Fascinating things About Leeds For Students

• 12 Apr, '16
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Leeds is a vibrant and fascinating city with a rich history. If you intend on studying in Leeds, there’s some facts that you might find both useful and interesting. You will obviously get to know the city as you settle in, but knowing a few handy facts in advance can be helpful and point you in the right direction. Here are some useful and interesting facts about Leeds for students.

• Leeds’ motto of ‘Pro rege et lege’ is latin and means ‘For king and the law’

• Leeds railway station has 17 platforms, so finding out which platform you need to go to is crucial. It’s the busiest station in the UK outside of central London, with over 900 trains and 100,000 passengers per day (networkrail.co.uk, 2014).

• Architect Cuthbert Brodrick won £200 for his design for what would become Leeds Town Hall.

• The city centre is blessed with 3.5 million square feet of retail floorspace and five miles of shopping streets. You certainly won’t be disappointed with the shopping in Leeds.

• Leeds is under 20 miles from the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

• Middleton Colliery railway is the oldest continually operated railway in the world

• The Leeds Carnival is the oldest carnival in Europe

• Jelly Tots were invented in Leeds by a guy called Brian Boffey. Not a very useful fact but a fact nonetheless!

• Leeds used to be called ‘Loidis’.

• Hugely successful Marks & Spencer was born in Leeds before it became a well-known national brand.

• There a more females than males living in Leeds.

• Leeds is the third largest city in the UK. If you like large cities then you will enjoy living and studying in Leeds.Leeds attracts more annual visitors than traditional holiday destinations including Brighton and Torquay! (VisitBritain, 2008)

• The average house price in Leeds 10 years ago stood at £84,550. Today it’s £172,850. (Land Registry, 2015)

• Students who are passionate about the environment and green living will be please to know Leeds was ranked sixth in the list of Britain’s ‘greenest’ cities based on environmental performance and quality of life (City Mayors Environment, 2010).

• The University of Leeds receives more student applications than any other university in the country. Which means getting a place is a fantastic achievement.

• The first moving images were recorded in Leeds in In October 1880 by Louis le Prince.

• Leeds Kirkgate Market is the largest indoor market in Europe with over 600 stalls.

• Leeds is known as the regional capital of the Yorkshire and Humber region, where around 5 million people live.

• Leeds was named ‘One of Europe's Top 25 Cities for Business’ (Cushman & Wakefield European Cities Monitor 2009). Should you choose to stay in the city after you graduate, you will find that there are plenty of job opportunities.

• Leeds was named ‘The Best Place in Britain to Live’ by Henley Management College's 'Urban Behaviours' study.

• Leeds University has a Quidditch team (one for the Harry Potter fans).