As one of the UK’s most popular tourist attractions, Canterbury offers visitors a trip back in time. With its majestic cathedral and city wall which were built in roman times, taking a few days to explore the city is a great way to discover the history of England. While Canterbury is undoubtedly a great place for a city break, have you ever considered basking in this historic city for a little longer than just a long weekend?
With over 43,000 residents, Canterbury is a small but intriguing city located in south east England. Given its four well established universities and its numerous internationally renowned secondary schools, Canterbury is the perfect destination to study as an international student. In order to highlight some of the best bits of the city, we have put together some of the top attractions of this great little city has to offer.
World leading university and secondary education
It is not possible to talk about Canterbury without highlighting the cities excellent education facilities. Given that the city is home to four universities, Canterbury has a lively student population. The Canterbury Christ Church University, for instance, currently has around 15000 students enrolled on their courses while the University of Kent has a student population of nearly 20000. While both of these institutions offer a broad range of courses, the University College for Creative Arts also provides students with specialist degrees in art and design.
In addition to the universities, Canterbury is also home to some of the UK’s best secondary schools. For example, The Kings School, situated around the Cathedral, is often considered one of the oldest education facilities in England. Although records only extend back as far as the 16th century, it is believed the school was first established in 597, making over 1400 year old.
Infamous locals
With such a prestigious range of universities and colleges, it is no surprise that the city can boast so many notable people who either lived or studied in Canterbury before going on to achieve greatness. For instance; former students of the University of Kent include the chart topping singer Ellie Goulding and the comedian Alan Davies. Furthermore Orlando Bloom, the actor who played Legolas in the Lord of the Rings trilogy before going on to take the lead role in Kingdom of Heaven, can also trace his routes back to the city. Born in a nearby hospital, Orlando Bloom completed his secondary education at the local St Edmund School.
A City of Sport
Although there is no denying the cities academic foundations, Canterbury also has a surprising sporting background. For example, the St Lawrence Ground is one of only two professional-standard cricket grounds in the world to have a tree within its boundary. Furthermore, the city is also home to one of England’s largest hockey clubs and both the men’s and women’s teams frequently compete in the UK’s top hockey fixtures.
Given the vast array of opportunities on offer, the city could be the perfect destination to experience English life first hand. Whether you wish to embrace the roman history or pursue a top quality education at one of the many facilities, Canterbury promises to leave you with memories that will last a life time. To see if we could help you find accommodation in Canterbury, why not get in touch today?