International Hall, London

International Hall is a hall of residence owned by the University of London and situated on Brunswick Square in the Bloomsbury district of London. It is an intercollegiate hall, and as such provides accommodation for full-time students at institutions such as University College London, King's College London, Queen Mary, School of Oriental and African Studies, the London School of Economics, the London School of Pharmacy and other such constituent colleges of the University of London.

History

The first wing (now known as the North Wing, and previously as the Main Wing) was opened in 1963 by the Indian High Commissioner. The second part of the hall (now known as the West Wing) was opened in 1968 by the then Chancellor of the University of London, HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

Later construction included the conversion of Georgian terrace houses on Lansdowne Terrace into flats for postgraduate students, the conversion of similar properties on Guildford street into two new sets of single and double study-bedrooms (known as House and Ingold), and the construction of X block (pronounced as "cross-block", not "ex-block", although room numbers there, eg X123, were pronounced "ex-one-two...") connecting Ingold and the West Wing.

The hall underwent a major refurbishment in 2002-03. The refurbishment saw the demolition of the X block and the construction of a new Central Wing comprising studio flats for postgraduate students. The refurbishment also saw the construction of a new entrance on Lansdowne Terrace (the previous main entrance having been on Brunswick Square), and refurbishment of all facilities and rooms. The Georgian Terrace houses on Lansdowne Terrace and Guildford Street were also refurbished as large family flats. The newly refurbished hall was reopened in December 2003 by the Chancellor of the University of London, HRH the Princess Royal.

tudent population

For over 40 years, International Hall has accommodated a range of students from all over the world, although the majority have been British. Now one of eight University of London intercollegiate halls of residence, International Hall accommodates a maximum of 850 University of London students, partners and children. There is an even mix of men and women, and a diverse range of cultural and social backgrounds. The majority of residents are first-year undergraduates ("freshers"), and most will only ever spend one year in a hall of residence: only around 20 per cent are allowed to stay in Hall for a second year.

Accommodation and facilities

The hall comprises three types of accommodation: single study-bedrooms which are the most common; studio flats which are available to postgraduates only; and large family style flats in the Georgian Terrace housing. Rooms are also available for students with disabilities. For single study bedrooms every room has a washbasin, but toilet and shower facilities are all shared. The studio flats and Georgian Terrace flats have private bathrooms. Every room has individual telephone and internet connections.

The hall offers a range of facilities including: two study rooms (one of which also works as a mini library); a computer/internet room; activity room; a television room with sky TV; a cinema - the TV room also contains a ten foot wide cinema screen and projector on which film nights are shown twice a week (the cinema facility is not available for students to operate and is run by the hall and residents club); a DVD TV room; several common rooms each with a TV; a self service restaurant; a coin-operated laundrette; a secure bike store; a squash court; two music rooms; two courtyard gardens; a bar and conservatory containing pool tables, computer games and TV. There are numerous vending machines for soft drinks and snacks, and small pantries/kitchens on each floor of the North and West Wings, each equipped with a refrigerator and microwave. The Studio Flats and Georgian Terrace flats contain their own cooking facilities. The reception desk is open 24 hours a day; photocopying and fax services are available from reception at reasonable prices.

For a large number of residents (mainly those in the single study bedrooms) International Hall is a fully catered hall of residence. Residents in the studio or Georgian Terrace flats are welcome to eat in the dining hall but must buy their meals. Breakfast is served daily between 7.30-9.30. Dinner is served at 5.30-7.30 daily. At the weekend a lunch is available between 12.30-2pm.

Notable Residents

There has been a long-standing (since at least the early 90s) rumour that Mick Jagger stayed at International Hall in 1963—his final year at the LSE, and the first year the hall was open. This rumour also exists in numerous other halls of residence belonging to the University of London and the London School of Economics and it is highly likely that none of them is true.

taff

The staff of the intercollegiate halls of residence are divided into two groups: wardenial staff and bursarial (or management) staff. The wardenial and bursarial staff always work closely together, but have different sets of responsibilities. The bursarial staff work full time during office hours; whereas the wardenial staff are part-time members of staff who are either studying or working elsewhere in the University of London.

Management (bursarial) staff

*Bursar
*Deputy Bursar
*Assistant Bursar

The Bursar has overall management responsibility for the Hall’s buildings, furnishings, and finances; she and her staff are responsible for the provision of catering, maintenance, telephone, Internet, housekeeping, and reception services. They also look after the Hall’s commercial activities, including conferences, bed & breakfast, and group bookings.

The Deputy Bursar deals with financial and accommodation matters (including room allocation, invoices, and Hall fees) and the day-to-day administration of the telephone and Internet facilities; the Assistant Bursar deals mostly with maintenance, health & safety, housekeeping, and conferences.

Wardenial staff

*Warden
*Two Vice-Wardens (the Warden's deputies)
*Seven Senior Members (Sub-Wardens)

The Warden, Vice-Warden, and Senior Members are part-time members of staff resident within the Hall, responsible for student welfare and pastoral care, discipline, re-admissions, Hall community and social life, and out-of-hours emergency cover.

The wardenial staff are all experienced academics, teachers, or PhD students within the University of London. They are available to offer support and guidance to students, and can help with problems both inside and outside the Hall, including academic difficulties, medical or emotional problems, social concerns, financial worries, and problems with the behaviour of other residents (e.g. noisy neighbours).

One of the Vice-Wardens supervises the elected residents’ Club Committee, which organises various social and sporting events throughout the year.

The wardenial staff are all trained as fire marshals; most also have “first aid appointed person” training. They all participate in an on-call Duty Officer rota covering nights and weekends to deal with any emergencies while the Bursar's Office is closed. They can be contacted via reception at any time.

Residents' Club Committee

The Residents’ Club Committee is made up of a number of elected hall residents:
*President
*Secretary
*Treasurer
*Social Convenors
*Music Convenor
*Cinema Convenor
*Website Convenor
*Sports Convenor

The Residents' Club Committee is elected in October every year.

The Committee organises various social and sporting functions during the year, funded by the subscriptions which all residents pay; this income is also used to provide newspapers and magazines for residents' use. The elected members of the Committee can also help represent residents' concerns and suggestions to members of staff.

It has become traditional for the Residents' Club Committee to organise certain events every year:
*A welcome party in the bar at the beginning of the first term.
*A Hallowe'en party on 31 October (or sometimes a Guy Fawkes' party on 5 November).
*Decorating the Christmas tree, usually with mulled wine and mince pies for everyone who helps.
*A Christmas party, usually on the same night as the eagerly anticipated special Christmas Dinner in the Restaurant (usually with wine, crackers, live music, and carol singing).
*A Valentine's party.
*A "boat party": hiring a boat on the Thames for the main party of the International Hall year.
*A summer "farewell" party.

Each Committee also finds its own special events or regular activities to organise; recent examples include football competitions, salsa classes, yoga, and pool & table tennis tournaments.

The IHTimes

The hall also runs its own internal newspaper, the IHTimes. The newspaper's editors are known by the pseudonyms of Cherry Hooker and Willie Stroker.

Always first with the news, or equally happy resorting to cheap jokes, the IHTimes aims to bring residents the best International Hall can offer. It has been a pillar of International Hall society since the 1970/80s and is today published at least monthly - or whenever the editors can be bothered to spend all night making stuff up. This high quality paper is available for free at reception. Unless the editors have angered the Bursar in which case it's available near reception.

A full archive of issues from 2003 onwards is on display in the lower ground floor of IH or available on the International Hall website or via Cherry Hooker's profile on Facebook.

Online tour of the International Hall

* [http://www.internationalhall.com/hallguide.html Interactive tour of International Hall]

External links

* [http://www.london.ac.uk/226.html Info page on University of London website]
* [http://www.internationalhall.com Official International Hall website]
* [http://www.london.ac.uk University of London]