Leeds City Guide

Welcome to Leeds, Yorkshire’s largest city! Leeds is a hub for students, home to five universities: University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds Art University, Leeds Trinity University and Leeds Conservatoire. Campuses for the University of Law and Arden University can also be found in Leeds. With such a large and vibrant student population, the city is incredibly well set up for student life. Both throughout the day and night, Leeds is an incredibly exciting city to experience being a student in.

Universities 

The University of Leeds is the city’s Red Brick University and also the largest in the city, with around 38,000 students in 2022. It is well known for its Business School, alongside Social Sciences and Engineering. Meanwhile Beckett, the second largest university, offers an equally diverse range of courses but particularly attracts those wishing to study anything Sports related or Hospitality related. Trinity is located in the lovely village of Horsforth on the outskirts of the city and excels in Teaching, Journalism and Psychology. Meanwhile the Art University specialises in…. Arts, The University of Law in … Law, and the Conservatorie specialises in Music. 

Student Areas and Accommodation

Universities provide a lot of first year accommodation, but alongside this there are heaps of other great options independent of the universities. There are several iQ Student residences all over the city, including iQ Altus House, the former ‘tallest building in Leeds’ and the brand new Briggate Studios located dead in the centre of all the action. Many of these options provide communal spaces for all residents, including pool tables, study rooms and sometimes even gyms. 

Typically student accommodation is located in the City Centre, Woodhouse, Hyde Park and Headingley. Most Leeds students live in the gritty Hyde Park and it’s often a prime spot for a first house share in second year. Love or hate it, Hyde Park is certainly an experience. It’s essentially a large inner city area with sprawling terraces, many having basements, all nestled behind Woodhouse Moor, or simply ‘The Park’. It’s definitely not the prettiest area, but there are plenty of great coffee shops, brunch spots, restaurants and funky bars and pubs, most of which accommodate the student budget very well, making it a really vibrant spot. On a sunny day, living near The Park is fantastic as everyone brings out their picnic blankets, bottles and speakers to ensure the rare Yorkshire sunshine is taken full advantage of.

Headingley is slightly further out of the city and is very similar to Hyde Park, but is considered to be a bit ‘nicer’. It’s often where third years, postgraduate students and many young professionals choose to live. With its own high street full of pubs, restaurants, coffee shops, charity shops and The Gym, it is definitely a bustling area, particularly on a Saturday when groups of Otley Runners are always streaming down the street. Headlingley’s great amenities are very ideal for avoiding trekking into town for every social outing. Housing options are a little more varied here than in Hyde Park, with standard terraces but also slightly newer semi-detached houses. Both Headingley and Hyde Park have a medium-sized Sainsbury’s on their respective high streets.

Woodhouse is very conveniently located for anyone wanting to regularly go into town or university and is home to a few cosy pubs such as The Chemic and The Fenton. Due to Woodhouse’s proximity to the universities, there are also quite a few halls located in this area.

Getting around

Great pub quiz fact: Leeds is Northern Europe's largest city without a transport system secondary to the buses. The First Bus app will become your best friend here. Luckily, buses through Hyde Park and Headingley into town are incredibly frequent, so popping into town isn’t too tricky. Hyde Park is only about 25 minutes walk into town and Headingley is a longer but still do-able 40 minute walk , and both walks to the universities are slightly shorter.

The council has also put out bikes in several locations throughout the city and added bike lanes to some roads. There is a train line from Leeds station that stops in Burley and Headingley, so for those living close enough to a station, this is often a good alternative to the buses. Give Leeds a decade and hopefully the trams will be back on the roads.

Leeds Bradford Airport is amazingly located for anyone living in a student area, often only a £15 uber away! Saving money with a nasty 4am flight is suddenly much more do-able. It’s worth noting that Leeds Bradford Airport flights are not hugely frequent and often slightly pricier than other larger airports, so it’s always worth keeping an eye on Manchester Airport too. If the Leeds United fans get too much, (other than Bradford) York is the next city, is only a 30 minute train away and a lovely day out. For an additional 20 minutes on the train, Manchester and Sheffield can also be reached easily.

Food and drink

You can find student-friendly brunch prices at Hyde Park Book Club, with a plate of brunch costing less than £8, and many drinks options all day and night. In town, the options are virtually endless, but if you’re looking for interesting and tasty food on a budget, Kirkgate Market is always a major crowd-pleaser.

Nightlife

Leeds is certainly a party city, and no student is short of drinking options here. Brudenell Social Club and its next door neighbour the Royal Park Pub, both offer fun atmospheres and student-friendly prices within Hyde Park. If you want to head on a night out in town, you’ll probably find yourself down Merrion Street, Greek Street, Call Lane, or on Briggate. All 4 are littered with bars and the former 2 are totally pedestrianised.

There are also several rooftop bars throughout the city, they’re sometimes on the more expensive side, but if you feel like soaking up some evening rays, head to Belgrave, Headrow House, Green Room or IF Rooftop. The Three Legs and The Pack Horse (off Briggate) are best avoided. 

Although the mighty Pryzm may have closed down, there are still plenty of clubs and events venues that are open into the early hours. Check out events in the O2 Academy, Stone Roses Bar, Beaverworks, Bar Fibre, Backroom, Key Club and Warehouse.

Study spots

The city offers a diverse range of study space options for students from all universities. Many PBSA buildings will actually provide focus study amenities for residents, allowing them to study outside of their bedrooms but without needing to commute outside the building to a designated study space!

All universities have libraries, some having more than one, in which plentiful study resources are available and often allowing for a more focused study style. For a more relaxed form of studying between contact hours, the universities’ Students’ Unions offer various study zones, often with heavily discounted food and drinks options available. 

Local amenities 

There are unfortunately no large or budget supermarkets directly in any of the student areas, just medium sized Sainsburys’ and various corner shops. However there is a big Morrisons in the Merrion Centre in the City Centre which is convenient because this is located very near to the bus stops on the routes going back into Hyde Park and Headingley. Alternatively, there is both a big Asda and Aldi in Kirkstall plus an Aldi and Waitrose in Meanwood, both of these areas are walkable from Headingley.

In terms of other retail, Leeds is renowned for its excellent retail shopping amenities. Everything one could ever want or need is certainly available somewhere in the centre, with Leeds Trinity and the Corn Exchange being great places to start.

There are various good gyms across the city, however none are more frequented by students than The Gym located right above Sainsbury’s in Headingley. This is where a vast chunk of the student population go and it’s not unlikely to bump into a coursemate here.

With Leeds being such a large city with vibrant hospitality and retail scenes, there are plenty of part time positions up for grabs within both these sectors. All the universities’ Students Unions will hire staff for any hospitality venues within the Union, so they’re certainly worth looking into. With such a quickly growing financial district currently, internships at local companies are accessible, and there are plenty of networking events happening close by.

Insider tips

If you walk around Leeds University campus early in the morning you can see bunnies everywhere! Also, great Facebook groups to join: ‘Leeds Bar Grafters’ for intel on the hospitality scene/ job postings, ‘C.R.A.P Leeds’ for free things and ‘Cats of Headingley/Hyde Park/Meanwood’ so you can ensure you know every local kitty by its real name.