Students have much to consider when viewing and moving into their student accommodation. As well as the feel of the home, it is important to consider the local area. This is perhaps most important when choosing to study in London, given the size of the city.
To find out the best areas of London for home study, the UWS London team analysed data from each of London’s 32 boroughs. The research considered a variety of factors, including the number of libraries, average rental price, parks and green spaces, and number of distractions.
The Top 10 Boroughs For Students
- Lewisham
Lewisham scored highly due to fewer distractions (no 5* attractions on Tripadvisor) and many parks and green spaces (63). The South-West borough is the thirteenth cheapest for rent in London, with ten libraries. The various contributing factors make it a great place for students to study. - Camden
Camden was ranked as the second best place to study, because of the high volume of green spaces and parks (300). It also has nine public libraries within its borough and there are eight 5* attractions in its area. However, the borough in North London is known for being an expensive place to live, with rent costing an average of £2,200. - Harrow
Harrow is in the bronze medal position. It has a healthy number of green spaces and parks, with 60 inside the borough, proving to be a great place for getting out and clearing your mind. It also scored well for the number of distractions with only four in its borough. - Tower Hamlets
Tower Hamlets narrowly missed out on a podium position due to its higher average rent price (£1,850). With that said, the North London borough performed well with four libraries, 18 green spaces and parks, and ten distractions. - Hillingdon
Hillingdon has the final spot in the top five. The main reason for this is a combination of low rental prices (£1,300) and a high number of libraries (17). The North London borough also has a massive 239 green spaces and parks and no distractions.
Rank | Borough | Number of distractions | Average rental price | Green spaces and parks | Libraries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lewisham | 0 | £1428 | 63 | 10 |
2 | Camden | 8 | £2,200 | 300 | 10 |
3 | Harrow | 4 | £1,350 | 60 | 6 |
4 | Tower Hamlets | 10 | £1,850 | 18 | 4 |
5 | Hillingdon | 0 | £1,300 | 239 | 17 |
6 | Barnet | 6 | £1,500 | 200 | 15 |
7 | Enfield | 7 | £1,350 | 124 | 17 |
8 | Bromley | 18 | £1,350 | 160 | 14 |
9 | Croydon | 18 | £1,250 | 127 | 14 |
10 | Bexley | 3 | £1,250 | 105 | 12 |
11 | Haringey | 4 | £1,600 | 151 | 9 |
12 | Hounslow | 21 | £1,400 | 160 | 11 |
13 | Havering | 0 | £1,250 | 100 | 10 |
14 | Hammersmith and Fulham | 5 | £1,907 | 31 | 23 |
15 | Merton | 0 | £1,575 | 116 | 7 |
16 | Sutton | 9 | £1,250 | 90 | 8 |
17 | Lambeth | 2 | £1,750 | 64 | 11 |
18 | Richmond upon Thames | 42 | £1,670 | 128 | 13 |
19 | Southwark | 35 | £1,850 | 130 | 12 |
20 | Brent | 0 | £1,450 | 80 | 6 |
21 | Greenwich | 14 | £1,450 | 50 | 13 |
22 | Redbridge | 3 | £1,343 | 12 | 13 |
23 | Ealing | 15 | £1,550 | 48 | 13 |
24 | Hackney | 7 | £1,850 | 58 | 8 |
25 | Barking and Dagenham | 9 | £1,250 | 28 | 7 |
26 | Waltham Forest | 3 | £1,425 | 7 | 9 |
27 | Wandsworth | 15 | £1,800 | 32 | 11 |
28 | Westminster | 44 | £2,925 | 116 | 16 |
29 | Newham | 19 | £1,450 | 25 | 10 |
30 | Kingston upon Thames | 25 | £1,450 | 30 | 7 |
31 | Kensington and Chelsea | 15 | £2,903 | 30 | 6 |
32 | Islington | 87 | £2,046 | 61 | 10 |
The Worst London Boroughs For Study
As is the case with rankings, there are always those at the bottom.
- Islington (the worst)
The North London borough of Islington has a high number of distractions (87), which is one of the reasons why the borough came out unfavourably in the rankings. The average rent is £2,046, although it has a high number of green spaces and parks (61) and libraries (10). - Kensington and Chelsea
One of London’s most wealthy areas, so it’s no surprise that it is less favourable to study in. Kensington and Chelsea has the second highest rental price in London (£2,903) and 15 distractions. - Kingston-upon-Thames
The third worst is Kingston-Upon-Thames as a result of a higher number of distractions (25). Despite its low overall rank, it has a relatively reasonable rent price, standing at £1,450. However, the South London borough scored low for green spaces (30) and libraries (7).
London Boroughs map
To better illustrate where each borough is, we have created a map of all London boroughs. This will be especially of benefit for international students looking to study in the UK, who may not know where each London borough is situated.
Methodology
We took the list of boroughs and analysed them across different areas.
For number of distractions, we used Tripadvisor to see how many 5* attractions there were in each borough. We used Home Views for rental prices.
We analysed council websites for Green spaces and parks, as well as libraries.
Each place was then given a weighted score based on how they performed.
