Author: Amy Downes

Campus

Tour Guide

Key facts
Member of the elite Russell Group.
One of the largest residential campuses in London – lecture theatres, library, gym and accommodation all on one site.
Four smaller campuses in Whitechapel, Charterhouse Square, West Smithfield and Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Over 151 nationalities studying, researching and working at the university.
23,120 students in total.
240+ degree programmes.
Award winning Careers and Enterprise Centre: - Experience-based programmes eg QProjects: 100% of participants have received guaranteed internship. - Expansive jobs board with thousands of opportunities across the University of London.

Fun facts
QMUL first to live-stream a surgical procedure taking place using Google Glass eyewear.
Five Nobel Prize winners have taught or studied here.
We have our own state-of-the-art flight simulator.
We have our own observatory for viewing the night sky on the roof of the Physics Building.
We grow fruit and veg on QMUL allotments.
Alumni Sir John Vane, who founded the William Harvey Research Institute, is credited with discovering how aspirin and similar drugs produced their effects.

1887

Queen Victoria opens the People’s Palace as a centre for Educational, cultural and social activities for the community. Provides a library, reading rooms, swimming pool, gymnasium and winter gardens for the local people of East London.

Queen Mary College is admitted to the University of London.

1915

1989

Queen Mary College merges with Westfield College to form Queen Mary and Westfield College.

Queen Mary and Westfield College merges with St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical School and The London Hospital Medical and Dental College to form Bart’s and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry.

1995

2000

Queen Mary and Westfield College becomes Queen Mary University of London.

Queen Mary joins the Russell Group— 24 leading UK universities which are committed to maintaining the best research, outstanding teaching and learning and unrivalled links with business and the public sector.

2012

Tour point 1— Registration and Introduction
(19) Queens’ Building
Oldest building on campus and opened by Queen Victoria.
Renamed the Queens' Building to reflect the support and patronage of both Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

Tour point 2— The People’s Palace/Great Hall
(16) The People’s Palace/Great Hall
Opened in 1887— to bring new cultural opportunities to the people of East London. Provided library, gymnasium, gardens and swimming pool.
First World War and huge fire in 1931 caused a lot of damage, but Palace was rebuilt and reopened in 1936.
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, bands including Wham and Iron Maiden have all performed in Great Hall. Bruce Dickinson – Lead Singer of Iron Maiden is one of our alumni.

Tour point 3— Queens’ Building Student Services
(19.1) Student Enquiry Centre
Provides assistance to current and previous Undergraduate and Postgraduate students.
Friendly staff available to answer a wide range of queries.
(19.2) Careers Service
Open for students to visit throughout their time at Queen Mary.
Provides support for part-time work, summer jobs, internships and work experience as well as advice on what to do after university (gap year/further study/jobs).
Also offers help with CVs and interview practice.

Tour point 4—The Octagon
(19a) The Octagon
Part of the original People’s Palace that was not damaged by the fire of 1931.
Created as a library and based on design of the reading room of the British Library. Original library completed in 1887 but refurbished in 2006 and now used for exams, conferences and college functions.
Busts of famous writers (Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dryden, Milton, Johnson, Wordsworth, Scot and Byron) and plaques of famous philosophers (Pindar, Homer, Virgil) line the walls.
Several editions of Question Time have been broadcast from the Octagon!

Tour point 5—Geography Square
(27) Advice and Counselling
Offers free and confidential service to all QMUL students.
Trained counsellors are on hand to support students through issues such as bereavement, exam stress, social anxiety.
(28) Student Health Services
Team of GPs and nurses provide a full range of medical services for students.
To register for medical care, patients must have a Tower Hamlets postcode (E1, E2, E3, E14).

The state-of-the-art QMUL Graduate Centre contains lecture theatres, seminar rooms, study spaces and cafes. It is also home to the School of Economics and Finance.

Geography Square

Graduate Centre

Tour point 6.1—Godward/Drapers Square
(4) Mathematical Sciences
(5) Informatics Teaching Labs
(6) Peter Landin Computer Science Building

Tour point 6.2—Godward/Drapers Square
QMotion Health and Fitness Centre (Allow your group to explore inside)
Fully equipped gym with trained gym instructors, two dance studios, a sport specific area, a woman’s only gym, a squash court and recreational sports hall.
Weekly group-class activity programme and one-to-one instruction.
Variety of membership options available ranging from super-off peak, off-peak and peak.
Sporting opportunities at both local and national level. E.g. hockey, rugby, Alpine, Snow Sports, go karting, parkour, netball to mention a few!
(8) Drapers’ Bar and Kitchen
Restaurant in the day, bar/club in the evening.
At night—a high tech nightclub hosting different night such as ‘Mondays Calling’ (pound-a-pint).

Tour point 6.3—Godward/Drapers Square
Infusion—student essentials and coffee shop
One stop shop for day-to-day essentials.
Range of food and drink, stationary, cards, newspapers and magazines.
(64/15) Engineering Building
Major £30m redevelopment underway to enhance building facilities for School of Engineering and Materials Science and the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science.
First phase now complete—undergraduate teaching space and laboratories transformed with state-of-the-art learning equipment.

G.E. Fogg Building

13

Tour point 7— G. E. Fogg Building
G. E. Fogg Building
Named after Gordon Elliott Fogg, a British biologist and Queen Mary alumnus.
Home to Queen Mary’s School of Biological and Chemical Sciences.
The building beat the much lauded £100m Royal Shakespeare Company project at Stratford upon Avon in the Refurbishment Project category.
There are bee hives on one of the floors!
There is also a mini sea life area where they have starfish.

(25) G. E. Jones Building—School of Physics and Astronomy
Reputation for excellence in both research and teaching.
High proportion of female students. QMUL fully engaged with the JUNO initiative to address gender imbalance in Physics.
Astronomical Observatory on the roof — focusses on the sun, but also makes other discoveries!
Extremely active student society with around 200 members.
Shared social and study spaces — lecturers work openly and closely with students in creative spaces such as the Physics Museum.

G.E. Fogg Building

13

25

Tour point 8— Library Square
Library Square
Sculpture—‘Knowledge’ by Wendy Taylor.
Home for lots of events—Graduation, fairs, cake stalls, medieval re-enactment, flash mobs, music and is the hub of the campus!
(31) Francis Bancroft Building
Business School and Language and Learning Unit—Chance to take courses in Arabic, Chinese, French and Japanese.
Disability and Dyslexia Service.
Library
Inter-library system makes it easy for students to get all the academic resources they need.
Library subscribes to many journals and periodicals and also houses an extensive video library.

Tour point 9— Statue & Students’ Union
Clement Atlee statue
Attlee was a post-war Prime Minister and proud supporter of social justice.
He was instrumental to the founding of the National Health Service and his values continue to inspire the research that takes place at QMUL today, especially within the School of Medicine and Dentistry.
Students Union Hub
Multi-faith rooms, student media suite and chill out space for lunch.
Societies: Over 170—From Cheese and Medieval Re-enactment to Harry Potter Appreciation.
Welfare: Offer support on issues from home-sickness to personal safety and from sexual health to disability support. They also offer advice on academic issues.
Volunteering: Student lead volunteering services which connect people to projects in East London.
Events: The Student Union puts on balls, festivals, taster days and many activities throughout the year.
The Hive: A non-silent study area with lots of comfy seating, vending machines, desks/computers/printers, useful for group work or escaping the library.

Key information about Barts & The London School of Medicine and Dentistry
Third in UK for Dentistry and second in UK for Medicine. (Guardian University Guide)
AAA—including Biology/Chemistry plus another Science (Either Biology/Chemistry or Physics/Maths).
You need to have completed the UKCAT test before applying.
The Medical College of the Royal London Hospital (now part of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry) was England’s first medical school when it opened in 1785.
Self-guided tours at Whitechapel only.
The skeleton of Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man, is housed in the School of Medicine and Dentistry's Pathology Museum.
Student accommodation available for Medicine and Dentistry students at Whitechapel.

Tour point 10— ArtsTwo, Laws & ArtsOne
(35) ArtsTwo–History Department
Also home to a Film and Drama studio.
Nuevo Burial Ground
One of only two exclusively Sephardic – Spanish and Portuguese - cemeteries remaining in England.
Opened in 1733 after the community of Sephardic Jews and their descendants grew too large for their original cemetery.
Circular enclosure in the middle marks the landing spot of a World War II bomb.
(36) Law
Mooting Society, Law Society, Legal advice and counselling services for the local community.
(37) Arts One—School of English and Drama
Also home to Languages, Linguistics, Film Studies, Politics and International Relations.
Harold Pinter, the Nobel Prize winner for literature, performed at the Drama studio. There is also the Hitchcock Cinema.

Tour point 11— Student Village
Includes all the student essentials—laundrette, banks, residences office, 24 hour security.
The Curve
Café and refectory serving a variety of hot and cold food from around the world.
Deli counter serving world food items and snacks.
Café Bar serves Starbucks Fairtrade coffee, sandwiches, home made cakes and desserts.
The canal
Great for picnics, sun bathing and BBQing in the summer.

Tour point 12— Accommodation
Key facts:
Over 2000 rooms in the student village which has won awards for its architecture.
Flats contain between 4 – 9 self-contained bedrooms and students share a communal kitchen.
En-suite and non– en-suite rooms available.
Communal rooms are cleaned by college cleaners five days a week.
Security:
Security team available 24/7 and located at three main campuses.
All residences require key-fob access and CCTV is in operation around the campuses.
Prices, terms and conditions:
Rooms are allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis when students have accepted and confirmed QMUL as their firm choice.
If a student is unable to secure a room on campus, QMUL has dedicated Residence Support Officers who will guide and advise them on private accommodation.
Accommodation prices vary and can be accessed online.

Tour point 13— Accommodation
(54) Collect keys from France House reception
(60) Enter show flat—Pooley House flat 2

Disabled access: QMUL have 14 rooms for wheelchair users. If visitors would like to know more about this, take them to the Housing Hub and introduce them to a member of Residences staff. Here, they can discuss accommodation options and disability support at QMUL.

End of tour:
Thank your guests for attending the tour and give them an opportunity to ask questions.
Allow visitors to leave the tour from France House (If they wish to visit the Housing Hub or make their way to Mile End/Stepney Green tube).
Escort any remaining visitors back to Queens Building.