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The University of Birmingham
(adapted from the information in its website at http://www.bham.ac.uk)
The University of Birmingham was founded in 1900 by the citizens of
Birmingham who wanted their own university to train and educate the people
who would create and manage the burgeoning businesses and industries of
the midlands. It was natural, given the nature of Birmingham's industry,
that the University should, from the start, teach the major scientific
and engineering disciplines. It was also the first UK university to establish
a Faculty of Commerce and incorporate a medical school. The modern University
is equally distinguished in the humanities, education, social sciences
and law. It is recognized as one of the leading research-based universities
in the United Kingdom.
The main University campus at Edgbaston is outstanding among UK universities.
It is spacious and attractive with lawns, trees, a lake and pleasant spaces
between the different buildings. It was one of the first 'redbrick' universities
and is said to be the origin of the term. The buildings, which reflect
changing architectural styles through the twentieth century, are grouped
around the central Chancellor's Court with the 100-metre-high Chamberlain
clock tower which honours the University's first Chancellor, Joseph Chamberlain.
The spectacular Great Hall and Aston Webb Crescent are buildings of self-confidence
and majesty.
The Barber Institute of Fine Arts on the Edgbaston campus houses an important
collection of works of art. Its contents range from the 13th to 20th centuries
and include paintings, sculpture, furniture and objets d'art. The Institute
is open to the public and has a concert hall where there are lunchtime
and evening concerts. The large University orchestra and choir give regular
concerts. There are many public drama performances, recitals and lectures
throughout the year.
The University has some of the best sports facilities in the United Kingdom.
These include a swimming pool, sports halls, athletics track, gymnasia
and squash courts, as well as state-of-the-art water-based hockey pitches.
There are playing fields and a golf driving range. At Coniston in the
Lake District, the University has an outdoor pursuits centre.
The nearby Selly Oak campus is situated on a beautiful ‘garden'
site just five miles from the City centre. The spacious eighty-acre site
is green and leafy, with an interesting mix of old and new buildings,
including the state-of-the-art Orchard Learning Resources Centre. Originally
the site of Westhill College, it became a part of the University in 1999.
Westhill College was founded in 1907 by George Hamilton, a Canadian Presbyterian,
with the full support of the local Quaker benefactor, chocolate manufacturer
George Cadbury, who gave the land. George Cadbury played a major part
in the creation and development of both Westhill and the University, and
Cadbury Trusts continue to play a major part in education at Selly Oak
today.
At the start the two institutions performed very different functions
but, as Westhill became more and more concerned with professional training,
its work developed more and more like that of the University. In 1947
Westhill became a founder member of the University of Birmingham Institute
of Education, formed by all the teacher training agencies in the area.
Rather later Westhill became a validated college, and in 1994, it became
a college fully accredited by the University. This campus is now known
as the Selly Oak Campus of the University of Birmingham.
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