Go Higher: London & The South East - Cool London is the big draw

Students from all over the world flock to the capital and the surrounding regions to bask in the 'London effect', writes Lucy Hodges

During the Nineties London was labelled one of the coolest capitals in the world - just as it was in the Sixties. Only now it's become much bigger and more multicultural than 30 years ago and the universities have expanded, so it is the most incredible mecca for students.

In fact it is one of the student capitals of the world. Young people flock to London despite the cost of living and the grime. They come for the buzz - because it is at the cutting edge of fashion, the media, arts and entertainment and because English is the international lingua franca. They come for the amazing variety of institutions - research-based universities to go-getting one-time polytechnics - and for the courses. And they know there will be a lot of like-minded young people to hang out with - and plenty of job opportunities when they've completed their degree.

The South-east of England - spanning a radius of 60 to 70 miles round the capital - basks in the London effect. Universities and colleges of higher education in the South-east are popular with students because they are close to London and all its amenities, and they contain overspill industries and activities. Transport links are generally good in the region and employment opportunities excellent.

Bournemouth, for example, boasts a clutch of financial companies which have fled the big city, such as Chase Manhattan Bank, Abbey Life and Liverpool Victoria. The result is that Bournemouth University runs a financial services degree and there are job placements in local firms.

Universities and colleges in the South-east cash in on the fact that they are within reach of the capital, but not actually part of it. "We're clearly an East Anglian institution but we're only 45 minutes from the centre of London," says Richard Lister, director of external relations at Essex University. "Students like that balance of being in a more provincial environment but with easy access to central London. They also like the fact that we're a relatively small, campus-based institution with a high level of security and a lot of student accommodation."

The University of Essex is located outside Colchester, England's oldest recorded town, which has good communication links, a lively enough nightlife and plenty of shops. It is surrounded by some pretty countryside, notably on the Suffolk-Essex border that Constable committed so memorably to canvas. Royal Holloway College, part of London University, in Egham, Surrey, also claims to provide students with the best of both worlds - London is 35 minutes by train, but the campus is a bucolic heaven.

Similarly, the University of Hertfordshire, based on five sites in the county, is swathed in pleasant country, close to the cathedral city of St Albans, but also has London on its doorstep. It benefits from a sophisticated transport network including a rail link to London's Kings Cross Station and access to three London airports - Heathrow, Luton and Stansted. It also claims high employment rates for graduates as a result of booming industry, particularly in pharmaceuticals. "There's a skills shortage in Hertfordshire, so it's good for jobs," says Brian Emsley, the uni's public relations manager. "Our graduates can be snapped up very quickly."

Brunel University is typical of how higher education has changed. Ten years ago it was a small, even cosy, place on a single campus in Uxbridge, west London. Now it has 13,000 students on four campuses ranged around Heathrow. Ten years ago, it was a famous technological university. Now it is as well known for performing arts as for engineering.

Colleges of London University have expanded radically following the university's restructuring in the Eighties. Queen Mary and Westfield College in the East End is one which has burnished its reputation in the sciences and humanities, while building up a strong community following in East London. Its students reflect the extraordinary racial mix of the area.

A multicultural student population is what you'll get in London. "People fit in wherever they come from," says Eva Tyler, QMW's press officer. "We get people coming from all over the world, but they feel comfortable because they're mostly with people who have come from somewhere else."

Students in London and the South-east should have little problem finding part-time work. One big advantage of the region is that there is plenty of casual work available - from selling clothes in Gap or pizzas in Pizza Hut to childminding or serving at the food hall in the Wimbledon tennis season. Many universities help students to find work that's compatible with study.

Higher education institutions in the South-east try to play down the cost of being a student in the region. But there is little doubt it is more expensive than elsewhere, if only as there's so much more to do.

Universities and colleges do their best to keep costs down. At Brunel, for example, an en suite room in a new hall of residence is advertised at pounds 54.50 a week without food - not bad for London - and a pint of Carling Black Label in the student union bar will set you back just pounds 1.50.

At London's new universities many students are choosing to live at home and go to college locally, rather than travelling outside the capital, because that is the cheaper option in these straightened times. The ending of the student grant means it will almost always be cheaper to stay at home where, if you are lucky, the accommodation and food comes free.

Some London universities rely on mature students. About 70 per cent of South Bank's are 25 or over, says Andy Masheter, head of external relations. Often they have no option: at the same time as gaining a degree, they may be holding down a job and bringing up a family, so going away from home to study is not on the cards. And London's physical environment around the Elephant and Castle is getting better all the time!