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The University of Bristol was founded in 1876; it was initially known
as University College, Bristol. It was the first UK university to admit women on the
same basis as men. The university is one of the largest employers in the area. It is a member of the Russell Group of Universities.
The tower of the university's Wills Memorial Building is a Bristol landmark and a symbol of the university.
The university offers a diverse range of courses, but is most well known for its Medicine, Law and Engineering faculties. In
2001 Bristol University had the highest intake ratio of any British university with 11
applications to every place; the final intake of 2001 had an average A-Level score of 28.6 points.
The university has been regarded as being elitist, taking nearly half of its students from non-state schools. The University
is trying to shake off this image, but despite having one of the highest application-to-place ratios is failing to make any
significant progress.
In late February and early March
2003 the university became embroiled in a row about its admission policies, with some private schools threatening
a boycott based on their claims that, in an effort to improve equality of access, the university is discriminating against their
students.
In recent years, vice-chancellor Eric Thomas has advocated shifting the university's emphasis from undergraduate teaching and towards research. The university has an reputation for excellence in science and
technology, but also in many areas of the humanities and social sciences.
History
The University College of Bristol opened, in 1876, as a college of the University of London. In 1893
University College merged with the Bristol Medical School, and in 1909 the college merged with
the Merchant Venturers' Technical College to become the University of Bristol. At this
point the university was granted a Royal Charter.
Between 1905 and 1930 during the years of the
University's birth a large amount of support, both financial and political, came from the influential Bristol families of Fry and
Wills. The first Chancellor of the University was Henry Overton Wills, whose death in 1911
prompted the construction of the Wills Memorial Building by his sons, George and Harry.
Miscellaneous Facts
From 1929 to 1965 Sir Winston Churchill was the Chancellor of the university.
On March 12, 2004 The Right Honourable the
Baroness Hale of Richmond (aka
Brenda Hale) was installed as the
University's seventh Chancellor, succeeding Sir Jeremy Morse who retired at the end of 2003.
Among university properties is the student hall of residence Goldney Hall, which is a popular location for filming with
the Chronicles of Narnia, the House of Eliott and Berkeley Square being filmed there. The University also owns the Victoria
Rooms, an impressive public hall with an imposing corner site.
As a result of the 2004 AGM the University Union
voted to disaffiliate from the NUS, subject to a student referendum, which resulted in the
union remaining affiliated.
Students gaining first degrees from Bristol are in the select group of British students who do not wear mortarboards at graduation. This is
because, at an early graduation ceremony, the male graduands all threw their headgear at the female graduands by way of 'protest' at coeducation. Subsequently mortarboards were not worn for receiving
first degrees.
The University is the home to the country's oldest drama department, opened in 1946.
Student alumni
Academia
The Victoria Rooms now house the university's Department of Music.
Authors
Business
Journalism
- Plum Sykes (Fashion
journalist)
- Alistair Stewart (TV
Journalist)
- Kate Sanderson (TV
Journalist)
- Laura Trevelyan (TV
Journalist)
- Matthew Norman (Newspaper
journalist)
- Misha Glenny
Politics
Science
- Paul Dirac (Nobel laureate, Physics)
- Professor Judith Howard
(Chemist)
- Klaus Fuchs (Physicist and Russian spy)
- Philip
Charles Ruffles (Director of Engineering and Technology at Rolls Royce)
TV
Staff alumni
Related topics
External links
2003 Admissions policy dispute
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