62-681: Wokingham , or the Borough of Wokingham , is a local government district with borough status in Berkshire , England. Since 1998 its council has been a unitary authority , having taken on county-level functions when Berkshire County Council was abolished. The borough is named after its main town, Wokingham . Other places in the district include Arborfield , Barkham , Charvil , Earley , Finchampstead , Hurst , Remenham , Ruscombe , Shinfield , Sonning , Spencers Wood , Three Mile Cross , Twyford , Wargrave , Winnersh and Woodley . The population of
124-588: A royal charter in 1920 but was unsuccessful at that time. However a second petition, in 1925, was successful, and the charter was officially granted on 17 March 1926. With the charter, the college became the University of Reading, the only new university to be created in the United Kingdom between the two world wars. It was added to the Combined English Universities constituency in 1928 in time for
186-434: A borough or district council. In these cases local government functions are divided between county and district councils, to the level where they can be practised most efficiently: Many districts have borough status , which means the local council is called a borough council instead of district council and gives them the right to appoint a mayor . Borough status is granted by royal charter and, in many cases, continues
248-650: A cost of £30 million. The London Road site also plays host to the university graduation ceremonies twice a year, in the Great Hall. The Greenlands Campus , on the banks of the River Thames in Buckinghamshire. Once the home of William Henry Smith , son of the founder of WH Smith , and latterly the site of the Henley Management College , this campus became part of the university on 1 August 2008, with
310-679: A debate in Parliament over the closure which prompted heated discussion of higher education issues in general. On 10 October, the Senate voted to close the Department of Physics, a move confirmed by the council on 20 November. Other departments closed in recent years include Music, Sociology, Geology, and Mechanical Engineering. The university council decided in March 2009 to close the School of Health and Social Care,
372-425: A district will consist of a market town and its more rural hinterland. However districts are diverse with some being mostly urban such as Dartford, and others more polycentric such as Thurrock. Non-metropolitan districts are subdivisions of English non-metropolitan counties which have a two-tier structure of local government. Two-tier non-metropolitan counties have a county council and several districts, each with
434-410: A free advice service to students, and facilitates over 160 different activities for students to get involved in. The Students' Union building on Whiteknights Campus contains a 2500 capacity venue called 3sixty (recently renovated in 2018), with seven bars, and a number of retail outlets. The retail outlets include an Asian supermarket, a Starbucks and a hairdressers. Student accommodation is provided in
496-780: A location on Whiteknights Campus to a site nearer the town centre next to the London Road Campus. The Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology , the Cole Museum of Zoology , the University of Reading Herbarium and the Harris Garden are all on the Whiteknights Campus. The Department of Typography and Graphic Communication holds a number of lettering, printing and graphic design collections including those of Isotype, Ephemera, printing presses, Twentieth-century posters, non-Latin typefaces and
558-418: A number of halls of residence offering a mix of partially catered (19 meals per week) and self-catering accommodation, along with other self-catering accommodation. Following a major review the university is now proceeding with the integrated Halls and Catering Strategy, that will see several halls replaced as well as new ones created with social, catering & welfare facilities provided in hub areas. Most of
620-468: A school whose courses have consistently been oversubscribed. In January 2008, the university announced its merger with the Henley Management College to create the university's new Henley Business School , bringing together Henley College's expertise in MBAs with the university's existing Business School and ICMA Centre . The merger took formal effect on 1 August 2008, with the new business school split across
682-457: A style enjoyed by a predecessor authority, which can date back centuries. Some districts such as Oxford or Exeter have city status , granted by letters patent , but this does not give the local council any extra powers other than the right to call itself a city council . By 1899, England had been divided at district level into rural districts , urban districts , municipal boroughs , county boroughs and metropolitan boroughs . This system
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#1732884049994744-486: A type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially shire counties ) in a two-tier arrangement. Non-metropolitan districts with borough status are known as boroughs , able to appoint a mayor and refer to itself as a borough council. Some shire counties now have no sub divisions so are a single Non-metropolitan district such as Cornwall. Typically
806-507: A unitary authority or those that transferred from one county to another, including those that changed name. Nor does it include unitary authorities that have been abolished ( Bournemouth and Poole ). University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire , England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading , a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received
868-512: A vote of no confidence in the vice chancellor Sir David Bell . Eighty-eight per cent of those who voted backed the no confidence motion. In 2019, The Guardian reported the university was in "a financial and governance crisis" after recently reporting itself to regulators over a £121 million loan. The university is sole trustee of the charitable National Institute for Research in Dairying trust, and after selling trust land had then borrowed
930-459: A wide range of small retail and visitor facilities: Wargrave and Twyford. In major employment areas of trading and manufacturing Winnersh and Finchampstead are prominent. The village of Crowthorne is shared between Wokingham and the neighbouring borough of Bracknell Forest. The local authority is Wokingham Borough Council, which has its headquarters at Shute End in Wokingham. State-funded schools in
992-482: A year and advises on areas such as student entry, assessment and awards. Membership includes deans, heads and elected representatives of schools, as well as professional staff and students. The Senate in turn reports to the Council, which is the supreme governing body of the university, setting strategic direction, ensuring compliance with statutory requirements and approving constitutional changes. The Council meets four times
1054-459: A year and comprises a broad representation of lay members drawn from commercial, community and professional organisations. On 24 March 2016, it was announced that William Waldegrave was to be the new chancellor of Reading University. Lord Waldegrave is the fourth Conservative politician to be appointed chancellor of the university, following Austen Chamberlain , Sir Samuel Hoare and Lord Carrington . Waldegrave's predecessor, Sir John Madejski
1116-411: Is a faculty providing training and a range of support for doctoral researchers and related staff across the other four faculties. The university is nominally led by a chancellor , who is the titular head of the university and is normally a well-known public figure. The day-to-day chief executive role is the responsibility of the vice-chancellor , a full-time academic post. The senior management board of
1178-539: Is also a supporter of, and contributor to, the Conservative Party. New students entering the university in 2020 had an average of 129 points (the equivalent of ABB at A Level). According to the 2023 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, approximately 13% of Reading's undergraduates come from independent schools. Departments in the university have been awarded the biannual Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education five times: in 1998, in
1240-491: Is labelled as 'internationally recognised', 78% as 'internationally excellent and 27% as 'world leading'. Its School of Agriculture Policy and Development was ranked top in the UK and 11th in the world, according to the QS classification of universities by subject. Reading has been highly ranked in meteorology and atmospheric science . In the 2023 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects , it
1302-497: Is the affiliated student organisation which represents the students' interests. The university also has a number of Junior Common Rooms that are linked to the Students' Union. The Students' Union has been the launchpad for many successful careers including Penny Mordaunt (Former MP for Portsmouth North), who was the 1994–5 president of the Students' Union. The Students' Union runs the student radio station. It broadcasts locally from
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#17328840499941364-519: Is the largest and includes Whiteknights Lake, conservation meadows and woodlands as well as most of the university's departments. Though within the Reading urban area, most of the campus actually falls within Wokingham District (parish of Earley ). The campus takes its name from the nickname of the 13th century knight John De Erleigh IV or the 'White Knight', and was landscaped in the 18th century by
1426-671: The Banham Review . The district was granted borough status in 2007, following a petition to the Queen. Elevations range between 30 and 70 metres above sea level except higher in about 5% of the borough. The highest is an escarpment containing parts of the rural and wooded northern area, the hinterland of three Thames-side villages, facing the 30-mile long Chilterns AONB, west and north. A geological part of that range of hills, Bowsey Hill reaches 137m, in Wargrave civil parish, 1 mile (1.6 km) from
1488-584: The District Councils' Network , special interest group which sits within the Local Government Association . The network's purpose is to "act as an informed and representative advocate for districts to government and other national bodies, based on their unique position to deliver for local people." This is a list of two-tier non-metropolitan counties and their districts. All unitary authorities are also non-metropolitan districts, which, with
1550-649: The Henley Business School MBA . First announced in October 2012, it is the university's first overseas campus. The project was overseen by Tony Downes . Professor Wing Lam took over as Provost in May 2018 after the retirement of Tony Downes and restructured the campus to enable it to focus on core professional disciplines that were aligned with the region's need for talent. The former Bulmershe Court Campus in Woodley
1612-456: The Marquis of Blandford . The main university library, in the middle of the campus, holds nearly a million books and subscribes to around 4,000 periodicals. The URS building, designed by Howell, Killick, Partridge & Amis in concrete brutalist style in the 1970s is Grade II listed. The Whiteknights campus was voted one of the best green spaces in the United Kingdom for the seventh year running in
1674-593: The Roman road from London to Bath through a highly coniferous Swinley Forest which sits in geology on the naturally acidic, Bagshot Formation . The whole borough is divided into civil parishes . The parish councils of Wokingham, Earley and Woodley have officially declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style 'town council'. Villages include Arborfield, Barkham, Charvil, Finchampstead, Hurst, Sonning, Remenham, Ruscombe, Shinfield, Twyford, Wargrave, Three Mile Cross, Winnersh, Spencers Wood. Two villages have
1736-668: The University of Reading immediately north-west, most of which falls within the Wokingham Borough boundary. The borough has the highest proportion of home ownership of the six local authorities in Berkshire: combining the social (housing association and local authority provided) and private (private landlord) rented sectors, Slough's returns recorded in 2011 that its rented sector comprised 46% of its housing, whereas 18% of Wokingham's residents rented their homes. Excluding lower-tier districts, Central Government has classified Wokingham as
1798-557: The 1929 general election. In 1947, the university purchased Whiteknights Park , which was to become its principal campus. In 1984, the university started a merger with Bulmershe College of Higher Education, which was completed in 1989. In October 2006, the Senior Management Board proposed the closure of its Physics Department to future undergraduate application. This was ascribed to financial reasons and lack of alternative ideas and caused considerable controversy, not least
1860-522: The 2017 Green Flag People's Choice awards . The smaller London Road Campus is the original university site and is closer to the town centre of Reading, sited across from the Royal Berkshire Hospital . The London Road site is home to The Institute of Education – a major provider of teacher training in the UK. The Institute moved to its new home in January 2012 after the campus was refurbished at
1922-618: The Humanities, Social Sciences and Law category, for work on Shakespeare ; in 2005, in the Environment category; in 2008, again in Humanities, Social Sciences and Law; in 2011, for "teaching and design applications in typography, through print and new technologies" in Typography & Graphic Communication; and in 2021, again in the category of Environment And Conservation, for "connecting communities with climate change" through "new modelling work on
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1984-526: The Reading Student Village (renamed Benyon) are leased back to the university from UPP . The cost of leasing back the Student Village to the university, according to the university accounts, was £1.3 million in 2002–03 and £1.5 million for 2003–04. In 2011 the management of the mature and international halls, Hillside and Martindale, was taken over by the "Estates management team", as
2046-511: The Schools of Art and Science established in Reading in 1860 and 1870. In 1892, the College at Reading was founded as an extension college by Christ Church , a college of the University of Oxford . The first president was the geographer Sir Halford John Mackinder , and the college's first home was the old hospitium building behind Reading Town Hall . The Schools of Art and Science were transferred to
2108-533: The Whiteknights campus in university retail outlets and over an internet live stream on a full-time basis. The station was formed in 1997 and started broadcasting in 2001 on 1287AM and transferred to solely online in 2007. It also publishes the Spark , a newspaper aimed at the student population of the university, which is published fortnightly during term-time only and student television station RU:ON. The union provides
2170-560: The Whiteknights site. The university also announced its intention to site some functions on the London Road site, and proposed a complete withdrawal from Bulmershe Court by 2012, which was accomplished. Reading University maintains four museums, the main campus library, a range of inter-departmental libraries, and a botanical garden . The largest and best known of these museums is the Museum of English Rural Life , which has recently relocated from
2232-399: The archive of partners Banks and Miles. The University Library at Whiteknights makes available over 1 million physical resources, as well as a range of electronic online resources, from 14,000 square metres of space across seven floors. The secondary site library at the university's Bulmershe campus closed in 2011 and its operative collections were transferred. There is also a library in
2294-449: The areas for Wales and England had been enacted separately and there were no Welsh metropolitan areas, the term 'non-metropolitan district' does not apply to Wales. A similar system existed in Scotland , which in 1975 was divided into regions and districts, this was also abolished in 1996 and replaced with a fully unitary system . In England most of the district councils are represented by
2356-514: The borough include nine secondary schools , two special schools and numerous primary schools . There are also a number of private schools . Bracknell and Wokingham College is the main further and adult education provider for the borough, just outside the borough its headquarters is in Bracknell . The Borough's closest higher education provider is the main Whiteknights Park campus of
2418-561: The borough is 177,500 according to 2021 census. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as Wokingham District , under the Local Government Act 1972 , by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Wokingham and Wokingham Rural District . It is governed by Wokingham Borough Council (formerly Wokingham District Council), which has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1998, following the abolition of Berkshire County Council under
2480-487: The exception of those of Berkshire , are coterminous with non-metropolitan counties. For a full list of districts of all types including unitary authorities, metropolitan districts and London boroughs , see Districts of England . This is a list of former two-tier districts in England which have been abolished, by local government reorganisations such as the 2009 structural changes to local government in England . It does not include districts that still exist after becoming
2542-439: The halls of residence lie close to the northern campus periphery and in residential areas close by. Wantage Hall is the second oldest purpose-built hall in England outside of Oxford and Cambridge, opening a year after Hulme Hall at the University of Manchester , and is built in the style of an 'Oxbridge' college. St. Andrews Hall closed in 2001 and is now the home of the Museum of English Rural Life . St. George's Hall and
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2604-458: The interaction between the Earth’s climate and local weather systems, enabling the development of risk assessment, community preparedness and action to tackle climate change." Reading was ranked 35th in the UK amongst multi-faculty institutions for the quality (GPA) of its research and 28th for its Research Power in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework . In total, 98% of the university's research
2666-674: The least needy Local Authority. Government funding is about £120 per head per year. This is the lowest among the combined category of county councils and unitary authorities, the basis on which it is overall assessed, and compares with over £1000 per head in others such as the London Borough of Hackney . The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Wokingham. Non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts , or colloquially " shire districts ", are
2728-436: The loss of some jobs, especially in the film, theatre and television department, which has since moved into a brand new £ 11.5 million building on Whiteknights Campus. In late 2009 it was announced that the London Road Campus was to undergo a £ 30 million renovation, preparatory to becoming the new home of the university's Institute of Education. The Institute moved to its new home in January 2012. The refurbishment
2790-569: The merger of that college with the university's Business School to form the Henley Business School . The school's MBA and corporate learning offerings will be based at Greenlands, with undergraduate and other postgraduate courses being based at Whiteknights. An Asian campus at Iskandar , Malaysia was formally opened in February 2016. It offers a range of professional programmes at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels including
2852-530: The nearby villages of Arborfield , Sonning and Shinfield . These support a mixed farming system including dairy cows, ewes and beef animals, and host research centres of which the flagship is the Centre for Dairy Research. As part of the proposed Whiteknights Development Plan in Autumn 2007, the university proposed spending up to £250 million on its estates over 30 years, principally to focus academic activities onto
2914-537: The new college by Reading Town Council in the same year. The new college received its first treasury grant in 1901. Three years later it was given a site, now the university's London Road Campus , by the Palmer family (connected with the firm of Huntley & Palmers ). The same family supported the opening of Wantage Hall in 1908 and of the Research Institute in Dairying in 1912. The college first applied for
2976-410: The power to grant its own degrees in 1926 by royal charter from King George V and was the only university to receive such a charter between the two world wars . The university is usually categorised as a red brick university , reflecting its original foundation in the 19th century. Reading has four major campuses. In the United Kingdom, the campuses on London Road and Whiteknights are based in
3038-523: The refurbishment programme. Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science Faculty of Life Sciences Faculty of Science Henley Business School is a highly selective, top-ranking business school, among only 58 institutions worldwide to be granted Triple accreditation by the three largest and most influential business school accreditation associations: EQUIS , AMBA and the AACSB. It includes several academic areas: The university-wide Graduate School
3100-461: The river. Approximately a right-angled triangle, the borough is long north to south. It uses as its longest edge the course of the Loddon and Thames along its north-west, with a similarly salient-containing eastern boundary and an almost straight southern boundary. Clockwise the boundaries are approximately 10, 8 and 5 miles on a direct path from point to point. The southern boundary is approximately
3162-513: The town of Reading itself, and Greenlands is based on the banks of the River Thames in Buckinghamshire. It also has a campus in Iskandar Puteri , Malaysia. The university has been arranged into 16 academic schools since 2016. The annual income of the institution for 2022–23 was £322 million of which £34 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £325.7 million. The university owes its first origins to
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#17328840499943224-526: The two-tier structure, but reforms in the 1990s and 2009 reduced their number to 192. A further 55 non-metropolitan districts are now unitary authorities, which combine the functions of county and borough/district councils. In Wales , an almost identical two-tier system of local government existed between 1974 and 1996 (see Districts of Wales ). In 1996, this was abolished and replaced with an entirely unitary system of local government, with one level of local government responsible for all local services. Since
3286-450: The university has been beset by controversy, with the closure of departments and job losses among staff. The university lost 7.7% of its HEFCE funding in fiscal year 2010–2011. In 2016 a move to reorganise the structure of Reading University provoked protests. The Gyosei International College in the U.K. was established on property acquired from the University of Reading in 1989. The college, later renamed Witan International College,
3348-443: The university is headed by the vice-chancellor, assisted by a deputy-vice-chancellor, three pro-vice-chancellors, four deans and five heads of directorate. It is responsible for the day-to-day management of the university and meets fortnightly throughout most of the year. The senior management board reports to the university's Senate, the main academic administrative body. The senate has around 100 members and meets at least four times
3410-502: The university's Meteorology department. The library underwent refurbishment costing £40 million starting in 2016 and was re-opened in autumn 2019. The redevelopment aimed to improve the energy efficiency of the building with the installation of new windows, cladding and roofing. New lifts, additional study seating capacity, a larger Library cafe with an outside seating area, more toilets (including disabled and gender-neutral provision) and card-access security barriers were also part of
3472-523: The university's existing Whiteknights Campus and its new Greenlands Campus that formerly housed Henley Management College. A restructuring of the university was announced in September 2009, which would bring together all the academic schools into three faculties, these being the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social sciences, and Henley Business School. The move was predicted to result in
3534-577: The £121 million proceeds from the trust, despite the potential conflict of interest in the decision making. Including this loan, the university has debts of £300 million, as well as having an operating deficit of over £40 million for the past two years. In 2021, the university declared, in a statement reply to the student's union, that it would not refund tuition fees for its students. The university maintains over 1.6 square kilometres (395 acres) of grounds, in four distinct campuses: Whiteknights Campus , at 1.3 square kilometres (321 acres),
3596-611: Was abolished by the London Government Act 1963 and the Local Government Act 1972 . Non-metropolitan districts were created by this act in 1974 when England outside Greater London was divided into metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan counties. Metropolitan counties were sub-divided into metropolitan districts and the non-metropolitan counties were sub-divided into non-metropolitan districts. The metropolitan districts had more powers than their non-metropolitan counterparts. Initially, there were 296 non-metropolitan districts in
3658-574: Was acquired by the University of Reading in 2004. Witan College closed in 2008. In 2009 the university partnered with the Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology to offer Chinese students courses taught by the department of chemistry. In 2015 this was expanded to form the NUIST Reading Academy which currently offers six degree programs and enrolls nearly 400 students annually. Reading University Students' Union (RUSU)
3720-430: Was partially funded by the sale of the adjoining site of Mansfield Hall , a former hall of residence, for demolition and replacement by private sector student accommodation. The university is a lead sponsor of UTC Reading , a new university technical college which opened in September 2013. In 2016, a move to reorganise the structure of Reading University provoked student protests. On 21 March 2016, staff announced
3782-522: Was ranked 5th in the world for atmospheric science. It was ranked 15th in the world for Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences by U.S. News & World Report in 2024 and 13th among global universities in atmospheric science in the 2024 SCImago Institutions Rankings . It was ranked 2nd in the world in meteorology and atmospheric sciences by the Center for World University Rankings in 2017 (the most recent year subject rankings were published). In recent years
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#17328840499943844-447: Was the site of the former Bulmershe Teaching College, which merged with The University of Reading in 1989. The campus was sold in January 2014 as the university decided to concentrate its activity on its three other campuses. It had previously moved all teaching and research at Bulmershe either to Whiteknights or to London Road, and closed the student accommodation. The university also owns 8.5 square kilometres (2,100 acres) of farmland in
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