The Vale Village

Lovely flats, great maintenance people, lake is gorgeous for a nice walk around - made some amazing friends, close to campus and has washing facilities and shops on the village

So integrated, so many halls near each other so you feel close to your friends. Stunning lake and greenery.

Mason has a really nice and big kitchen shared by 5 or 6. Great views of the lake from all the roooms. It has a really nice path for long strolls and runs. There's a grocer on the Vale (Costcutter) so you won't have to go too far if you run out of anything.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!