of Manchester until September 2004.

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9.

On 12 October 2010, The Refectory of the Leeds University Union hosted a live edition of the Channel 4 News, with students, academics and economists expressing their reaction to the Browne Review, an independent review of Higher Education funding and student finance conducted by John Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley.

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10.

In 2016, The University of Leeds became University of the Year 2017 in The Times and The Sunday Times' Good University Guide.

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11.

Leeds University has 1,230 acres of land in total, with the main campus taking up 98 acres.

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12.

The tower of the building is a well-known landmark in the city of Leeds and is used in the university logo and as a university symbol.

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13.

In June 2010, post-war buildings at the University of Leeds were recommended by English Heritage to become Grade II listed buildings.

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14.

Whilst maintaining its strengths in the traditional subjects, Leeds University has developed expertise in more distinctive and rare specialist areas such as Colour Chemistry, Fire Science, Nanotechnology and Aviation Technology with Pilot studies.

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15.

Leeds University library is spread over five locations, and holds, in total, 2.

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16.

Leeds University operate research facilities in the aviation field, with the Airbus A320 flight simulator.

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17.

Medical school has close links with the NHS and works closely with Leeds University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, comprising six hospitals and numerous primary care training practices in Yorkshire and the Humber.

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18.

Leeds General Infirmary and St James's University Hospital, Leeds are the main teaching hospitals in the West Yorkshire region with St James's University Hospital being one of the largest teaching hospitals in Europe.

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19.

Leeds University General Infirmary is a centre in the UK for neurosurgery, and one of only 10 centres in the UK for Paediatric cardiology.

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20.

University of Leeds welcomes more than 9,000 international students from over 170 countries each year, making its campus one of the most diverse and multicultural in the UK.

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21.

Leeds University holds a number of formal links with institutions from around the world to share teaching and research and facilitate staff and student exchanges.

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22.

Leeds University has had seven chancellors since gaining its royal charter in 1904.

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23.

Leeds University Union is a National Union of Students affiliated body, located on the main university campus.

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24.

The Leeds University Union is a founding member of the Aldwych Group, which represents the students' unions of the members of the Russell Group.

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25.

University of Leeds Refectory is the university's main canteen during the day, serving a range of hot and cold food whilst in the evenings it is converted into one of Leeds's largest music venues, having a 2,100-person capacity for live events.

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26.

Leeds University Student was the 2009 winner of The Guardian Student Newspaper of the Year award and short-listed for The Guardian Student Magazine of the Year.

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27.

Leeds University Union operates the student radio station Leeds Student Radio, broadcasting live on their website from 9am to midnight every day during term time.

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28.

Leeds University Union won the award for the Higher Education Students' Union of the Year at the NUS Awards 2009.

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29.

In 2008, the Leeds University Union became the first student union to achieve Gold Status in the Students' Union Evaluation Initiative.

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30.

Leeds University has teams that compete regularly in the British Universities and Colleges Sport leagues and as of 2016 was ranked 14th in the country.

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31.

Leeds University is a member of the MCC Leeds University Centres of Cricketing Excellence alongside the Cardiff, Cambridge, Durham, Loughborough and Oxford, where talented young cricketers can further their academic education whilst receiving an expert levels of cricket coaching and competitive match play.

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32.

The Leeds University Union has over 60 sports clubs which range from Cycling to Sailing.

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33.

Leeds University offers a range of sporting opportunities for students to gain experience and develop their skills by volunteering within the local community.

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34.

Leeds University provides accommodation in either catered or self-catering rooms, mostly reserved for first year undergraduate students but for international students, postgraduates, staff and undergraduates who have been unable to find alternative accommodation.

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35.

Leeds University is one of the few universities in the UK to include an on-campus Transcription Centre, managed in conjunction with the RNIB.

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36.

Former Leeds University students involved in international organisations and politics include multiple current and former UK Members of Parliament and politicians, including current Leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer, former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, and cabinet ministers Clare Short and Sayeeda Warsi.

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37.

St George's Field, part of the University of Leeds campus, is the former Woodhouse Cemetery, where is buried Pablo Fanque, who was a black circus proprietor for 30 years during the Victorian period.

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