It's a walkable distance to other facilities and galleries and there is so much equipment we can access

Incredible

The University of Brighton City Campus is in a perfect location for me. It is close to my accommodation and close to the city centre making everything I need an easy walk away. The University cafe is very nice and I enjoy sitting in there between lectures. The small art shop is also reasonably priced in my opinion and also offers food options which is great for me as I have anxiety and can sometimes find that the downstairs cafe is too stressful. Brighton as an area is beautiful and lovely, and I enjoy exploring and finding things to do as there is no lack of activities.

The University of Brighton’s Fine Art course location, to me, is perfect. It is in the city centre which makes the beach only minutes away, and the shopping centre and lanes only a few minutes away from there. It is also near a lot of public transport options such as the main bus stops and train station. However, for the first year of the Fine Art course, the tutors told us after starting that they had made changes from years prior, which had led to some of us feeling a bit like guinea pigs. The studio space is now relocated into what was the exhibition space with large wooden walls, almost entirely blocking out the natural light, though the course leaders did listen to us about this and adjust them to shorten the walls slightly to let in a slight amount of light. There is also not enough space for all of us as more students than the usual capacity were accepted, meaning it is not often that I feel I can use the studio as there is usually somebody in my marked space. It was upsetting that during the applicant and open days I attended we were not told that these changes would come into place, so I did not know that the studio space would not be the large open spaces I was shown prior to moving and beginning University. Workshops are offered to learn new skills and get used to the different offered facilities of the university which I have found helpful. I am a student with a learning support plan and feel that it has not even been noticed by course leaders and tutors. I am put into situations that make me uncomfortable and stressed and feel as though I cannot mention that my learning support plan mentions these situations giving me anxiety and distress. I also was supposed to be offered a personal mentor but this has yet to happen but has been underway for a little while now. Overall, though, the course has been okay. I am enjoying myself mostly because of the Brighton area.

The location of Phoenix Brewery Halls is in my opinion perfect. It is very close to the University’s City Campus and library, and for students on other campus’s it is just across the road from a bus stop that a University route bus passed by often. Phoenix Halls are not as nice as the other accommodations and are more expensive due to their location but I find that they are made worth the price because of their location and proximity to the city centre. Quiet accommodation for autistic students is offered and I have found that, for the most part, this has been very helpful for me. However, the student residential advisor has been awful. He does not respond to calls or emails and very, very rarely visits to check in, and when he does he is dismissive and treats my flatmates and I poorly, presumably because we are neurodivergent. We have a flatmate who is very hostile towards us and Phoenix Halls has done nothing to help us, and even at times treated it as though it is our fault. Phoenix Halls have also been very poor with communication, and as multiple of us in the flat have conditions that require us extra equipment have been ignored for multiple months on the receiving and removal of our equipment. Our oven light also does not function correctly and we have been dismissed when asking about it. The fire alarm is also tested once a week which is a positive and a negative as for a group of autistic students the sudden loud noises can be very distressing, but I am glad they are tested so thoroughly. However, I have seen many students smoking in their flats so I am not totally sure how effective the fire alarms actually are. The best part of the accommodation is the location but everything else is not fantastic.