Student life: Sports and leisure
HE institutions understand that taking part in sports and leisure activities is a great way for students to:
- take a well-earned break from studying;
- look after their health and fitness;
- socialise with new people;
- improve team working and leadership skills;
- learn something new.
If you would like to play sport, both at a social or competitive level (or both), there will be a wide variety of sports on offer at almost any university or college you may choose to go to. You can play the more traditional sports (football, rugby, hockey, etc.), and some of the lesser known ones such as korfball, Ultimate Frisbee and speleology/caving.
As well as supporting involvement in sports, higher education providers are often committed to helping students take part in leisure and well-being activities like yoga, meditation, dance classes, and hiking.
Most universities don’t schedule teaching on Wednesday afternoons, leaving students free to take part in competitive sports, go to leisure classes, or just have a kick about with their friends in the park. You don’t have to do anything in particular – they just want to make sure you have some dedicated time to look after yourself and enjoy doing something that isn’t studying.
As well as taking part in sports, you’ll find that sport and leisure-focused student societies organise more affordable trips to football games, ski trips, and visits to hiking and climbing locations. Lots of campuses also have student friendly gyms, swimming pools and sports pitches you can use.
If sport is a massive part of your life, then you might want to think about this when or if you decide to go into higher education. Some universities are well known for their sports teams and training facilities and they might be great places for to you to study and continue to compete in your favourite sport.
Click here to visit the University of Manchester’s sport department’s webpages to find out how they support students in getting more active by taking part in sport.
Let’s move on now to take a look at how accommodation fits into student life, and the options students have if they decide to live away from home when they’re studying for their degrees. Click on the box below to find out more about student accommodation.
Accommodation
University accommodation is great way to meet new people and learn new life skills.
Why Study?
Why not check out our Why Study? page to find out what our students really think about their courses and about student life.
Visit the University of Manchester's Why Study? page!