Looking for Student London accommodation?

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hamerg
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Looking for Student London accommodation?

Post by hamerg »

My daughter is starting at Urdang in September 2018 and we are looking at accommodation in London, she is 16 any advice or recommendations or anyone in the same position?
jennifer1972
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Re: Looking for Student London accommodation?

Post by jennifer1972 »

I think there is a place called Chester House that some of the Urdang students use.
Mummyaud
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Re: Looking for Student London accommodation?

Post by Mummyaud »

Hi, My Dd is in her first year at Urdang and lives in halls of residence - Liberty House, St John St. It's less than 10 min walk from the Urdang buildings and the whole block has just been refurbished. There are a few other Urdangers there. The rooms are nice but small. All rooms have their own kitchenette and shower/toilet so no shared facilities which is nice. All bills are included.There is a common room, laundry room and a gym on site. The reception is manned 24 hours and it is very secure. It's in a nice, quiet street. We have rebooked her a room there for her second year. However she is 19 so older. They have to do their own shopping, cooking, cleaning and laundry so quite daunting for a 16 year old. It's also very expensive as you would expect in this location. My Dd has a DADA, help from a private sponsor, works part time and we help her with the rest, it's not easy.

A house share would be cheaper but brings all it's own problems with landlords, flatmates and splitting bills etc.

I expect you would ideally like landlady type accommodation for her with food, laundry etc included as that might be best for a 16 year old but I think she would need to travel further out for that. Sorry, we don't know of any students who have this.

Chester House is i think 2 bus journeys away, food is included there I believe, but we have heard it's not very good. Perhaps if anyone has a DC there, they may have more info.

Urdang will send you an accommodation listing through with suggestions. It all depends on your budget really and where she would feel most comfortable.

Hope this helps.
ajbew
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Re: Looking for Student London accommodation?

Post by ajbew »

My DS is just finishing at Mountview but lived at Chester House for his first year. He loved it. Because there is a shared dining room, gym, television room, common room with board games and squishy sofas, dance studio etc they mix well with lots of other students. He made lots of friends from Mountview, Urdang and London Studio Centre. The price is pretty good too. Some people complained about the food (isn't that always the case with mass catering?) but he isn't picky and was quite happy. He says he didn't realise how good he had it until he left. My nephew is just finishing his first year at Urdang and is also living at Chester House. It is only one bus journey and although it is about 45mins, goes from right outside Chester House and then there is no cooking to worry about when he gets back. If they are going to be back late they can request a meal left for them that can be microwaved later. My neice is in her third year at Urdang and was at Liberty House for her first year. Although it is much closer it is also much more expensive and she found that because the rooms are self contained she didn't get to know anybody else. There was only one other Urdang student there when she was so she didn't get the same mixing experience. It was on that basis that my nephew chose Chester House over Liberty where his sister had been. He is very happy with his decision and again has made lots of friends and settled well. Hope this helps.
itsalongshot
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Re: Looking for Student London accommodation?

Post by itsalongshot »

Hi
My dc is with a family. Most schools have a list of host families.
They still have their independence but the security of being in a family home.
May be worth approaching the school for a list.
DGtherunner
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Re: Looking for Student London accommodation?

Post by DGtherunner »

ajbew wrote:My DS is just finishing at Mountview but lived at Chester House for his first year. He loved it. Because there is a shared dining room, gym, television room, common room with board games and squishy sofas, dance studio etc they mix well with lots of other students. He made lots of friends from Mountview, Urdang and London Studio Centre. The price is pretty good too. Some people complained about the food (isn't that always the case with mass catering?) but he isn't picky and was quite happy. He says he didn't realise how good he had it until he left. My nephew is just finishing his first year at Urdang and is also living at Chester House. It is only one bus journey and although it is about 45mins, goes from right outside Chester House and then there is no cooking to worry about when he gets back. If they are going to be back late they can request a meal left for them that can be microwaved later. My neice is in her third year at Urdang and was at Liberty House for her first year. Although it is much closer it is also much more expensive and she found that because the rooms are self contained she didn't get to know anybody else. There was only one other Urdang student there when she was so she didn't get the same mixing experience. It was on that basis that my nephew chose Chester House over Liberty where his sister had been. He is very happy with his decision and again has made lots of friends and settled well. Hope this helps.
Hi, how restrictive is the regime at Chester House? Is there a curfew and restrictions on friends staying late etc? Do they allow friends to stay over or are there any guest rooms? I've been looking at Chester House for my ds. He's not very wild, but does occasionally like a night out and some of the other Christian halls we've seen had 11pm curfews.
ajbew
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Re: Looking for Student London accommodation?

Post by ajbew »

Neither my DS nor my nephew who is there this year have found it restrictive. There is no curfew (they lock the doors into the quad at night but not the actual buildings). There is no restriction on friends visiting either. You are supposed to inform them if you have an overnight guest (not sure all the students do) and pay £2 for the guest to have breakfast. You can also book them an evening meal for £6 if you want. At least this was the case when my DS was there for his first year. He is third year now so things might have changed slightly. He really enjoyed it and although he is not wild either, he is very sociable and certainly went on many nights out and had lots of friends over. It wasn't a problem having his girlfriend stay over either. Hope this helps.
DGtherunner
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Re: Looking for Student London accommodation?

Post by DGtherunner »

ajbew wrote:Neither my DS nor my nephew who is there this year have found it restrictive. There is no curfew (they lock the doors into the quad at night but not the actual buildings). There is no restriction on friends visiting either. You are supposed to inform them if you have an overnight guest (not sure all the students do) and pay £2 for the guest to have breakfast. You can also book them an evening meal for £6 if you want. At least this was the case when my DS was there for his first year. He is third year now so things might have changed slightly. He really enjoyed it and although he is not wild either, he is very sociable and certainly went on many nights out and had lots of friends over. It wasn't a problem having his girlfriend stay over either. Hope this helps.
Thanks for all that information, it's really useful. I think it looks fab, just not great for the public transport for him. All this info may help sway the decision though!
WildFrontier1
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Re: Looking for Student London accommodation?

Post by WildFrontier1 »

Helli.

With regard to Chester House, can i ask if there is a set time for breakfast and does everyone eat in the dining hall or can you take your breakfast up to your room? Just considering here for accommodation. Thank you,
ajbew
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Re: Looking for Student London accommodation?

Post by ajbew »

There are set mealtimes, but you can request your evening meal left in the fridge for microwaving if you know you will be back late. When DS was there they had breakfast, lunch and dinner at the weekends (no lunches during the week), however very few of the students made weekend breakfast so now they do brunch and evening meal. There are a couple of kitchenettes and students are allowed a small fridge in their room if they have one so can definitely eat snacks in their rooms. My son thought the cleaner (who even changes their sheets once a week for them) was a huge bonus! He was there a couple of years ago but I don't think it has changed much from speaking to my nephew.
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