Shropshire Star

Pioneering students start at Shrewsbury's new university

[gallery] For many students it is the first time they have left home, but it's also a first for the people behind Shrewsbury's new university as it opens its doors to welcome its pioneering undergraduates.

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The first intake arrived this week and has seen 40 students sign on for University Centre Shrewsbury's opening year.

As part of their first week in the town the students have been attending a series of introductory events – including a freshers' fair – designed to introduce them to the town, businesses, their colleagues and university staff.

University Centre Shrewsbury's deputy provost Paul Kirkbright
University Centre Shrewsbury's deputy provost Paul Kirkbright

For many Shrewsbury has always felt like a university town. But now, after years of preparation, it has finally welcomed its first ever undergraduates.

Based in Rowley's House – one of the town's most historic buildings – University Centre Shrewsbury (UCS) will play a central part in the town's future as it plans a steady increase in student numbers.

The university, set up by the University of Chester and Shropshire Council, has halls based at Mardol House that opened earlier this month following a multi-million pound refurbishment. It also has a learning centre at the Guildhall at Frankwell Quay, where lectures will be delivered.

The institution provides a variety of courses, including history business studies, geography, English, applied psychology, and biochemistry.

Paul Kirkbright, the university's deputy provost, said they want the institution to become an integral part of the community. He said: "The Guildhall and Rowley's House will be made available to the community wherever possible, in ways such as hosting public lectures and events.

"We are establishing an institution of a character and scale fitting to Shrewsbury, which can grow gradually, working with the community, to the point where it can become an independent institution.

"UCS is an investment for the future of Shropshire, and this is a start in line with the beginnings of other universities such as Buckingham and Sussex."

He added: "It is an honour to be able to develop a university from its very beginnings in such a beautiful town and county.

"Shropshire provides the ideal setting to study undergraduate and postgraduate courses, as well as offering unique opportunities for research and continuing professional development."

Jack Davies, a 19-year-old from Bolton, who will be studying history, was the university's first student after opting for Shrewsbury over Newcastle and Chester.

He said he had made the choice having known Shrewsbury through family and friends while growing up.

He said: "I have always visited Shrewsbury when I was growing up, I know the area very well. It was opening the university and my parents said it was a sign."

Out of the 40 undergraduates a number are already Shrewsbury residents, including 19-year-old Robert Rowlands, who opted for the university as a means of allowing him to continue with the family business.

He said: "It was a bit of a compromise, really. My father wanted me to be a bit more involved in the business and I wanted to do a degree at the same time so it seemed like a great fit.

"Before I was looking at Stafford or Wolverhampton and having to commute, so this is much closer with a great lecturer from Chester and that is a big part for me."

Mr Rowlands said it is great to see the university opening in the town.

He said: "We did a blue badge tour and apparently Shrewsbury was meant to be the third place to have a university set up around 700 years ago but it got put away and now it is happening it is great."

Chris Bernard, 18, originally hails from Paris and has chosen Shrewsbury as his location to study finance.

He said that he had found out about the university through UCAS and is looking forward to getting started.

He said: "I think it is a good university to start my course in finance and to improve my English, I think it is the best choice for me."

Mr Bernard also said he had been settling into the town, and likened it to his previous English home, another place famous for its university. He said: "I think it is a little bit like Oxford."

Mr Bernard is not the only foreign student who has signed up for the university, with Jurij Kmito from Lithuania joining to study biochemistry. He said the town had already made an impression on him.

He said: "It is fun here, I like the place, I have only been here for a few days but it is fine so far. It looks nice and the people are nice."

Arwel John, an 18-year-old from South Wales, said it was exciting to be joining a university as it started out.

He said: "I think it is different because other people know what they are getting when they join a university but this is all new, it is like a trial."

Alex Tomlinson, 18, from Belper in Derbyshire, has selected Shrewsbury to study medical genetics and said she had been inpressed with the town. She said: "I really love the town, it is really pretty."

Paul Kirkbright, the deputy provost at University Centre Shrewsbury, said he was thrilled to finally be welcoming the institution's first students.

He said: "It is just incredible. After the three years the university has been in development to now having undergraduates in the town it is a tremendous achievement for all involved up to this point."

Mr Kirkbright also hailed the current students as pioneers for the institution. He said: "You have to look back 40 years for where this has happened completely out of the ground and we have emphasised to the students that they are part of that journey."

The freshers' fair was attended by a number of local businesses, including Stop Cafe, which has been selected to run the coffee shop in the university's Guildhall centre.

Mike Dalton, owner of Stop, said that the selection of a local business to provide the cafe demonstrated how the university would blend into the community.

He said: "I think there will be a big boost for the local economy. The biggest thing for us is how proud we are to be opening up at the university, when many would have gone for a big chain."