The Vale Village

Brilliant, modern accommodation. Good location to the university campus and the city as well. Kitchen could benefit from a bit more storage space but overall it is adequate.

The whole place feels like a real community. The facilities team is quick with repairs and any issues. The flats are in good condition.

Mason was a close walk to campus and all the facilities were pretty good. However, the wifi and sometimes the water didn't always work which was quite annoying.

Really nice set around a really pretty lake, lots of different accommodations and lots of space. Tennis courts is fairly cheap and very nice. However meal plan is definitely not worth it. About 15/20 mins to campus and probably 25 mins up Aldi about 25 in the other direction to Morrisons.

Elgar Court - accomodation was brilliant, used to be self-catered but moved to meal plan, leaving you with a massive communal living space. Rooms were a very nice size, probably larger than mason or chamberlain (and cheaper than both) but single beds. Ensuites were good as well. Lots of social events between rooms as well as all the Freshers events both on the vale and at the guild. Also very close to Broad Street where pretty much all the clubs are.

Tennis court - nice spacious living area and kitchen, very social but sometimes a bit loud and I would not like to live on the ground floor, much better than maple bank and only a bit more expensive, closest to campus and launderette within accommodation, lots of people but I am really good friends with everyone in my Block (6 flats to one block), would definitely recommend

The Kitchen means that the social side of the flats isn’t overly brilliant. Rooms are loud on a night often and wet rooms flood easily. On the plus convenient to walk to everywhere with easy access to the canal, uni campus. Overall not bad value for money but there are many improvements that could easily be made to make it better.

The location is very good being a 15 minute walk to the university main campus and university train station. It is also between a 30-45 minute walk to the centre of Birmingham and also to Harborne which is convenient, as this allows you to see a variety of different shops. The room is decent, although the walls aren't great as paint has been peeled off and the walls have holes in from previous students - the could do with filling and repainting. The three quart beds aren't particularly worth it, and the room is laid out in an awkward position initially, although a group of us have realised you can rotate the bed making the room a lot easier to live in. This is one convenience of having furniture in the room that is fully moveable. Not an excess of storage in the room but enough to get by on. Bathrooms flood which can be an inconvenience when wanting to have a quick shower as you have to clean up straight away or have the peril of wet feet. There can be a lot of noise and the kitchens aren't a particularly social place due to the arrangement of the eating area. However nightlife is good and there are always event posters being put through our door.

I lived in maple bank which is the cheapest option. The kitchen is tiny so not great for cooking but you can get by, just don’t all try to cook at the same time! Very sociable halls, there’s always something going on. We tended to have pres out in the hallways. Would recommend if on a budget

Living on the Vale was great - loads of students live there so there's a great community spirit and it's a short walk from campus. There's a range of accommodation too - I lived in Maple Bank which was the cheapest and most basic but it was fine for what I needed.

I spent my first year in Tennis Courts in the Vale Village 2015/16. I was in one of the newly refurbished blocks, I lived in a flat of 5 in a block of about 30 of us. My room was clean and fairly spacious with a single bed, all rooms in the block are the same size/layout. The common kitchen/sitting area was fairly small when you have parties or guests but did the job for us 5. Compared to other UoB accommodation, Tennis Courts was by far the most sociable, there were always parties etc and everyone just seemed to want to socialise. For the price I would say it's the best option for UoB accommodation. Maple bank in comparison is too small, and other accommodation then gets more expensive. Location is about 15 min walk from the University and also a train station, so it is a bit far away from actual central Birmingham, but you feel super safe and it's a definite community vibe.

Stayed at Tennis Courts near the Vale, in a flat of 4 other people and in a block of 30 in total. Bathrooms were shared between each flat. Overall the kitchen and living area was well sized, the bathrooms were more than good enough and the bedrooms were of a reasonable size with a large desk. Location is also ideal being 10-15 mins from Uni.

Really good accommodation. I live in the Aitken block which is very good value for money as well as being catered which makes the first year process a lot easier.

I lived on the tennis courts, the vale for a year and it was such a sociable place to spend first year. You’d meet so many new people and was perfect for a first year accommodation.

Stayed at Shackleton. Really modern facilities and spacious rooms. Had a huge double corner room which was amazing needless to say. Ensuite as well which was nice. Bit far from medschool (25min walk) but the hub of social events.

about 15 mins from uni not too bad, i moved in when the building was just opened which wasnt ideal as there were still many issues

I stayed in Maple Bank on the vale which was my first choice. Maple bank is a very cheap student accommodation at around 3500 for the academic year, but I think it provided everything we needed for a first year of university. The kitchens are well sized for 5 people, there was surplus furniture and 2 bathrooms. The only thing I would say is the single bed was extremely uncomfortable but with such cheap accommodation I don’t think you can complain. You start to appreciate halls once you move to selly oak!

I stayed in accommodation called Shackleton. It was perfect location with a. Shop and Bar underneath so great for social. We had a meal plan included which was good as you could use it at lots of different locations; however the price we paid for it was enormous! The vale itself is very pretty and in the summer they had a festival there too; something not many universities do!

Lively accommodation, great for socialising. Most of the accommodation had been modernised, and had large kitchen space. Room was quite small, but enough space for first year, and lots of storage.