30,000 people to visit Bristol for latest open days

Press release issued: 14 June 2016

Over 30,000 visitors will be attending the University of Bristol's latest undergraduate open days on Friday and Saturday [17 and 18 June].

Around 15,000 visitors have booked to attend each day, with both prospective students and their guests wanting a taste of university life and the chance to see for themselves all that the University and city has to offer.

Bristol's vibrant cultural scene is being recreated for visitors as, for the first time, the University will be running 'City in Our Garden' - a chance to experience the buzz of the city through food stalls, music and sporting activities in Royal Fort Gardens.

All undergraduate schools and departments are taking part in the open days and will be hosting a number of talks, displays and interactive demonstrations.

Subject talks will give future students an insight into the wide variety of courses on offer at the University, including its new undergraduate education courses, 'Studying Innovation at Bristol - how to change the world' and the 'Big Ideas in Science' series.

General information sessions relating to aspects of university life, such as student finance and study and work abroad opportunities will be held in the Open Day Exhibition in the Wills Memorial Building, along with specific sessions for parents and carers, teachers, careers advisors and mature students.

The ground floor of Beacon House, the University's new student study centre, will be open as part of the open days and houses displays about the Faculty of Arts.

Visitors will have the opportunity to view a selection of student residences in the city centre, Clifton and Stoke Bishop, with a free shuttle bus service running throughout the day between the main University campus and Stoke Bishop.

Bristol Veterinary School, based on the Langford Campus, will be open to visitors interested in veterinary nursing and veterinary science courses.

Cat Powell, Undergraduate Events Officer at the University of Bristol, said: "We're looking forward to welcoming so many people to the University and hope they will enjoy their time exploring the city and our campus. If people haven't been able to make one of these dates, there's another opportunity to visit on 9 September.

"Open days are an ideal opportunity for visitors to see the University, our fantastic city, subject areas, facilities and accommodation, not to mention meeting current students and academic staff across the University campus."

To keep up to date with what's happening on the day follow @ChooseBristolUG on Twitter or #bristolopenday.

There will be a further opportunity to visit the University on Friday 9 September 2016. Booking for this event opens at 9am on 27 July.

For more information about open days, please visit the University's website.

Further information

Travel information

In order to accommodate the number of people attending the event, the following roads will be closed from 00:01 on 17 June until 19:00 on 18 June: Woodland Road (north end), Priory Road and Tyndall Avenue. Woodland Road (south end) will have enforced traffic calming measures in place.

We apologise for any disruption caused during the open day. To alleviate disruption to traffic in the city centre, the University will operate a free park and ride service between the Mall at Cribbs Causeway and the main University campus. Drivers may experience short delays around junction 17 of the M5.

We strongly recommend that visitors travel by public transport and use the University's shuttle bus service from Bristol Temple Meads train station. Visitors travelling by car are encouraged to use the University’s free park and ride service from the Mall at Cribbs Causeway. Parking around the main campus is limited as the University is based at the heart of the city and residents’ parking schemes are in place.

Industrial action

Some aspects of the open day on Friday 17 June may be affected by industrial action being taken by the University and College Union (UCU). We are working hard to ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum and are confident that all visitors will have an enjoyable day. We will continue to keep visitors informed as to the possibility of individual talks not running as a result of the action. The open day on Saturday 18 June will be completely unaffected, as there is no industrial action taking place that day.