The Creative Writing programme at Winchester allows for a lot of creativity, and whilst the options for some modules aren’t what I would like to be able to choose from, what you learn, the structure of the modules and the creative pieces you end up developing is brilliant. I also suffer from a heart condition and mental illness and have missed many deadlines and lectures, and my lecturers have made that time back to me by arranging one-to-one online meetings (if I can’t make it to campus), and there are amazing students support services in place which have allowed me to submit assignments later than the original deadline and put a learning support plan in place for me. Meetings with student services, despite the department, can also happen online if you’d prefer, making it a better option if you’re ill, visiting home, have a lot of work to do at home, mentally can’t comprehend moving, are disabled or impaired, or like many uni students… just lazy. Winchester is great a social scene in my opinion, even during lockdown I made brilliant friends just from being in student halls. You obviously have your course mates too, but there are societies that suit everyone’s interest, many student club nights at the student union (as well as quiz nights, kilo sales… you name it), and there are so many bars around Winchester that you make friends in as well. If you’re after a clubbing scene, there aren’t many. Unless you count the SU, the only club is tiny, and to be honest, rubbish. To go clubbing, you’ll probably end up in Southampton, a 20 min train ride away. And if you’re like me and impulsively spend money on a night out leaving you broke, it’s a good thing you have to travel, because that way you have to plan. The three last things you should know about winch…
it is expensive, but you can work around it if you know how.
there are hills EVERYWHERE. like seriously, don’t wear heels.
it is a small place. perfect for me, because its bigger than my town but it still feels friendly (another reason you make so many friends). most people either love it entirely, or love it when they come, but by the time they go to graduate they are ready to move away.

The University of Winchester is overall an excellent place to study, and I would highly recommend it. I studied Creative and Professional Writing there, which is a fairly new programme, but the standard of teaching is brilliant and there is a good variety of subject matter, including modules on publishing, songwriting and different genres of fiction. The lecturers are brilliant and easily approachable, and can be easily accessed via email outside of contact hours. Lecturers are happy to arrange one to one appointments with students or offer email support.

The university offers many different support systems, depending on the needs of the student. The careers service gives one to one and drop in appointments, where you can discuss your CVs and other career opportunities. Their Academic Skills scheme offers tutoring and resources for students struggling academically, and student services also offers counselling for students having problems with mental health.

The campus includes many state of the art facilities, including a recently opened recording studio. The university is also constantly trying to improve their campus, with a new development underway on the West Downs campus, and recent funding being given for further developments in other parts of the King Alfred campus.

The Martial Rose Library has thousands of resources both in the library and online. The School Resources Centre in the library is extensive and kept up to date for faculty of education students. If you can’t find the resource you’re looking for, the library also offers an inter-library loan scheme, so resources can be borrowed from other libraries. There are study rooms that can be booked and quiet and silent study spaces. Although in exam season these spaces can be filled quite easily, there are lots of other spaces around campus that are suitable for studying in.

There are also plenty of opportunities to get involved in extra curricular activities at the University of Winchester. There are a number of sports teams and societies, and if there isn’t a society for your particular interest, you can always go to the Student Union and ask to create one. I was personally involved in multiple groups in the University of Winchester Music Centre, and would definitely recommend joining if you’re interested in music. There are no auditions for any of the instrumental or vocal groups and they are open to any skill level. It’s a wonderful community and a great way to spend time when not in lectures.

My only criticism of the institution is that there can sometimes be a bias towards larger courses. As it used to be a teacher training facility, the Primary Education and Education Studies courses are the most subscribed programmes, and sometimes get better treatment when compared with smaller courses. For example, there is no budget for the Creative Writing professional placement module and students have to organise their placements themselves, while the Primary Education students have all their travel costs covered and get their placements organised for them. While this can be discouraging, the University is constantly improving, so I can see this issue definitely being solved in the future.