Undergraduate Open Days

What is IMD and WIMD?

The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2015 is the official measure of relative deprivation for small areas (or neighbourhoods) in England.

Areas are split into quintiles, with quintile 1 (Q1) for highest levels of deprivation and quintile 5 (Q5) for lowest levels of deprivation.

There is a similar measure for Wales called the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD). 

How do I claim my free train tickets?

When you complete your Open Day booking form, enter your postcode and select "public transport" when asked how you will travel to the Open Day. We will then check your postcode and contact you to set up the free train tickets.

If you have any questions, please contact us as opendays@reading.ac.uk.

1. Visit the GWR booking site up to 12 weeks before our Open Days.
2. Select our Open Day dates – 12 or 19 October 2024.
3. Select Reading station as the destination.
4. This offer can be combined with a Young Persons Railcard, so add your railcard if you have one (tick the "Railcards" check box and select your railcard from the drop-down list).
5. If the route you've chosen is eligible for the discount and advance single fare tickets are available, the discounted ticket(s) will have an asterisk next to them and a discounted price will be shown. (If no asterisk is shown, either your route is not eligible or there are no advance fare discounted tickets left).
6. Check out and pay for your ticket.

What will I be able to do at the Open Day?

Open Days offer the chance to experience what living and studying at the University of Reading is really like. You’ll have the opportunity to explore your subject area of interest, attending talks, sessions and tours of facilities as well as have the chance to chat to our academics and current students. 

You’ll also be able to take campus tours and see inside our on-campus accommodation.  We’ll also have staff on hand from a range of different services such as Admissions, Student Finance, Study Aboard the Disability Advisory Service. 

Reading Students’ Union will be open throughout the day offering tours, delivering student-life talks and offering an insight into the many sports, clubs and societies we have available at Reading!

What time do the Open Days start and finish?

The Open Days start at 09:00 and finish at 16:00 on both Friday and Saturday. Guests can book to arrive at specific slot to help us manage registrations, however if you are late or early you can come to our registration points at any time.

Is there a difference between the Friday and Saturday Open Days?

We offer the same activities across both Open Days for our visitors. We run our Open Days over two days so you can  come at the best time for you. 

How do I get to the University?

If you are coming by train, Reading train station is a mainline train station and is easily accessible from most other places in the UK. There are direct rail links from many major cities, including Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff, Bristol, and Exeter, as well as a number of routes through London. 

Once you arrive at Reading station our team of Open Day Ambassadors will be ready to greet you and assist you in catching the bus to campus.  A free shuttle bus from the station to the University will be provided for our Open Day visitors.

If you are coming by car, our Whiteknights and London Road campuses are approximately 1.5 miles from the M4 motorway. The Sat Nav postcodes for each of our campuses can be found here:

• Whiteknights Campus: RG6 6UR
• London Road Campus: RG1 5AQ

Is there more than one campus?

The University of Reading is located across two main campuses in Reading town. Our Whiteknights Campus is the larger campus where most of our subjects are taught. This is also where you’ll find our central services, students’ union, and most of our accommodation. Our smaller London Road campus is just a 5min ride away and home to our Architecture and Education courses. 

If you’re interested in studying either of these subjects, we recommend starting your day at London Road before heading up to Whiteknights to see everything else we have on offer. 

Is there parking available?

We have (limited) parking available on both of our campuses. If you require parking, please select this option on the booking form. 

We have designated parking for Blue Badge holder or those with access needs – please select at the point of booking. 

Can I bring guests? 

You’re more than welcome to bring along your family and friends to the Open Days.

Do I need to bring anything to the Open Day?

We’re situated on a large parkland campus so recommend wearing comfortable shoes for walking between buildings. We hope the weather will be nice but always recommend being prepared – packing an umbrella or sunhat and sunscreen accordingly. 

We’ll also have water stations across campuses and in many of our buildings so that you can refill your own reusable water bottles as you need. If you bring a reusable coffee mug with you, you’ll also get a 20p discount on hot drinks from our cafes!

We also recommend bringing a reusable bag for any materials you might collect during the day. To help reduce the impact of our Open Days and reach out sustainability aims, we no longer give away bags. Our Open Day portal will contain pdfs of many of the brochures available at the Open Day available to download after both events as well if visitors prefer not to carry printed copies. 

Is there support for visitors with additional and accessibility requirements?

We want our Open Days to be accessible and enjoyable to all our visitors, whatever your needs. We have written a guide to enable you to fully take part in our Open Days. 

Accessing UoR Open Days guide.

As well as dedicated Blue Badge Parking we also run an accessibility bus throughout both days. We’ll be able to pick you up and drop you off around campus as you need and we can also drive you between our Whiteknights and London Road campuses. 

Is there a quiet room available?

Yes we will have quiet registration and a quiet room in the Carrington building. 

Are there places to eat at the Open Days?

There are plenty of places to eat and drink on campus, and at our open day we invite you to eat for the price of a student with Clever Cuisine, the home of our university meal plans. Head to the centre of our Whiteknights Campus from 9.30am-4.30pm to experience more of Clever Cuisine. You’ll find a wide range of choices with our open-air food market, celebrating home grown produce and our farm to fork journey. 

You can find out more about what’s available in our programme. 

Are dogs welcome at the Open Day?

Yes, we have a large parkland campus that's you can explore with your dogs. We do ask that you keep your dogs on a lead at all times and unfortunately, we are unable to allow dogs into buildings - unless they are support pets. 

I’ve already applied to Reading, can I still come to the Open Day?

Congratulations on your offer! If you've already applied and want to take the opportunity to have another look around, we’d be delighted to see you. Just complete the booking form for the day you’d like to attend.  

How to I book onto the Open Days?

Fill out our Open Day booking form. 

• Saturday 12 October 2024
• Saturday 19 October 2024

Do I need to book onto the talks and sessions I want to go to?

You do not need to book onto specific talks and sessions at our Open Day. You can look at our programme of activities to work out what you’d like to do on the day. We’ll have plenty of staff and students on hand to help you once you arrive. 

If I can’t come to the June Open Days, is there another way to visit?

If you can’t make either of our June Open Days, don’t worry! We’ll be running a further two Open Days on Saturday 12 and Saturday 19 October 2024. 

How do I get in touch with the Open Day team if I have a question?

If you have a question you can always email us at opendays@reading.ac.uk.