About the Avery Hill Campus
The Avery Hill Campus, in the 86-acre Avery Hill Park in Eltham, south-east London, occupies two locations – Mansion Site and Southwood Site, a few minutes' walk apart. Together they combine the style and grace of a Victorian mansion with the best of modern teaching, living and sporting facilities.
For over 80 years the campus was home to Avery Hill Training College, some of whose 19th- and 20th-century buildings are listed by English Heritage, while on Mansion Site there is a beautiful library housed in a former ballroom.
Students can use computing and laboratory equipment, lecture theatres and a TV studio with 1,000 square feet of floor space. The library has an extensive collection of books and journals and its staff provide expert media support. The university bookshop offers a wide range of course texts and has an online service for ordering over the Web.
A £14 million project to improve facilities on campus has brought two new buildings to the Southwood Site. The David Fussey Building is home to a sports and teaching centre with a multi-purpose sports hall for staff and students and a 220-seat lecture theatre. The upper floors include four clinical skills laboratories which replicate NHS wards, allowing trainee health professionals to get real hands-on experience. A piazza-style courtyard, with wide, curved steps linking upper and lower levels, will offer ample social areas. The new Mary Seacole Building is the main base for the School of Health & Social Care and has teaching space for all Schools on campus.
Social facilities
The village complex on Southwood Site offers accommodation, a general shop and a launderette with nearby sporting amenities for tennis, rugby, football and cricket. 'The Dome' in the centre of the complex, houses a food outlet and a large social space. Mansion Site has a café, a canteen and general shop.
Down the road at the university's sports and leisure centre, Sparrows Farm, there is a cardiovascular suite, conditioning room, and a studio used for dance and aerobic classes. Outside the centre is the Airdome, an indoor football facility shared between Charlton Athletic Football Club and the university. The centre's sports-themed bar hosts entertainment and sports nights.
Around and about
Near the campus are plenty of pubs, clubs and restaurants, as well as cinemas, a 28-lane bowling alley and health and fitness facilities. The nearest town is Eltham, where you will find a high street with the usual array of places to shop and eat. Bexleyheath has the Broadway Shopping Centre. Blackheath, to the north of the A2, has restaurants offering cuisine ranging from Mexican to Indian. A short bus ride or drive away is Bluewater (pictured right), one of Europe’s largest centres for shopping and leisure facilities, including a cinema.
Near the campus is Eltham Palace, which is two great homes in one: Henry VIII's boyhood home is next door to a wonderful example of 1930s chic, an Art Deco mansion built for millionaire Stephen Courtauld.
Premiership football is played at The Valley, home of Charlton Athletic F.C. Near to Avery Hill is Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, which hosts grand prix athletics every summer and other high-profile events.