Weather

Winter can be as cold as -10 Degrees with snow and the summer can be as hot as 30 Degrees, So its good to bring a range of clothing to suit the conditions.

Weather Forecast

 

Money

UK money is produced and distributed by the following denominations;-

1 pence, 2 pence, 5 pence, 10 pence, 20 pence, 50 pence, 1 pound and 2 pounds (all in coins)

5 Pounds, 10 Pounds, 20 Pounds, 50 Pounds (All in Notes)

 

Banks

Banks are normally open from 9-5 pm Monday to Friday but some banks are open Saturday Mornings.  All UK banks provide Cash Points, savings, Investments etc, and the top five banks are as follows:-

HSBC, RBS, NatWest, Lloyds TSB, Barclays,

 

Working in the UK

Only Students on a student Visa can work, the maximum is 20 hours per week if you are studying over 15 hours a week, The wage is £4.83 for workers aged 18-21 inclusive and £5.80 for Students over 21 years of age. 

To help you find a job, you may wish to look at this recommended job agency.

Fish

 

Posting

The Royal mail is the main post service in the UK; they have branches all through the UK.  You can go there to send letter or parcels to anywhere in the world. 

If you follow this link and type your postcode in, it will show you the nearest post office branch to you.

Post Office

Another other option is to call a courier service to collect your items from you.  We have selected the top few for you to look at.

City Link

DHL

 

Electrical Products

The Voltage for UK is 220-240 V, 50 Hertz, Please check that your Products will run on this voltage before you bring them to the UK.

You can buy any good travel adaptors which have UK Settings to fit UK Plugs at your local shop or at the airport.  Most international Travel Adaptors will have UK settings. 

 

TV & entertainment

The UK has five standard channels free to everyone with an aerial, they are:-

BBC, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4, FIVE

BBC

ITV

CHANNEL4

FIVE

Your University may have satellite or cable TV which offers hundreds of channels, you will need to check with your University to see if you can have these services or if they provide them already.

SKY

Please note if you watch TV and have a TV in your accommodation, you legally need a licence, which costs £145.50. 

TV Licence

 

Phones & Mobiles

There are public phones that people can use and they are normally located on busy public streets.  You walk in to them and use money to call or cards purchased from shops or you can use international call cards also brought from shops such as newsagents.

If you bring your own mobile phone and it can take other SIM cards, you can buy pay as you go SIM cards on the main UK networks, where you top up only what you need. 

The other alternative is the 12-18 month contracts but these contracts are hard to get for students and if you’re not staying in the UK long, it’s advisable to stay with the pay as you go option.

The 4 Main Networks in UK and their websites to show you how to get to the nearest shop are:-

O2

Vodafone

Orange

T Mobile

Or Purchase our Lebara cards for very low cost calls to the UK and International.

 

Transport

Getting around on public transport the UK is easy; you can go by Bus, Train, Tube, Tram, Coach or Plane.

 

Travel around the UK

Trains get you around the UK fast and are priced reasonably, especially if you apply for a young person’s rail card.

Trainline Timetables and Tickets

National Rail

Railcard

Local bus services operate in all towns and cities. Weekly or monthly 'Saver Tickets' are the cheapest fares you can buy – usually between £5-10 per week.

Bus Timetables and Tickets

Coach services link all the major cities, the biggest and lowest cost being:-

National Express

The UK has several major airports, the main ones being:-

London Heathrow

London Gatwick

London Luton

London City

Birmingham

Manchester

East Midlands

Bristol

Glasgow

Edinburgh

You can book flights from many websites online, but a good recommendation is:-

LastMinute.com 

 

Travel in London

Travel cards (daily, weekly or monthly) or Oyster cards are good for travelling in and around London, these cards are accepted on the tube trains and buses within the London area.

London Travel

 

London Underground (Tube)

Tube

 

Food and Drink

The UK is very International when food is concerned and there are a vast array of choices from Chinese to Lebanese food. 

Check out these guides for some good recommended places to eat.

Food Guide

Pub Food Guide

Or do you like real English beer, lager and ales:-

Pubs

  

Drinking, Smoking and Drugs

Please do not accept or take any drugs such as Cocaine or Cannabis anywhere in the UK as if you are found in possession you will get in trouble!

You only can buy cigarettes if you are over 18, they will ask for ID if you look young.  You can only smoke outside and not in a public place, i.e. pub, restaurant.

To buy alcohol, you must be over 18 years old and you cannot drink in most public open areas such as parks and city centres, only in bars and pubs or at your own home.

 

Going out and spare time

There is so much to do in the UK:-

The UK have some of the best theatres, opera halls and concert venues in the world, Here are a few places you may consider to visit.

Theatre and west end shows -  

Theatres in London

Opera and musical events -

Symphony Hall

Clubbing and night clubs, so many to choose from in the UK but these are the biggest.

Gatecrasher

Ministry of Sound

As well as bowling & cinema,

Bowling

VUE Cinema

Fancy a walk in our national parks or national trust places of interest.

National Parks

National Trust

Exciting days out on roller coasters at our theme parks:-

Alton Towers

Drayton Manor

Thorpe Park

Legoland

Football is the main sport in the UK and we have some of the best teams in the world, such as Manchester United, you can see them play by booking tickets from the football teams websites , such as:-

Aston Villa

Man Utd

 

Safety

Keep all your passports, expensive Jewels safe and do not take them out with you unless absolutely necessary. 

Try not to take large sums of cash out with you and use credit card as there are lots of people that may steal your wallet, so at least if you pay on card they can’t take your money.

If you do need to get a taxi, only get into taxis that are black cabs and have a registered number on the number plate.

Ladies, please do not walk on your own late at night for safety reasons and always keep a personal alarm on you.

 

Health care and illness

The UK has the NHS or National Health Service as its main service; this runs the hospitals, doctors and some dentists. 

You need to register with the local doctor when you arrive, you then can make appointments to see them if you need to when ill. 

They may provide you with a prescription, which is a note to have medicine from the chemist. 

You can also buy some medicine directly from the chemist such as headache tablets and cough medicine.

If you are really poorly and need urgent help call 999 and ask for an ambulance or ask your friend to take you to the local NHS hospital A&E department.

NHS

NHS Help Online

 

Police and emergency services

If you need assistance from the police in an emergency, call 999 and ask for the police or if a fire is out of control call 999 and ask for the fire service.

 

University accomodation

There are some agencies that can help you when trying to find accommodation in you university, if you have chosen you university of choice then the University can assist or look at these agencies and they will provide you with excellent advice on which accommodation to go for :-

Chinese students –

UKEAS

All Students –        

UCAS 

 

Paperwork to bring to the UK

Passport & Visa

Offer letter or admission certificate from your university / college

Evidence of financial support for fees and maintenance or evidence of fees paid

Passport-sized photographs

CV and references

Any home contacts numbers you need

Letter sent to your home address for opening a bank account

Any documents required for University

Doctor/Dentist details

 

Things to do on arrival

If you are from the following countries then you will need to inform the police that you arrived in the UK, please visit your local police station for assistance. See this link if you are unsure:-

Do I need to register with the police? 

Afghanistan	Algeria	Argentina	Armenia
Azerbaijan	Bahrain	Belarus	Bolivia
Brazil	China	Colombia	Cuba
Egypt	Georgia	Iran	Iraq
Israel	Jordan	Kazak	Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan	Lebanon	Libya	Moldova
Morocco	North Korea	Oman	Palestine
Peru	Qatar	Russia	S Arabia
Sudan	Syria	Tajikistan	Tunisia
Turkey	Turkmen	Ukraine	UAE
Uzbekistan	Yemen

 

First few days survival

Please check with the airline before you pack regarding which items you may bring into the UK.

Here are a few things you may need to survive for your first few days:-

Appropriate clothes for the season (i.e. warm coat and Raincoat for winter)

Contact lenses/Glasses

Mobile Phone and charger

Any medication you are taking

UK electric plug adaptor

Sleeping bag

Some money to spend for first day or so

Credit cards and debit cards

Toothbrush, shampoo, shower gel, toilet roll (personal hygiene)

Map of the local area (Where nearest shop or ATM, etc)

MP3 or IPOD, music, books.

We hope that this basic information has been useful, please feel free to contact us if you would like to ask any more questions regarding the UK.  We hope you have a pleasant stay.

Kind Regards

Unipacks