Revealed: The most, and least, popular Notts student halls

Regardless of what year you start university, the unspoken battle of the halls is always ever present. The hall you’re placed in becomes for you, and hundreds of others, your home away from home for your first year of university. And for most students, this is their first experience of living away from home. Therefore, it will always hold a special place in your heart and the sentimental feeling you associate with the hall will take you by surprise. So whilst it may be a little rough around the edges, god forbid an outsider insults your hall because it’s only okay when you and your hall mates say that. And so help me God, you will defend your hall until your dying breath.

Whilst we all unfoundedly believe our hall is the best, have you ever wondered which University Park halls are actually the most popular? Well thanks to data obtained by The Tab Nottingham in a Freedom of Information request, we can now reveal which hall categorically is the most popular based on applications received by incoming students in academic year 20/21.

An important piece of information to note is that up until 2020, UoN did it’s accommodation applications slightly differently to other universities, in that incoming students applied for ‘accommodation zones’ as opposed for individual halls themselves. On University Park Campus, there are five accommodation zones with the largest zone containing five halls within it and the smallest zone containing just one.

Coming in in first place is the Sports Zone with 893 applications, accounting for over 30 per cent of all applications received. The Sports Zone is located right next to the David Ross Sports Village and is the largest of all the accommodation zones, housing five student halls within it: Ancaster, Beeston, Nightingale, Rutland and Sherwood. To say I’m shocked about this data is an understatement, with it’s boujee reputation and aesthetic buildings I would have put money on Cripps being the most popular hall. But with UoN being voted number one sports university of the year in both 2019 and 2021, it makes sense that the uni would attract the sporty type of incoming students who wish to be close to the gym. This zone is also the most expensive with room types starting from over £200 a week for all five halls.

Second place goes to the North Zone with 816 applications and making up nearly 28 per cent of all received. The North Zone is handily located next to both Hallward Library and Monica Partridge and houses just two halls within it: Cripps and Lenton & Wortley, both infamously known for their boujee reputation and their students’ enjoyment of the finer things in life. If you didn’t go to pres here at least once in your first year then you knew someone who lived here. With room prices for both Cripps and Lenton & Wortley starting at £194.59, it’s definitely not a cheap place to live.

Next up in third place is the Central Zone with 704 applicants making up only 24 per cent of all applications received. The Central Zone is, unsurprisingly, located in the centre of campus, making it ideally situated to get to just about anywhere for a 9am lecture, even if you’ve woken up at 8:45. Within the Central Zone are again only two halls: Derby and Hugh Stewart. With rooms for both halls starting at £194.59, it is on par with Cripps and Lenton & Wortley in terms of price.

Finally, in last place, receiving only 538 applications and making up a meagre 18 per cent of all applications received is the West Zone. The West Zone is the second largest zone on campus with three halls within it: Cavendish, Florence Boot and Willoughby. As a Willoughby alumni myself, I feel sorry for everyone who did not apply for this zone as it is really is the best one – in my humble opinion. With a both tram and bus strops, and even a Co-Op right on your doorstep to fulfil your snack cravings when the catered dinners haven’t quite hit the spot, what more could you ask for?

Related articles recommended by this author:

• Ten things you only know if you ever lived in Cripps Hall

• Ten things you only know if you ever lived in Hugh Stewart Hall

• Eight things you only know if you ever lived in Cavendish Hall