Student Accommodation Royal Holloway | University of London

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The Egham campus was founded in 1879 by the Victorian entrepreneur and philanthropist Thomas Holloway, a social reformer who pioneered the ideal of education and knowledge for all who could benefit. Royal Holloway College was officially opened in 1886 by Queen Victoria as an all-female college before becoming a member of the University of London in 1900.


It wasn’t until 1945 that the college admitted male postgraduate students, and in 1965, around 100 of the first male undergraduates. Further changes followed in 1985 when Royal Holloway merged with Bedford College - another former exclusively female college in London - to become Royal Holloway and Bedford New College (RHBNC), and remains the official registered name of the college by Act of Parliament.


It is worth noting that like Thomas Holloway, Bedford College had been founded in 1849 by fellow social pioneer Elizabeth Jesser Reid.


Today, Royal Holloway is ranked in the top 200 universities in the world thanks to world-class research, the dedication of its teachers and the feel of what its staff call “the Royal Holloway experience”. It’s a community that inspires individuals to succeed academically, socially and personally.


As one of the UK’s leading research-intensive universities, it is home to some of the world’s foremost authorities in the sciences, arts, business, economics and law. It is ranked 31st in the UK and 197th in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2018.


If you've been made an offer for a place at the university then have a look at some of our centrally located London student accommodation below:


It was also ranked 30th in the world, and ninth in the UK, for 2016 in the International Outlook category, recognising its broader outlook as a global university. Royal Holloway holds strong links and exchange programmes with institutions in the United States, Canada, and Hong Kong, notably Yale University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Hong Kong.


It’s Egham campus is set in 135 acres of woodland, between Windsor and Heathrow and is about 40–50 minutes from the city centre’s Waterloo station from the local Egham station. Windsor is just five miles away. The campus is dominated by the Founder's Building, a Grade I listed red-brick building modelled on the Château de Chambord in the Loire Valley, France.


Between 2002 and 2008, the college underwent a £100 million investment programme and a re-development of its campus, as well as extensions to the School of Management (2005 and 2011) and the library, which holds half a million books! The biological sciences laboratories have also been renovated and the Windsor Building, opened in 2007, houses seminar rooms and a 400-seat auditorium.


Notable alumni include author, broadcaster, environmental campaigner and botanist David Bellamy, comedian Lenny Henry, musician KT Tusntall, and actors Mark Strong and Roxanne McKee.