Loughborough University

Loughborough University sits in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, on a 523-acre campus once home to Burleigh Hall. The grounds hold 17 halls of residence, two gyms, gardens and playing fields. Among the notable features are The Walled Garden with its Garden of Remembrance, the Hazlerigg-Rutland Hall fountain-courtyard, The Old Cottage and the Bastard Gates at the official entrance to Rutland Hall. The university began in 1909 as Loughborough Technical Institute and became a university in 1966. Its expansion owes much to principals Herbert Schofield and Herbert Haslegrave, who guided the institution from a small college to a leading research university. The School of Physical Education was founded by F.A.M. Webster, whose summer school in 1934 introduced modern athletics training to Britain. Visitors walk past the cedar tree in the central quadrangle, its upper canopy lost to snow in 1990. The Pilkington Library offers 1,375 study places across four floors. Holywell Park Conference Centre once prepared Team GB for the 2012 Olympics, while the University Stadium hosts the football club and major sporting events.