Living and Learning in the Heart of London
The United Kingdon has a reputation for being home to some of the world’s most desirable and prestigious schools and universities – the universities of Oxford and Cambridge regularly rank in first place on the list of world’s best universities, while London universities, college and schools are hugely sought-after, in all areas of learning from business and accounting to the arts, medical sciences and law. Where better to live than in the heart of London at the Sky Residences, a short distance from the city’s top universities, with all the attractions of the capital quite literally at your feet? Living in the Sky Residences at One Bishopsgate Plaza, you’ll have everything you need at your fingertips via the concierge, such as booking meeting rooms for private study use – perfect for exam prep, plus an incredible 24-hour gym in the building to keep to your fitness goals, world-class dining at all hours of the day and night, and help with cleaning and getting your food shopping delivered if you’re cramming or away on study leave.
What’s more, the building offers a safe and secure place to live in the capital – something that’s at the forefront of every parent’s mind when looking for somewhere for the child to live while studying. And when the parents want to stay, there’s plenty of space and even a five-star hotel on site, making visits a breeze.
A quiet space to study is a huge benefit to student life, though sometimes it’s good to have a change of scenery – and to ensure there are no distractions! London has many fabulous libraries where studying is welcomed, many of which are a short distance from One Bishopsgate Plaza and easily accessible on foot or by public transport. There’s certainly no better place to feel inspired than in the hallowed halls of the British Library which holds over 170 million books, maps, patents and all other media in its collection, which is constantly growing. Other popular study spaces include the ultra-modern Canada Water Library, which is right outside Canada Water tube station and has study areas and a culture space for live events; Bethnal Green Library, which is 30 minutes’ walk from the Sky Residences and is situated in front of a green, so you can study inside or out depending on the weather; Kensington Central Library, which isn’t far from Imperial College London and some of the city’s top museums; and the SOAS Library, housed in a vast concrete bunker that’s a study in Brutalism. Plus, you don’t have to be a student of the School of Oriental and Asian Studies to use it – anyone can apply for both reference and borrowing memberships.
The important question, though, is which London university to choose? Here are just a few universities in London which are easily commutable from One Bishopsgate.
City, University of London
Travel time: 30 minutes’ walk, 25 minutes by bus
City University is ranked the fourth top university in London and has over 20,000 students. The campus is situated close to the Square Mile and Tech City, in the heart of the capital, and has fantastic business links with surrounding corporations. Most undergraduate and postgraduate degrees have a business focus and are offered across six Schools, each one with amazing facilities and research centres: Law, Policy & Global Affairs, Bayes Business School, Communications & Creativity, Science & Technology and Health & Psychological Sciences. City was recently ranked the third-highest establishment in London for student satisfaction.
Notable alumni: Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Jay Shetty, Sophie Raworth, David Lammy, Jo Whiley
Birkbeck, University of London
Travel time: 26 minutes by tube
Birkbeck is a world-class university with more than 18,000 students from 120 countries, and is the only educational establishment of higher education that offers classes in the evening – great if you’re not a morning person. The leading research university is part of the prestigious University of London and offers a wide range of courses from Classics and English to accounting or biomedicine. The university promotes the importance of work experience in students’ chosen fields alongside studying.
Notable alumni: TS Eliot, Nikolaus Pevsner, Philippa Forrester, Bear Grylls, Nerina Pallot
Imperial College London
Travel time: 40 minutes on the tube
Perhaps London’s most famous university, Imperial College London is ranked among the top 10 universities in the world and among the top five universities in the UK. This excellent reputation attracts students from around the globe who come to study engineering, science, medicine or business degrees, across nine different campuses. The historic buildings on Exhibition Road are the most famous, and also incorporate the V&A, Natural History Museum and the Science Museum, and there is a separate campus in White City as well as five teaching hospitals across London and the Southeast.
Notable alumni: Brian May, Alexander Fleming, Hassan II, Roger Bannister, H. G. Wells
King’s College London
Travel time: 20 minutes via tube to Strand, 16 minutes via bus to Guys
King’s College London is the fourth-oldest educational establishment in the UK and is a prestigious Russell Group university which was founded in 1829. The college was named after one of its co-founders, King George IV, and is one of the most highly regarded universities in the world, with students from over 150 countries. There are five campuses, the most famous being on the Strand which houses the arts and sciences faculties. Elsewhere there is Guys by Tower Bridge, two campuses in Waterloo and one in Denmark Hill, Camberwell.
Notable alumni: Alain de Botton, Thomas Hardy, Desmond Tutu, Florence Nightingale, Dina Asher-Smith
Queen Mary University of London
Travel time: 17 minutes on the tube
Queen Mary University is one of just a handful of campus-based universities in the capital. Most students are based at Mile End, set alongside the leafy Regent’s Canal, with medicine and dentistry students studying in Whitechapel. The university began in 1785 and has become one of the UK’s leading research universities and it is the highest-rated Russell Group university for student satisfaction. QMU has some of Europe’s largest laboratories, so it’s popular for the sciences, and it has either educated or hosted eight Nobel prize winners.
Notable alumni: Bruce Dickinson, Peter Mansfield, Fleur East, Esther McVey, Pete Doherty
UCL
Travel time: 19 minutes by tube (Bloomsbury), 25 minutes by tube (Stratford)
University College London was founded in 1826 and is often ranked among the world’s top academic institutions – it’s one of the highest-rated universities in London and has been called ‘an intellectual powerhouse’ by The Sunday Times. With over 46,000 students, the university is the capital’s largest and offers a huge array of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in various fields across 11 faculties and 100 different departments, institutes and research centres. Most students will attend the main Bloomsbury campus, though there is a separate campus at Queen Elizabeth Park and several other sciences buildings close to Russell Square.
Notable alumni: Alexander Graham Bell, Chris Martin, Charli XCX, Francis Crick, Ricky Gervais
University of the Arts London
Travel time: Varies per campus, but most are 20 – 30 minutes by bus or tube
Hugely popular among international students, UAL is Europe’s largest specialist university for art degree courses. The university is made up of six colleges and has 19,000 students, studying courses in the areas of design, fashion, performing arts and art. Students at UAL can study in some of the world’s top art colleges, including Central St Martins, Chelsea College of Arts and the London College of Fashion. The latter’s move Queen Elizabeth Park in Stratford, East London offers even more opportunities for collaboration and access to culture, creative and learning events within the new East Bank quarter.
Notable alumni: Colin Firth, Sir Anish Kapoor, Sarah Burton, Paloma Faith, Jarvis Cocker
For more information about the living in the Sky Residences while studying in London, please contact us at +44 7971 338282 to schedule a private tour.
