Smaller universities

[Plasmodesmata]

Son is year 12. Looking at computer type courses but not the real high flying ones (he's not doing A level maths, but is doing comp sci A level). Realistic grades likely to be 3 Cs. He would like to look at smaller unis as he's very socially anxious and worried he might get overwhelmed on a huge campus. He went on a trip to York st John last year and liked it. Can anyone suggest other options with a similar sort of feel?

My son is going to Worcester in September to do Computing
He has ASD and a few other issues. We had a private visit with the admissions tutor and met a couple of the other lecturers.
My son felt very comfortable and I think he will be supported well there.

Leeds Trinity?

@Plasmodesmata
I would look at universities in smaller towns. They are not all huge campus universities. If he’s likely to be overwhelmed by a city, (eg Leeds, Manchester etc) he needs to look at smeller cities or towns that do a suitable course. Maybe not too far from home. It will take some sorting out and sifting through.

Eg: Bangor, Chester, Bournemouth, UCLAN, Chichester, Gloucester, Suffolk, Falmouth etc. I haven’t checked the courses or qualifications needed but they are all smaller compact cities/towns.

I saw the title and was going to suggest York St John.

Thanks all. We're in Yorkshire, York isn't far away, neither is Leeds Trinity, have open day booked.
Bangor looks great, but will have to think about if distance will be a problem.

Will have a look at some of the other suggestions too.

I was going to suggest Bangor - that's where ds is (hopefully) going and we're in Yorkshire too, @Plasmodesmata. The journey is not too bad - slightly hair-raising if you have an EV as we do, but pretty straight forward otherwise. The trains are not direct but are reasonably plentiful. Your ds sounds similar to mine - we did a tour of Leeds Uni as it was on our doorstep and it was an instant no, too big and busy. He is very taken with Bangor.

We visited Falmouth (well, Uni of Exeter on the same campus) and it is beautiful but it is a bloody long way away and ds decided that was too quiet. Worth a visit.

Worcester deffo a good shout.

Aberystwyth maybe but it's a long way. Lincoln is very nice and not huge. No idea on pastoral help tho.

Keele? Not in a big place.

Liverpool hope, Edge hill, keele, uclan

Oooh Edge Hill is another good shout. It has a great sports offer (athletics track!) if he is keen on that OP and tho it is near Liverpool, it's actually in the middle of the countryside.

The city universities are in the cities though. 2nd and subsequent years are not lived on campus however small it is. So Leeds is big. Bangor isn’t.

If his realistic A-level grades are 3 Cs, is he going to be able to cope with a university course or would he be better looking for something like an apprenticeship?

Keele is a small uni on a lovely self-contained campus. The computer science department is very well-respected - three Cs might not be enough, but they do a Foundation Year programme with much lower entry which will then allow progression onto the degree programme (or he can leave after a year with a qualification if uni turns out to not be for him).

Lincoln???

That's a smallish city with a central campus which is also not that large

Have you considered an FE college that offers affiliated HE degree courses?

@Plasmodesmata
He should be ok with CCC but I doubt you can be choosy. No maths will cut some out too. So look at where you might travel to and check entry requirements.

Leeds Trinity is six miles out of Leeds though, and they say "Living on campus isn't just for new students – all students are welcome to live on campus during their time with us."

Six miles out of Leeds is still Leeds. (Albeit it is on the outskirts of Leeds).

Yes agree. But the campus feels very contained and the number of students is only around 5000. It is possible to live on campus and never venture out into the city for nightlife if that's not your thing - many do of course, but Leeds Trinity attract a good proportion of students who are looking for a quieter kind of life.

I've found lots of courses where CCC (plus an AS level) would be enough, as they are on UCAS points rather than particular grade offers. There are also foundation years offered at some of these universities that would accept DDD or similar. So yes, I think he'll manage, if he can find the right course.

Some of the comp sci courses do accept Comp Sci A level instead of maths.

York and Leeds are in the "could commute from home if living away got too much" bracket. But I'd like him to try living away from home, if he can.

Chester uni is lovely. Small campus about 15 min walk from city centre. Pastoral care is good.

Another vote for Keele, it is one of the smallest universities in the UK. Keele has everything you need on campus, technically you never need to leave the campus. The university really cares for it's students, it is very high on the list for student satisfaction.

@Plasmodesmata
Maybe a balance is better? Im
not sure complete isolation is great but on the edge of a decent town or smaller city gives options. He will probably mature and develop at university so perhaps reasonable access to living somewhere not on campus is a reasonable compromise? I’m not sure many students want to be on campus for 3 years.

Lampeter might work for him.

I hear great feedback about Keele. Do you have an idea about distance from home?