, mottoeng = By Art and Industry , established = 2007 – gained

university status A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

1891 – Science and Art School , type =

Public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

, staff = , chancellor =

Jay Blades Jason Blades (born 21 February 1970) is a British furniture restorer and television presenter. He grew up in Hackney, which in his childhood was a working class area of Inner London, and now lives in Ironbridge in Shropshire. Early life Bl ...

, vice_chancellor = Nick Braisby , students = () , undergrad = () , postgrad = () , other = 125 FE , city =

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

, state =

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

, country = England, UK
Campus in

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

England, UK , former_names = School of Science and Art (1891)
Wycombe Technical Institute (1920)
High Wycombe College of Technology and Art (1961)
Buckinghamshire College of Higher Education (1975)
Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College (1999) , campus = , colours = , affiliations = Million+, GuildHE , footnotes = , website = http://www.bucks.ac.uk/ , coor = , logo = Buckinghamshire New University.jpg Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universi ...

, England, with campuses in

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

and Great Missenden. The institution dates from 1891, when it was founded as the School of Science and Art, and has since then has variously been known as Wycombe Technical Institute, High Wycombe College of Technology and Art and the Buckinghamshire College of Higher Education. It was a

university college In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

from 1999 until 2007, when its application for university status was accepted. The university is a member of the GuildHE.

History

19th century origins

Founded in 1891 as the School of Science and Art, it was initially established with public funds raised from a tax on

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

and spirits and set about providing evening classes to residents of High Wycombe and the local area.Official history
Retrieved January 2014

20th century

After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, it was renamed the Wycombe Technical Institute, forging close links with local crafts such as furniture making and cabinetry and helping to provide skills to injured war veterans in order that they might find work in local industries. Further building took place after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and on 6 May 1963 the new facilities were officially opened by the Minister of Education, Sir Edward Boyle. A new change of name, the High Wycombe College of Technology and Art accompanied this expansion. By the 1960s, around 3,000 people worked in the manufacture of furniture in High Wycombe, and 80% of the wooden chairs manufactured in Britain were made there. In 1975 High Wycombe College of Art and Technology merged with the Newland Park College of Education in Chalfont St Giles, and was renamed the Buckinghamshire College of Higher Education. In the same decade Missenden Abbey, a former Augustinian monastery founded in 1133, was acquired, and in May 1988 it was officially opened as a management centre by

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, (Richard Alexander Walter George; born 26 August 1944) is a member of the British royal family. He is the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, as well ...

. In March 1999 it was awarded University College status by the government, changing its name once again to Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College. Around this time the ''Which University'' guide described it as a "concrete labyrinth", which was unlikely to be "bringing home architectural awards".

21st century

In 2007 its application for university status was approved by the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

and it took its current name "Buckinghamshire New University" abbreviated to Bucks. The university changed its shortened name to 'BNU' in 2021. Alternative names such as 'University of Wycombe', 'Wycombe University', 'University of High Wycombe', 'High Wycombe University', 'University of Buckinghamshire' and 'Buckinghamshire Chilterns University' were rejected. The chosen name was lead to displeasure from the

University of Buckingham , mottoeng = Flying on Our Own Wings , established = 1973; as university college1983; as university , type = Private , endowment = , administrative_staff = 97 academic, 103 support , chanc ...

for also using the county name. Bucks had plans to consolidate its campuses into a purpose-built site near to Hughenden Park in High Wycombe on land previously owned by CompAir. While these plans fell through, the university changed plans to renovate and enlarge the main campus as well as consolidate both the Wellesbourne and Chalfont campuses onto the High Wycombe site. Additionally new halls of residence have been built at the Hughenden Park site. The university is a lead academic sponsor of Buckinghamshire University Technical College, a new

university technical college A university technical college (UTC) is a type of specialist secondary school in England that is led by a sponsor university and has close ties to local business and industry. These university and industry partners support the curriculum developm ...

which opened in

in September 2013.

Campuses

The university operates over four campuses: High Wycombe Campus (previously belonging to the High Wycombe College of Art and Technology), since 2009 a site in Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, a thriving base for nursing students and applied healthcare research, a campus in Aylesbury and a site known as Missenden Abbey which is also a conference centre. In 2008, the university disposed of two existing campuses; the Chalfont Campus (near Little Chalfont) and the Wellesbourne Campus (near

Hazlemere Hazlemere is a large village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northeast of High Wycombe on the A404 leading to Amersham, which intersects with the B474 at Hazlemere. To the north of the village is the hamlet of Holmer Green, whi ...

Gateway building

The university undertook a major development of the High Wycombe Campus with a large structure, known as the Gateway Building, being built onto the front of the existing building. It won a RIBA award in 2010. A state-of-the-art complex, the Gateway offers a rich mix of commercial-standard facilities, including a sports/events hall, fitness centre and performance lab, dance and drama studios, sound design labs, music recording studios and video production suites, a modern integrated learning resources centre, a cafe and meeting and conference rooms. It also has green screen facilities and a motion capture system.

Halls of residence

There is a range of accommodation at Bucks New University including halls of residence, managed houses and the student village: * Brook Street Halls, the first to be built for Bucks New University, has 396 rooms and is situated opposite High Wycombe bus station, a five minutes' walk from the university campus. * Hughenden Park Student Village was completed in 2009. All 410 student rooms are en-suite and the area is a 15 minutes' walk from the University's Wycombe campus. * Windsor House is located in High Wycombe town centre. Much of the estate used to build the halls has been bought from The Chilterns Shopping Centre.

Academic profile

Reputation and rankings

In November 2013 it was ranked 12th in the UK by the ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' in a list of creative universities. It was also included in a list of the top 14 creative universities in the UK by ''The Daily Telegraph'' in December 2013. Domestically, the university is ranked 77th out of 121 universities for 2022 (''Guardian'') and 39 out of 105 universities in England for teaching quality (''Times / Sunday Times'')''.''

Equality, diversity and inclusion

The university's overall vision is to be an inclusive environment ‘that inspires learning, develops potential, widens participation and ambitiously transforms lives.’ They strive to do this by ensuring they create an environment ‘which is not only free from any form of discrimination but actively celebrates and values diversity.’ In October 2020, they held a number of different events in celebration of

Black History Month Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...

to celebrate Black culture and enrich its students.

Research standing

For the most recent 2014

Research Excellence Framework The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a research impact evaluation of British higher education institutions. It is the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise and it was first used in 2014 to assess the period 2008–2013. REF is under ...

(REF), the grading "internationally excellent" or "world leading" was for some submissions in the areas Allied Health Professions, Business and Management Studies, Sport and Exercise Sciences, Art and Design.

Specialist courses

The university runs several specialist courses. The Air Transport with Commercial Pilot Training is a course offering students the opportunity to study for a professional pilot's licence whilst undertaking university studies in areas such as globalisation of the air transport industry and health safety and security for airlines and airports. Many former students (including Virgin Atlantic deputy chief pilot David Brooks) have gone on to attain jobs as pilots in flying schools, charter companies and airlines around the world including

Susi Air PT ASI Pudjiastuti Aviation, operating as Susi Air, is a scheduled and charter airline based in Pangandaran, West Java, Indonesia. Sixty percent of the airline's operation serves commercial regular routes and pioneer routes while the rest is ch ...

Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CPA), more widely known as Cathay Pacific (), is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and subsidiaries have ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

, BMI and

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings famil ...

. Although the Air Transport with Commercial Pilot Training course aims to provide guidance and support to students with the aim of becoming commercial pilots, many students are inspired by various modules of the course and pursue careers in other areas within the air transport industry. In 2009 graduate Antony Coe set up his own business DexFix computer repairs. Following this and in conjunction with his studies in Health safety and security for airlines and airports Coe now provides contract services to the counter terrorism task forces worldwide. The university offers several other innovative courses such as Music Management and Film and Television Production. The university also offers a course in Animation and Visual Effects, launched in September 2013.Bucks New University Official Site
Retrieved November 2012 Bucks New University, in partnership with the UK's largest non-metropolitan Police service

Thames Valley Police Thames Valley Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Thames Valley, covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. It the largest non-metropolitan police force in England and Wales, coverin ...

, offers a Degree Apprenticeship for new Police entrants.

Academics

Trevor Baylis Trevor Graham Baylis (13 May 1937 – 5 March 2018) was an English inventor best known for the wind-up radio. The radio, instead of relying on batteries or external electrical source, is powered by the user winding a crank. This stores energy ...

was a frequent guest lecturer, and was present at a 2004 graduation ceremony and graduate degree show; he received an honorary degree from the university in 2007, and was present at the official opening of the Gateway building in 2010.

Notable alumni

Noel Fielding Noel Fielding (; (born 21 May 1973) is an English actor and comedian. He is best known for his work with The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and more recently as a co-presenter of ''The Great British Bake Off'' ...

– Actor and comedian * Dave Brown – Actor and comedian * Veronica Carlson – Model and actress * Philip Koomen – Furniture designer * Rebecca Stephens – Singer * Fans of Kate – Band * Otto Decker – English–U.S. soccer player *

Lucian Ercolani Lucian Randolph Ercolani (8 May 1888 – 9 June 1976),Anita McConnell, ‘Ercolani, Lucian Randolph (1888–1976)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200accessed 17 Feb 2010/ref> was an Italians, Italian furn ...

– Furniture designer * John Bolam – Artist *

Chris Joyce Chris Joyce (born 11 October 1957, Manchester, England) is known for being drummer with various groups, and with Simply Red in the 1980s. Coming from Chorlton, Manchester, he adopted the hippie lifestyle. His most remote band was Fast Breeder, ...

– Actor *

– Furniture restorer and TV Presenter. First BNU Chancellor *

Robin Day (designer) Robin Day, OBE, RDI, FCSD (25 May 1915 – 9 November 2010) was one of the most significant British furniture designers of the 20th century, enjoying a long career spanning seven decades. An accomplished industrial and interior designer, ...

* Naomi Riches * Brooke Kinsella * Chloe Rogers *

Ricardo P. Lloyd Ricardo P Lloyd (born 20 November 1993) is a British actor and presenter. He began his career in theatre, appearing in productions, including those by Shakespeare's Globe. In 2020, ''The Voice'' named him one of the Top 20 to watch out for. In ...

– British actor

References

YouStudy.com , admission, bachelor, masters, phd, english

External links

Buckinghamshire New University
– official website
Bucks Students' Union
{{authority control Education in Buckinghamshire Higher education colleges in England Educational institutions established in 1999 High Wycombe 1999 establishments in England Universities UK