100%

progression to leading universities in Scotland

and throughout the UK

Key facts and figures about Scotland, Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian University and INTO Scotland

Scotland’s spectacular landscapes with mountains and lochs are unrivalled, making it one of the most beautiful places in the world.

At INTO Scotland and Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), we find it easy to talk to prospective students about the many benefits of studying here. Sometimes there are a few questions that students raise about studying in Glasgow and Scotland about the weather, our accent, our location and our ranking, which might make them uncertain about their choice. This document helps to provide answers to these common questions and hopefully will encourage more students to join INTO Scotland and GCU.

The Weather3

Although the weather is a little bit

unpredictable, Scotland does not have the

extremes of temperature as experienced

in countries like Canada. The climate is

often very mild and pleasant, and you will

always be guaranteed a very warm welcome

in Glasgow!

The Scottish weather has no extremes

Scotland has a yearly mild climate meaning that there are no extreme weather

patterns. The chart opposite highlights Glasgow’s average temperature in

comparison to some other UK cities.

Hours of daylight

During the summer months in Scotland you are guaranteed very long days

with daylight lasting until 10pm or later. The chart below gives examples of

longer hours of daylight than London.

Central heating in Scotland

In the winter months, when it does get a little bit colder, you do not need

to worry as your accommodation will have central heating to keep you nice

and warm.

Month Glasgow (Hours of daylight) London (Hours of daylight)

15 May 2011 16 hours 16 minutes 15 hours 35 minutes

15 June 2011 17 hours 32 minutes 16 hours 36 minutes

15 July 2011 17 hours 16 hours 11 minutes

0 5 10 15 20 30

Jan

Sheffield

Glasgow

Liverpool

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Maximum average monthly temperature (°C) comparison

Glasgow has a very similar temperature to the rest of the UK

Dec

You are guaranteed longer hours of daylight in Glasgow than London.

LocationExcellent transport links to rest of the UK and the world

4

Quick facts about Scotland

• Scotland is part of UK

• Population of over 5 million

• Largest city is Glasgow with over

600,000 inhabitants

• Capital city is Edinburgh

• A great mixture of beauty and

cosmopolitan cities

• Glasgow is just over a one hour flight

from London

It is quicker to get to London from Glasgow than it is from Sheffield or Plymouth!

Glasgow has an international airport and

has direct links with London and across

the globe, including Amsterdam, Paris and

Dubai. The charts below give examples of

destinations and average journey time.

Journey time from GlasgowDestination Mode of transport Journey time from Glasgow

Edinburgh Train 50 mins

London Flight 1 hrs 20 mins

Manchester Flight 1 hr

London Train 4 hours

St Andrews Bus 2hr 30 mins

Frequency of flights to Glasgow from LondonAirport Frequency Flights Times

London Heathrow Over 9 flights daily 1 hr 25 mins

London City 4 flights daily 1 hrs 20 mins

London Gatwick 4 flights daily 1 hr 20 mins

London Stansted 4 flights daily 1 hr 25 mins

London Luton 3 flights daily 1 hr 25 mins

Getting to Glasgow (It is quicker to get to London from Glasgow than it is

from Sheffield and Plymouth)From To Average Journey time

Sheffield London 2 hrs 20 mins (trains – no flights)

Plymouth London 3 hrs 15 mins (trains – no flights)

Glasgow London 1 hr 20 mins (flight)

Not

tingh

am

5

LocationLower cost of living

5

Lower cost of living

As a destination in the UK, Glasgow has a lower cost of living than many other

parts of the UK, including London. Studying at INTO Scotland at GCU will be a

less expensive experience.

The size of the city of Glasgow

Glasgow is not a small city and has a huge part to play in the UK.

Monthly average cost of living comparison - Glasgow vs. London

Size of Glasgow in comparison to UK cities outside London

Glasgow

London

£460

£708

£200

£250

£35

Local TransportFood ShopAccommodation

£60

1200000

Birm

ingh

am

Leed

s

Gla

sgow

She

ffiel

d

Bra

dfo

rd

Ed

inb

urgh

Live

rpoo

l

Bris

tol

1000000

800000

600000

400000

200000

0

Glasgow is the 3rd biggest city in the UK outside London - bigger than Nottingham, Liverpool and Edinburgh.

Living costs in Glasgow and Scotland are cheaper than many other parts of the UK.

Ranking6

Glasgow Caledonian University has many areas of academic strength,

ranging from Health, Business, Engineering, Computing and Built and Natural

Environment, as well as the international support offered to students.

Built and Natural Environment,

Computing and Engineering

• Scotland’s largest provider of

built environment graduates.

• GCU teaches over 75% of

Scotland’s part-time construction

and property students.

• GCU has excellent links with

professional bodies and develops

programmes in line with their

accreditation standards.

Health

• The RAE 2008 showed the

University’s research in allied

health is ranked top in Scotland

and in the UK top 10.

Business

• GCU’s MSc Financial Services

suite of programmes is the first

in the world to have the backing

of three of the most influential

banking and finance professional

bodies in the world – the

Chartered Banker Institute, the

Chartered Institute for Securities

and Investment and the Institute

of Operational Risk.

• The only university in Scotland

to offer Fashion Marketing

at undergraduate and

postgraduate level.

• The first university in Europe

to offer Risk Management

undergraduate programme.

The MSc options in Financial Services at GCU

have a range of accreditations, including Chartered

Banker status and Chartered Institute for

Investments and Securities.

The engineering options at GCU are accredited

by a range of bodies, including the Institute of

Engineering and Technology and the Institution of

Mechanical Engineers.

GCU is renowned for the support offered to

international students. In 2008 GCU won the

Times Higher Award for outstanding support for

overseas students.

From web systems development to Games

Design, the computing courses at GCU have the

accreditation of the British Computing Society.

The Built and Natural Environment programmes at

GCU are top in Scotland and this is evident with

undergraduate and postgraduate programmes

being accredited by the Chartered Institute of

Building, Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors

and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

GCU was the first university in Europe to offer a BA/BA (Hons) Risk Management programme.

7

Ranking7

The ranking of the Scottish education system• Did you know that the Scottish education system is

extremely highly thought of and Scotland has a long history of being a well educated country? In fact, Scotland had five universities for a long time when England only had two.

• Scotland was the first country in the world to introduce universal school education and was one of the first European countries to establish a quality assurance system for its educational institutions.

With all this experience a number of countries have successfully followed the Scottish education model, including:

• The USA

• Australia

• France

These countries offer the four year system for undergraduate students.

Career focus

GCU courses are career focused – graduates are internationally employable

and have gained jobs with worldwide blue-chip companies, including:

The Scottish accent8

Key points about the Scottish accent

• In Glasgow and Scotland everybody speaks English.

• Residents of all cities in the UK have different accents,

including Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, London,

Norwich and Belfast.

• Students should not worry about the Scottish accent – they

will pick it up very quickly.

• The INTO Scotland and GCU staff are very well educated

and the majority are native speakers. This, in particular,

includes the INTO Scotland at GCU English Language staff.

• Scotland has many famous people from the world of film,

politics and media who speak extremely clear English. You

may have heard of the following: Ewan McGregor, David

Tennant and Sean Connery.

• Students could listen to Radio Scotland before

arrival to hear how we speak. Click on this link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radioscotland/.

• Companies from across the globe have set-up their call

centres in Scotland as the accent is so highly thought of in

terms of clarity and friendliness. Ewan McGregor

Played Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars

David Tennant

Played the doctor in Doctor Who

Sean Connery

Played James Bond

JK Rowling

While living in Edinburgh, Scotland

wrote the Harry Potter books

It is important to know that the language in Scotland is English – the same as the rest of the UK!

For more information on study opportunities please visit www.intohigher.com/scotland