St. Mary’s University Twickenham

Became a university in: 2014

Student population: 6,555 (2022/23)

Location: The main campus site, with academic, social and sports facilities is located just one mile south of Twickenham in south west London. Most of the student accommodation is on site, and there are further sports facilities around a mile south at Teddington Lock.

Subject areas: Courses are taught in fours main subject areas: Sport, Allied Health & 

Admissions: Undergraduate entry grades are relatively straightforward, with most courses asking between 96 and 112 UCAS points (that’s between CCC and BBC at A-level) though they do go up as far as 128 UCAS points (ABB) for Physiotherapy. 

Interviews are required for teacher training, nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, with auditions in place for acting.

📸 Snapshot

St Mary’s was established way back in 1850, essentially as a teacher training college for catholic teachers. Teacher training remains at the core of the university teaching now; much of its teaching is still across the main school-teaching subjects, though health, sports, business and law have been added to the portfolio over the years.

I worked in a temporary role in admissions at St. Mary’s back in 2016/7; and what I experienced was a small, friendly and welcoming community. It's a place where you really can get to know just about everyone.

The campus is located in a beautiful, leafy part of south east London. Halls of residence are located on, or very close to campus, and while the university might be described as a little light on social facilities, you’ll be studying in London, arguably the greatest student city on earth!

One stand out aspect of St. Mary’s is the sports facilities, which are far in excess of what you might expect of a university of its size. Famously Mo Farah studied at the university, and he’s not the only sports super-star graduate, with olympic and paralympic medalists in everything from the track and field to skeleton, rowing, boxing, cycling, rugby and more.

As to its Catholic status, you don’t need to be Catholic to enter the university, nor do you need to be Catholic to feel right at home there. But you should understand and accept that the university has a mission that follows the Catholic Church’s view of a university's purpose, so you can expect a moral, spiritual and religious angle within your education.

In summary

St. Mary’s could be for you if…

• You are looking for a campus with a small, community feel.

• You still fancy studying in London, with all that the capital city has to offer.

• You are looking for excellent sports facilities and opportunities.

And if you like St. Mary’s, you might also like…

• Canterbury Christchurch

• Chester

• Chichester

• Gloucestershire

• Leeds Trinity

• Liverpool Hope

• Roehampton

• Worcester

• York St John