h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Greetings....

Firstly, congratulations on the entry for Keele. Entirely fair, apart from the slating of the Foundation Year. I did it and it was great. I learned stuff about everything from Arab-Israeli Relations to the 19th Century Russian Short Story, via the History of the Chinese Communist Party and Astronomy.

I'd just like to add that I consider the main advantage of Keele University to be that dual honours structure. Because everyone is doing dual honours, you get an extra set of friends. To anyone who wants to do dual honours, I'd recommend giving Keele a look, because as everyone is in the same boat, you don't get the kind of single-honours cliques that I'm told happen elsewhere. I've spoken to dual honours types at other universities, and they report having felt part of neither department, and somewhat lost in between them. This doesn't happen at Keele, because everything is set up for dual honours, rather than it having to fit around single honours.

Best wishes


Otto.

The dual honours system at Keele is definitely one of the best points about it.

It gives you a much larger knowledge base (and, yes, more mates!) and if you dislike it too much, you can ditch one of the two for your final year. It's also good for waffling purposes in an interview ("Unusual combinations...varied interests... blah de blah)

Additional info re Keele:

Started as an Adult Education College attached to Oxford University. Became a University in 1949.

There is network of tunnels beneath the gardens of Keele Hall. It was originally constructed as a hideout when Royal Family had a brief stay at the Hall (Bolshevist activity being a big fear at the time.)
It was expanded and reused during WWII, when the area was used an army camp for foreign soldiers (Free French, Polish etc.) and the Hall was used to house code-breaking staff and machines. Incidentally, if a student is caught in or trying to get in the tunnels, it means instant expulsion.

There is supposedly a ghost in Keele Hall - frequenting the areas of the Philosophy and English Departments - of a lady with no hands. It's apparently a Lady Sneyd, whose husband disapproved of her vanity and cut off her hands to stop her preening herself. Unsurprisngly, it worked - she bled to death.

More info. when if remember any....

Hmmm... not sure how much of that is true!!

Keele is a 1960s "redbrick" university, but was never an adult ed college as far as I know - Staffs Uni was. It was a University College (I think affiliated to Oxford) until 1962. The following is from http://www.keele.ac.uk/university/aboutku.htm

"Keele was the first new United Kingdom university of the twentieth century, established with degree giving powers in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire. University status, as the University of Keele, followed in 1962."

AFAIK it's only possible to drop one subject with certain combinations, but not all. This may have changed very recently, but I rather doubt it.

There are tunnels under Keele Hall, but they had nothing to do with the Royal Family - Keele just ain't that significant - fear of communist insurgents was never *that* strong in the UK. Edward VII was enterained there by Grand Duke Michael of Russia, though.

Troops were stationed at Keele during WWII, but I've never heard anything about code breaking.

There are no serious rumours about ghosts in Keele Hall - the current building is 19th century, though it looks much older.

Also of note is that the Jubilee 2000 movement has some of its roots at Keele, with Martin Dent (a politics lecturer), academic colleagues, and students holding the first ever Jubilee meeting and coining the name at Keele University.

Otto

Most of the info was culled from an impromptu "History of Keele" lecture my tutor group received (end of semester, run out of syllabus sort of thing)

He was definite about the types of soldiers camped there and the code-breaking business (he stressed it wasn't Enigma-related).

The "ghost" story was the only one I heard from a number of people (although, needless to say sightings were non-existent).

He also mentioned a railway branch line that was once contructed to Keele Hall for some special occasion, although by that point he was getting so vague, I was inclined to discount it.....

Scat