Welcome to Whitelands College
A message from the Head of Whitelands College
Congratulations on being awarded a place at the University of Roehampton! Congratulations too on becoming a member of Whitelands College. I hope that, like so many students before you, you will find your experience here a rich and rewarding one.
Each of the four Roehampton Colleges has its own distinctive identity and character. At Whitelands we are very proud of our long history and traditions. In 2021 we will be celebrating our 180th anniversary: founded in 1841, we are not only the oldest of the Roehampton Colleges, but one of the oldest in England outside Oxford and Cambridge, and the first to provide higher education for women. Whitelands is an Anglican college, with strong ties to the Church of England, but we welcome students of any faith or none.
Whitelands College moved 14 years ago to our present site and has state-of-the-art accommodation and teaching rooms, surrounded by extensive parkland grounds, which make it an ideal environment to live, study, and socialise. The grounds include playing fields, which host a busy sporting programme. I am sure you will find that being a ‘Whitelander’ is what makes your time at Roehampton particularly special.
We provide an open, encouraging, and supporting atmosphere for all of our members. Whitelands is a place where all are welcome, where diversity is celebrated, and which offers many opportunities to enrich your academic studies by experiencing college life to the full. If you are living on campus, you will most likely be living in a flat alongside other first years as well as visiting international students and postgraduate students. Each flat has a ‘flat rep’, a senior student who will greet you when you first arrive, help you settle in, make sure that life in the flat is happy and harmonious, and, should you need it, advise you where to find personal support and assistance.
In addition to the flat reps, there is an active team of College officers who arrange all kinds of activities throughout the year. Whitelands also has a busy environmental programme: if you would like to get involved, as I hope you will, see our Facebook page or website, or one of the college noticeboards in the main building.
If you have any queries relating to college life and activities, get in touch with Steven Taggart, our College Life Development Officer (Steven.Taggart@roehampton.ac.uk; 020 8392 3511, or drop into his office in G047).
Dr R David Muir
Head of Whitelands College