• Introduction
• Location
• Courses
  • English as a Foreign Language
• Tuition Fees and Expenses
• Studying at BCoT
• Social Activities
• Accommodation
• Applying
• Language Requirements

Social Activities

Basingstoke is an ideal town for someone new to the UK.  It is not a small town so there is plenty to do but not too large either so you needn't worry about getting lost.  There are 125,000 inhabitants.

Basingstoke is a prosperous town.  Many international corporations have their UK Headquarters here, for example Huawei Technolgy, Sony and De La Rue whilst other companies such as Ericcson, Barclays, Fujitsu, Canon  and AXA have large offices here.  Unemployment at 4% is low compared to the average for the UK at 8%.

Basingstoke is only 60 kilometres from the centre of London (40 kilometres from London Heathrow Airport) but set in an area of outstanding natural beauty.  It is modern and one of the most spacious towns in the UK with plenty of parks and open spaces.  There is a new shopping centre and many new homes that provide a high standard of accommodation. 

Basingstoke also has excellent sporting facilities as well as a concert hall, traditional theatre and studio theatre for more ‘avant-garde’ events.

Basingstoke is an excellent centre for visiting other places in the UK.  There are nine trains per hour to London and frequent trains to other destinations so that it is easy to travel to places such as Oxford, Bath, Winchester and York.  

To help you enjoy your stay in Basingstoke and to develop your skills in English we organise social activities for all our international students.

These activities may take place in college time, during the evenings and at weekends.  There may be a fee for some activities to cover transport, admission and other unavoidable costs. (Please see Studying at BCoT for further information.).

As an international student at BCoT you can expect to enjoy:

• Welcome party with BCoT international students
• Parties to celebrate religious and cultural festivals
• Tours to interesting towns and cities such as Winchester, Salisbury and Oxford
• Theatre trips
• Unlimited use of the Basingstoke and Deane Sports Centre for swimming, keep fit and other sports
• A travel pass giving unlimited use of buses in Basingstoke