An important factor to many students, and many parents too, is that England is considered to be a safe place to come and study. The South-East is especially felt to be a secure and stable environment in which to settle quickly and give one’s very best as a student learning new and challenging things. The region is one of the most prosperous in the country and welcomes many international visitors that add to the richness of the community rather than standing out as different.
Another factor worth taking into account is the closeness to London. Most places of study in the region enjoy good communications to London, especially by train and it is worth noting from an institution’s publicity what it says about access to the city of London, because it is likely that you are going to want to visit it during your studies. A number of the students whom I teach have told me that they chose to study in this region because they wanted to be near London but not in it a factor which carries a definite cost benefit.
Amusement about the British climate may cause those overseas to miss the fact that there is quite an important climatic advantage when studying in the South of England, compared with further north. In the South, the summer weather lasts a few weeks longer and the winter period is that much shorter. This difference is particularly enjoyed by those places which are within a close distance of the English Channel, because the sea makes the winter even milder. If you like lots of frost and snow then probably the South-East is not for you, but if you want to be as comfortable as possible in England, it is worth looking carefully on the map about where the place is that you want to study.
How does the quality of courses and institutions in the South-East compare with other parts of the country? Apart from the international standing of world-famous universities like Oxford and Cambridge, it is very difficult to say whether one part of Britain has more or less learning excellence than another. |
