Every student knows it’s vital to get the right study atmosphere in order to be productive, particularly when going through the gruelling revision period. Thankfully, our campus has countless formal and informal study spaces to suit everybody – so many that it can be difficult to know where to go. To celebrate the upcoming exam season, I’ve narrowed down some of my favourite spaces to revise at UoB, and why I would recommend them to any student. Here are my top five!
5. Main Library
Ok, it may be an obvious one, but with its 24/7 opening hours, huge variety of workspaces, swanky café and great campus views, the Main Library really does have something for everyone. Unfortunately, this means it gets busy quickly, so take time to explore for the best chance of finding a seat – try the Wolfson Room on the ground floor, Media Room on the 2nd floor or silent study area on the 4th floor.
Best for… those who want to make use of the all-night opening hours, whether you’re a night-owl working late or an early riser starting at the crack of dawn.
Keep in mind… the library is busiest between 10am and 7pm, so be prepared to get there early in the morning if you want a good seat.
4. The Loft, University Centre
This space is less formal than the library while still offering a similar variety of workspaces. The booths and large tables in this room are ideal for group work, or there are smaller individual tables if you want to tune out and focus. My favourite part about this room is the live occupancy webpage, so you can check which tables and seats are vacant as you’re climbing the stairs to reach this room.
Best for… a group revision session with your course mates (if moral gets low, you can always pop downstairs to Spar for emergency snacks)
Keep in mind… This space also gets busy, particularly around noon when people flock to Uni Centre for lunch, so keep an eye on the live occupancy page.
3. Collaborative Teaching Laboratory
The new CTL building, although meant as an engineering teaching space, has plenty of great space for independent study. Aside from the range of desks in the foyer areas, students are free to use the computer suites when they’re not in use for teaching. There are tonnes of computers here, so it’s easy to find a seat, and each has a dual-monitor setup, which is great for multitasking.
Best for… those who like to write up revision notes digitally – the dual monitors make it a breeze to watch Panopto and type at the same time!
Keep in mind… the computer clusters in this building are primarily reserved for teaching, so you may be asked to vacate your computer when classes take place.
2. Alan Walters Building
Tucked away behind Muirhead Tower, this new business school building has a large foyer with massive windows overlooking the Green Heart. As someone who gets demotivated in dark, stuffy revision spaces, working in this light-filled space really helps me focus. The café here also has a water fountain which dispenses boiling water, so I like to bring my own teabags and travel mug to make unlimited motivational tea.
Best for… when you need to escape your uni room and study somewhere different for a while.
Keep in mind… Since this isn’t an official dedicated study space, plug sockets are limited, so make sure your devices are fully-charged beforehand.
- Orchard Learning Resource Centre
You may have never heard of it, but the oft-overlooked OLRC is my number one place to study at UoB. This study library with over 500 seats is almost never busy, despite its great facilities. It’s just a 30-minute walk to get there, or the uni offers a free shuttle bus between the two campuses, and the library itself features a café, computer clusters and silent working areas. The staff here are also all really friendly and make it a very relaxed atmosphere, which is ideal for stressful revision!
Best for… a marathon 9am-5pm revision session! Take a packed lunch and get productive for the day here, away from the busy-ness and distractions of Main Campus.
Keep in mind… The shuttle bus only comes once per hour, so make sure you arrive at the stop in plenty of time. The bus timetable can be found on the university website.
The OLRC – UoB’s best kept secret? Try it for yourself!