St John's College, York
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

York St John University (originally established as York Diocesan College), often abbreviated to YSJ, is a
public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...
located on a large urban campus in
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, England. Established in 1841, it achieved university status in 2006 and in 2015 was given research degree awarding powers for
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
and other doctoral programmes. It is one of several higher education institutions which have religious foundations and is part of the Cathedrals Group of Universities. In 2022, there were 8,350 students, reading a wide variety of subjects, across five schools: School of the Arts; School of Education, Language and Psychology; School of Humanities; School of Science, Technology and Health; and York Business School.


History

The university descends from two
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
teacher training colleges, which were founded in York in 1841 (for men) and 1846 (for women). York St John University's founding mission was to improve access to education for people from all walks of life. In 1862, the women's college relocated to
Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...
. Over the next century, the colleges gradually diversified their education programmes. The colleges, St John's College (named for
John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( – ) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter, although there is no consensus on how ...
) and Ripon College, merged in 1974 to form the "College of Ripon and York St John". In 1990, the combined institution formally became a college of the
University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...
; this arrangement allowed it to award degrees in the name of the latter, while remaining in practice largely autonomous. Between 1999 and 2001, all activities were transferred to York and the college received the name "York St John College". In February 2006, the College was granted the right to award degrees in its own name and the right to call itself 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 f ...
. On 10 July 2006, the Privy Council approved a request from the college to become a full-fledged university; the name became "York St John University" on 1 October 2006, and the first Chancellor (installed at a ceremony in York Minster on 7 March 2007) was the
Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...
John Sentamu John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu, Baron Sentamu, (; ; born 10 June 1949) is a retired Anglican bishop and life peer. He was Archbishop of York and Primate of England from 2005 to 2020. In retirement he was subject to investigation over his handl ...
. Archbishop Sentamu retired in 2019 after 12 years as Chancellor. He was succeeded by BBC broadcaster Reeta Chakrabarti.


Campus

The university has an eleven-acre city centre campus on Lord Mayor's Walk, close to
York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...
and the city walls.


Creative Centre

Opened in 2021, the purpose-built Creative Centre spans three floors and provides teaching space for music, theatre, drama, creative writing and media production students. Part of the building is dedicated to computer science teaching and research. It includes high-tech equipment for software engineering and games development. The Creative Centre also includes a large auditorium for live performances.


Foss Building

In 2022 new spaces were developed in the existing Foss building to provide enhanced facilities for nu S1 C2rsing, biomedical science, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and paramedic science. The facilities include consultation rooms, specialist camera and audio systems, and simulation spaces.


York St John University Sports Park

The university's main sports facilities are at the Sports Park on Haxby Road, one mile from the city centre. The university acquired the site in 2012. A multi-million-pound redevelopment included the creation of a
3G pitch Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...
for football and
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
. The facilities at the site also include grass pitches, outdoor tennis courts, sprint track, sports barn and strength and conditioning suites. In January 2021, three new indoor tennis courts were opened which are available for public use. The Sports Park is used as the training facilities for York Knights and as part of £1 million investment a 4G pitch matching the specifications of
York Community Stadium York Community Stadium (known for sponsorship purposes as the LNER Community Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Huntington, North Yorkshire, Huntington, York, England. It is owned by City of York Council, and is shared by York City F.C., Yo ...
was built. During the
2021 Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received  ...
the sports park hosted the Cook Islands women's team and was the venue for the warm-up match between the
York Valkyrie York Valkyrie are the women's rugby league team of York RLFC (known as York City Knights from 2002 to 2022) based in York, England. The Valkyrie, who were established in 2016 as York City Knights Ladies, compete in the RFL Women's Super League ...
and the
Papua New Guinea Orchids The Papua New Guinea women's national rugby league team, also known as the PNG Orchids represents Papua New Guinea in Women's rugby league. They are administered by the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League. Head to head records Notes: * ...
on 20 October 2022.


Fountains Learning Centre

The Fountains Learning Centre, opened in 2004, is at the Clarence Street entrance to the campus. It provides access to resources of all kinds including books, journals, DVDs and videos, media equipment, approximately 400 computers and a 200-seat lecture theatre.


De Grey Court

York St John University's £15.5 million De Grey Court was designed by leading architects Charles Thomson of Rivington Street Studio Architects in London. It has won many plaudits, including the highly lauded Lord Mayor's York Design Award and a Royal Institute of British Architects award. The Porters Lodge The Porters team are on duty at the following times: Monday to Friday: 7.00am to 6.30pm, Saturday and Sunday: closed. Porters are located in St Anthony's House (building code S.A.).


London campus

In 2018, York St John University's London campus opened, offering various postgraduate programmes in Business Management and Computer Science. The London campus is located near the East India DLR station.


Academic profile


Courses

Around 100 degree course options are available to students at foundation and undergraduate level, including
biomedical science Biomedical sciences are a set of sciences applying portions of natural science or formal science, or both, to develop knowledge, interventions, or technology that are of use in healthcare or public health. Such disciplines as medical microbi ...
,
computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
, nursing, film and television production (see filmmaking), media production,
physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...
,
occupational therapy Occupational therapy (OT), also known as ergotherapy, is a healthcare profession. Ergotherapy is derived from the Greek wiktionary:ergon, ergon which is allied to work, to act and to be active. Occupational therapy is based on the assumption t ...
, literature,
linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
, Japanese, Korean, British Sign Language (BSL),
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
,
counselling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. This is a list of c ...
, business management, marketing, tourism, sociology, criminology, law, professional policing, video game design, history, creative writing, music, music production, art, design, geography, politics, theatre, dance, sport, theology and primary education. At postgraduate level, subject areas offered at postgraduate level include business, MBA courses, creative writing, literature, publishing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, psychology, theology, education, theatre, fine art, design, music production, film production, music, counselling, health, law, linguistics and TESOL.


Research

In recent years, York St John has developed its research capacity in Allied Health Professions & Studies; Psychology; Education; Sports-related Studies; English Language & Literature; Modern Languages and Linguistics; Theology and Religious Studies; and Drama, Dance & Performing Arts. Over 30% of research was ranked as world-leading and internationally excellent in the last Research Excellence Framework (REF) review.


Institute for Social Justice

The York St John University Institute for Social Justice was launched in 2020 to support the university's mission "to stand up for social justice". The Institute works with people, partners and communities to address the inequalities facing society today.


Reputation and rankings

York St John University was ranked 13th in the Times Higher Education Guide 2023. York St John University rose to 84th in the Guardian University Guide in 2023. In the
National Student Survey The National Student Survey is an annual survey, launched in 2005, of all final year undergraduate degree students at institutions in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom. The survey is designed to assess undergra ...
2022, the university was ranked 30th of 122 English Higher Education providers for overall student satisfactio

York St John University is in the top 10 UK universities for giving equal access to students from all backgrounds.


Scholarships

The university has a newly developed set of scholarships for 2021 which include specific scholarships for: students from low income families, students who are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, students who are carers, students whose parents or guardians have died serving their country in the Armed Forces and students who are seeking asylum or with Limited Leave to Remain in the UK.


Students' Union

The YSJ Students' Union (YSJSU), is associated with nearly 50 clubs and societies, covering activities and interests such as sports, languages, music, drama, religion and art. The Students' Union is led by three full-time sabbatical officers: SU President, President of Education and President of Wellbeing and Diversity. There are also a number of part-time officers including chairs of schools and liberation officers. The Students' Union building houses space for students to socialise and create committees.


Community initiatives

In 2021, the Students' Union launched the "Throw it our way" community campaign. In partnership with Mind, Oxfam, RSCPA and the York Community Furniture Store, the campaign aimed to reduce waste being created when students moved out of their accommodation and redistribute items to those in need. In April 2021, following the easing of some of the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, the YSJSU launched the campaign "Reconnect the right way." The campaign aimed to normalise social anxiety, support local businesses and give advice on how to stay safe on nights out. In 2005, the Students' Union launched another community-friendly campaign called 'Pick It Up'. This campaign was designed to reduce litter levels on campus and in the surrounding community. In 2002, a campaign entitled "SSHH – Silent Students Happy Homes" was initiated to combat local residents' concerns about College town, studentification. This has subsequently been adopted by other Students' Unions around the UK, although in many instances the expansion of the abbreviation has been dropped, leaving campaigns called "Shh", "Sshh", or variants.


Awards

In 2020, the Students' Union received a Silver Award from Investors in People. In 2017, they attained an accreditation through "Quality Students' Unions" - a quality framework run by the National Union of Students. In June 2014, the Students' Union was short listed for Small and Specialist Students' Union of the Year at the annual NUS Awards. In 2012 the Students' Union was awarded silver in the Students' Union Evaluation Initiative, making it the only small Students' Union in the country to receive the award. In October 2009 the Student Union was awarded a Bronze Students' Union Evaluation Initiative award, one of 16 institutions to receive this accolade. Awards are made from bronze (lowest) to gold (highest). The scheme is administered by a former manager of Sheffield University Student Union. Currently
Sheffield University The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Firth College in 1879 ...
shares the gold award with the nearby
Leeds University The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed ...
.


Sports

The Students' Union has many sports clubs.
York St John University Rowing Club York St. John University Boat Club (YSJBC) has a history beginning in 1852, eleven years after the founding of the institution where it is based. YSJ BC is notable for being the longest standing club of the university and has an affiliation to B ...
was founded 11 years after the college in 1852 and caters for all levels of experience; from competent rowers to complete beginners. As of academic year 2018–19, the biggest club is the dance club, which stands at 119 members, of which 18 compete at a national level. The club offers 10 types of classes (including ballet, jazz and street) to all its members and six to those on the competition team. The
football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...
plays at Heworth Green: one team competes under the name York St John University in the York Football League (they are currently in the Premier Division of that league system); their reserve team also feature in Reserve Division A, which is the top reserve league. Its origins date back to 1872 when J. Morton persuaded the Sports Association to take up association football. The
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
club is probably the oldest club – the first record of cricket being played was in 1848, seven years after the opening of the Training College. The club has strong links with its Old Johns Cricket Association, whose president was ex-student Harry Gration. The
hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
club is one of the biggest clubs within the university, offering 1st and 2nd men's and ladies teams and a mixed team. The men's 1st team are the last ever BUSA National Plate champions, having won the competition in 2008. The
badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...
club is also present and represents York St John in BUCS too. As of 2019, students formed an
esports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...
society and teams formed in titles such as,
Overwatch ''Overwatch'' (abbreviated as OW) is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment. ''Overwatch (video game), Overwatch'' was released in 2016 with a success ...
,
League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL'', commonly referred to as ''League'', is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for ''Warcraf ...
, and CSGO.


Societies

YSJSU houses around 30 different societies ranging from Musical Production, Drama, Geek Society, and course based societies too such as Physiotherapy, Geography, Primary Education and many more. The societies work together on many projects in the year and all have the opportunity to win the title of Society of year at the annual Societies Awards Dinner.


Democratic structures

As of September 2016, the Students' Union moved to a new democratic structure in order to further student engagement with the Union. The Students' Union is led by a student executive of twelve, including three full-time officer trustees and nine chairs of schools representing each of the university schools. The current president of York St John Students' Union is Tim Holmes. The current president of education is Jenny Marchant. The current president of wellbeing and diversity is Kirsten Jolley. The executive all hold seats on the Student Council (previously Senate) and the other seats are filled by elected members of each of the six Students' Union 'Zones' (student forums). Any student can submit a motion to the Student Council on any issue regarding life at university. The motion is then debated by members of Senate and either passed or not passed as policy.


Community links


York St John Communities Centre

Founded in 2016 and based on the university campus, the Communities Centre offers counselling, support groups and drop-in sessions for local residents. It also conducts research into mental health issues. Specialist areas are bereavement and domestic abuse. The Centre regularly collaborates with th
Independent Domestic Abuse Services
(IDAS). Converge Converge provides courses for adults who use mental health services in the York area. Their courses include visual arts, creative writing, music, theatre, and study skills. They are taught by staff, students and people with experience of mental ill health.


Notable alumni

* Alasdair Beckett-King, stand-up comedian * Paul Blomfield, Labour Member of Parliament for Sheffield Central * Geoff Cooke, former England Rugby International Manager * Tom Danby, double Rugby Union and Rugby League International * Peter Davies, Professor of Economic History and maritime historian *
Julia Davis Julia Davis (born August 1966) is an English actress, comedian, director and writer. She is known for writing and starring in the comedies Human Remains (TV series), ''Human Remains'' (2000) and ''Nighty Night'' (2004–2005). She later worke ...
, comedy writer and actress best known for writing and starring in the BBC Three sitcom '' Nighty Night'' and for her role as Dawn Sutcliffe in popular
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
comedy ''
Gavin & Stacey ''Gavin & Stacey'' is a British sitcom created, written by and starring James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one from Billericay in Essex, and the other from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan. Mathew Horne and ...
''. * Eileen Fenton, first woman to swim the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
* Harry Gration, television presenter, best known as one of the main presenters for the
BBC Yorkshire BBC Yorkshire is one of the English regions of the BBC. It was formed from the division of the former BBC North region into BBC Yorkshire and BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, based in Kingston upon Hull. Serving West, North and South Yorkshir ...
regional magazine programme ''
Look North ''BBC Look North'' is a name used by the BBC for its regional news programmes in three regions in the North of England: * ''BBC Look North (North East and Cumbria), BBC Look North'' for the BBC North East and Cumbria region * ''BBC Look North (Y ...
'' *
Alistair Griffin Alistair Richard Griffin (born 1 November 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Already an established songwriter, he first became famous as a solo artist through his appearances on the BBC television show ''Fame Academy 2'' in 2 ...
, singer/songwriter who first came to the public's attention on the 2003
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
television series '' Fame Academy 2'' * Bella Hardy, folk singer * Jack Harrison, VC MC (1917) and Rugby League player * Edward Jarvis FRAI, author and theologian * Matt Messias, ex professional football referee * Scarlett Moffatt, television personality, famous for ''
Gogglebox ''Gogglebox'' is a British reality television series created by Stephen Lambert, Tania Alexander and Tim Harcourt, and broadcast on Channel 4. The series documents families and groups of friends around the United Kingdom who are filmed for the ...
'', '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' and '' Beauty School Cop Outs'' * Peter D. Robinson, presiding Bishop of the United Episcopal Church of North America and Bishop of the Missionary Diocese of the East * Tim Smith, BBC Radio 2 presenter * Peter Squires, former England Rugby Union international *
Tom Wilkinson Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson (5 February 1948 – 30 December 2023) was an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award as well ...
, former professional footballer


See also

* Abi Curtis (poet, writer, and lecturer at York St John University) *
Armorial of UK universities The armorial of British universities is the collection of coats of arms of universities in the United Kingdom. Modern arms of universities began appearing in England around the middle of the 15th century, with University of Oxford, Oxford's being ...
*
College of Education In the United States and Canada, a school of education (or college of education; ed school) is a division within a university that is devoted to scholarship in the field of education, which is an interdisciplinary branch of the social sciences e ...
* List of universities in the UK * Reeta Chakrabarti (York St John University, chancellor) *
University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...
* York College


References


Further reading

*G. P. McGregor (1991) ''A Church College for the 21st Century? 150 Years of Ripon & York St John, 1841–1991: A Study of Policy and Its Absence''. William Sessions Ltd, York, England. ()


External links

*
York St John University Students' Union
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1974 1974 establishments in England Buildings and structures in York Culture in York Universities UK