12 reasons to study in the West Midlands

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Are you thinking of studying in the West Midlands? The oft forgotten bit in the middle of the country known as the West Midlands has got a lot to offer, from great universities to great food and a proud history of sports. Still not convinced? Then maybe we can sway you...

1. It’s in the middle

Not sure whether you suit the north or south better? Hedge your bets and live in the middle. Living in the middle of England means no other English city can be too far away and the West Midlands has great transport links to practically everywhere in the UK you could want to go.

2. Birmingham is the spiritual home of chocolate…

Birmingham in the West Midlands is the second biggest city in the UK, but more exciting than that, it’s the home of chocolate! The Cadbury factory, where some of the country’s favourite sweet treats are made is in Birmingham, and yes, you can take a tour. The factory is in the Bournville area of Birmingham – that’s right, Bournville chocolate is named after a village in the West Midlands.

3. …And curry!

Birmingham has long been known as the ‘Curry Capital’ of the UK, thanks to its so called ‘Balti Triangle’ of curry houses, but did you know that the Balti, one of Britain’s most popular curries, was actually invented in Birmingham? Mohammed Ajaib first came up with the dish in 1977 as a way of marking out his restaurant from the other curry houses in the area.

4. It’s also home to the original Spaghetti Junction

‘Spaghetti Junction’ is a term commonly used to refer to a complicated traffic interchange with multiple roads, but it was originally coined in reference to the Gravelly Hill Interchange in Birmingham. When it first opened it was described by local reporters as a ‘cross between a plate of spaghetti and an unsuccessful attempt at a Staffordshire knot’. Spaghetti Junction is a famous landmark, and while it’s regarded by some as an eyesore, getting lost on Spaghetti Junction is a rite of passage for all drivers.

5. The West Midlands has not one, but two Russell Group universities

You’ll have your choice of top unis in the Midlands, as the University of Birmingham and the University of Warwick are all members of the Russell Group. Other unis across the West Midlands also consistently rank highly in a variety of areas, including…

6. Student satisfaction is super high

While we’re on the subject of why unis in the West Midlands are so great, did you know that the University of Warwick, Coventry University and Birmingham Newman University all came in the top 20 UK unis for student satisfaction according to Complete University Guide’s 2025 league tables? Students love studying in the West Midlands.

7. Pretty much all the best sports originate from the Midlands

The modern-day Olympics were partially based on the teaching of sport at the Rugby School in Rugby, near Coventry in the 19th Century, with founder of the International Olympic Committee, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, citing the school’s headmaster, Thomas Arnold, as an inspiration. The Wenlock Olympian Games, just down the road in Shropshire were also said to be an influencing force.

Rugby was also invented in, um, Rugby, in the Midlands, when a local chap got the rules of football completely wrong by picking up the ball – an overriding British sense of politeness prevented his friends from telling him he’d got it wrong, so they took the less embarrassing option and invented a new sport instead.

8. Marmite

Everybody knows you either love Marmite or you hate it (cats love it). If you’re a fan of brewed yeast extract on toast, look at courses in Staffordshire, so you can be close to Burton-on-Trent, where the Marmite Food Extract Company has been manufacturing the spread since 1902. You can even pay pilgrimage to the Marmite Monument or (‘Monumite’ as it’s been dubbed), a stone tribute to Marmite erected in 2010 at a cost of £15,000 – that’s how much West Midlanders love the stuff.

9. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings was inspired by the West Midlands

That’s not to say all residents of the West Midlands look like Hobbits (they don’t). But J.R. Tolkien grew up in the Midlands, living first in Birmingham, then in Worcestershire, and his childhood haunts inspired his greatest work – Moseley Bog in Birmingham and Worcester’s rolling hills and countryside set the scene for Middle Earth (Middle, Midlands, get it?), and the local Malvern Hills became the White Mountains of Gondor. Tolkien even borrowed some of the names for his mythical landscapes directly from his childhood home – Bag End was the name of his aunt’s farm.

10. The University of Birmingham broke all the rules

The University of Birmingham has a history of being a bit of a rebel. It was the first civic university in the UK, meaning it was the first to admit students regardless of their social or religious background; it was the UK’s first campus university, and the first to obtain a licence to hold its own farmers’ market. It remains the world’s first and only university to have its own dedicated railway station (it’s called University). If you’re a rebel without a cause – or a rebel with a cause – it sounds like Birmingham might just be your spiritual home, if it isn’t your actual home already.

11. Keele is pretty much the most romantic university in the UK (possibly the world)

The students of Keele University are famous for two things: successfully lobbying to get Keele included on the special UK edition of Monopoly (it was featured as a wildcard entry), and being the first university to found a Cuddling Society – they even staged a televised mass cuddle outside the students’ union to celebrate. Definitely the place to head to whether you’re looking for love or just a good snuggle.

12. It has an entrepreneurial spirit (and more canals than Venice)

It’s a much-vaunted fact that Birmingham, the industrial heart of the Midlands, has more canals than Venice, but the reason they’re there is testament to the area’s plucky entrepreneurial spirit. Derbyshire born engineer James Brindley realised in the late 18th century that towns with a natural port, such as London, Bristol or Liverpool had a huge advantage over those that didn’t in terms of the advancement of trade and industry, as in those days, it was faster to transport goods by boat.

Not one to let a trifling problem such as the natural landscape stand in his way, Brindley set about bringing industry to the West Midlands by constructing a huge network of artificial waterways all across Birmingham, leading to the city boasting 35 miles of canal to Venice’s paltry 26. Couple this with the fact that Brum’s Aston University is home to one of the most respected business schools in the UK, and it’s easy to see why anyone hoping to one day be a leader of industry might be heading off to study in the West Midlands.