Halls of Residence London

Netherhall House- Student accommodation for Men in London

Every year tens of thousands of students flock to London from around the globe to undertake courses at one of the city’s prestigious universities. London’s universities are world leaders in their fields. In 2009 two of London’s universities were ranked in the top ten world wide- University College London and Imperial College London. As well as the main large famous universities (UCL, Kings College, Imperial College and the London School of Economics), London is home to many smaller specialist colleges such as the College of Law, The Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Heythrop, School of Oriental and African Studies, the Institute of Education, the Architectural Association and many more.

London is one of the worlds’ most enticing cities. With and incredible range of theatres, museums, galleries, restaurants, musicals, street fayres, markets, parks, zoos plus much more. In this city decisions which shaped the world were made, and the history is here for you to see. Above all London is fun- it is a great place to study and a great place to live.

Like other great cities of this size finding a home, your place to live, can be a bit of a challenge. Netherhall House exists to help you meet this challenge. Established in 1952, it provides a home away from home to students from around the world. In the period after the Second World War the student population of London was growing rapidly, as was the city, yet despite the huge numbers of people in the city it was possible for many, especially students from overseas or far away, to be quite lonely. What the founders of Netherhall House wanted to do and what we are still trying to do today, is to create a family-like, homely environment that fosters both the intellectual and cultural development of all who live here. A place free from discrimination, full of lively debate and open to all regardless of their background.

Netherhall House- Halls of Residence London. More than a place to stay

Netherhall House, is superbly located in Hampstead, one of the most pleasant areas of London. Close to Hampstead village and the famous Hampstead Heath, Netherhall House also is within a 5 minute walk of the Jubilee line, Northern Line, the London Overground system and many bus routes making access to most of London’s universities easy. Our current residents attend UCL, Imperial College, SOAS, King’s College, The Royal College of Art, LSE, University of Westminster, London Business School, the College of Law, to name but a few.

Finding good-quality international student accommodation in London can be daunting at times. Netherhall House offers fully catered accommodation, good facilities and an atmosphere that is conducive to study at a competitive price. The Hall provides breakfast and dinner on weekdays and full board at the weekend. Rooms are cleaned daily Monday to Friday and a laundry service is available at a discounted price for Netherhall House students. The library provides the perfect place to study, not to mention a wide range of books and resources.

At Netherhall House we aim to foster each individual’s all-round personal development and not merely success in his academic studies. We are an international hall, with residents from between 25 to 30 different countries, a mixture of undergraduates and post graduates and a good balance of students from different disciplines resulting in a lively and active environment for discussion and debate.

We believe passionately that life at university should not just be about studying from books (or even studying from the internet, I-phone or palm!). We have an active programme of guest speakers, a series of classical music recitals, informal music evenings and movies either in the lounge or theatre and an annual Christmas play.

We have facilities to practice musical instruments, two grand pianos, a well stocked library, a sports pitch, a roof garden to enjoy an after lunch coffee or in the summer a BBQ or two, a large lounge where many residents tend to meet for evening coffee and a get together after dinner and above all plenty of good company. Netherhall House was established to be a home away from home, not just a place for students to eat and sleep. This, almost 60 years after we first opened our doors, is what we still try to foster.

Netherhall House also offers a wide range of activities outside of the house. Over recent years we have organised several large projects in Thailand, South Africa and Nicaragua. In Thailand a group of students from Netherhall House have set out each year to raise money to construct a building for either a school or community centre (as requested in the village being visited) and have then journeyed to Thailand to assist with building. In Nicaragua we helped construct a series of latrines/ outside toilets, in impoverished parts of the country affected so greatly by Hurricane Mitch. To this day a string of Netherhall toilets can be found around rural villages there!

Closer to home our residents assist with soup kitchens, visiting the homeless and visiting local elderly folk, many of whom have few visitors as their families live far off. Residents are involved with musical evenings, organising plays, and a regular fixture for many years has been the Saturday morning pilgrimage to Primrose hill to play football (listening to the accounts of the returning players you’d think that many of them have only narrowly missed out on professional careers!)

Open to all

As you have no doubt read on other parts of the website we are run by the Netherhall Educational Association, an educational charity established by members of Opus Dei, a personal prelature of the Catholic Church. NEA is an educational charity, registered in England. Further details can be found on the NEA website. Netherhall House offers daily Catholic Mass in the chapel for those who wish to attend and is suited to anyone looking for Catholic Student accommodation in London. However, we are open to all people of all backgrounds. Currently around fifty percent of our students come from non Christian backgrounds and we try as far as possible to meet the religious requirements of other faiths (in particular providing for early and late eating during Ramadan, vegetarian food for those requiring it). We actively encourage residents to share aspects of their cultures and to give talks, presentations (and hopefully a sample of food) about their own countries. Recent highlights have included a celebration of the Iranian New Year as well as the Chinese one.

Opus Dei is a personal prelature of the Catholic Church (click here for a link to this if interested), and activities of a spiritual and doctrinal nature are run by Opus Dei. The Priests saying Mass in the house work in the local Parish Church (St Thomas More) and as Chaplain to King’s college London.

Student Halls of Residence London. Want to know more?

We believe that we are amongst the top student halls of residence in London, offering comfortable clean and safe accommodation, internet services, fax and photocopying facilities, a great library, lounge, auditorium, chapel, dining room and so much more. High quality fully catered student accommodation in London is hard to come by. We believe we are one of the best student homes London has to offer. That may sound quite a boast but come and see us and you’ll see why we make it. As one of the Private halls of residence in London, offering student accommodation to students from the University of London and other London based colleges we feel we can offer something refreshingly different from many other places listed as student homes London.

Application process

To enable us to continue to provide the friendly and relaxed environment here in the house we require all students to have an interview and provide references. Clearly for applicants who live far away interviews will be performed via the telephone, or via skype or internet video link.

An online application form can be found here

Please contact us either via email or post if you have any further questions. We also would be glad to hear from you if you have any further suggestions for our website.

Testimonials

• "One of the best Halls of residence London has to offer."
   - Dr Matthew Knight (UK), former resident (1999-2002, UCL, Medical Student)
• "The saying goes that ‘No Man is an Island’. Perhaps it should be followed by the mention ‘especially in Netherhall House’. In this haven of friendliness, one’s formal education is completed by everything a young man needs. From the football pitch with its strong spirit of comradeship to the Chapel with its peace and serenity, the House especially encourages healthy studying. Its activities include conferences by prestigious guest speakers, concerts and theatre plays. I feel that its most attractive aspect, though, is its international open-mindedness. Indeed, the House fosters cultural diversity that appeals particularly to students, thirsty for worldwide discoveries."
   - Paul S (France), 2nd year law student at King’s College London
• "For students looking for Catholic student accommodation London can be daunting. Netherhall was a welcome home away from home."
   - Raffy R (Malaysia), 2nd year student of ethics and philosophy at Heythrop College, London
• "They say there is no place like home. However, if you ever found a home away from home, you are in luck. This feeling of luck is not exclusive to me. It is a feeling shared by many of the friends I have made as a resident of Netherhall house. For me, the exciting thing is the diversity amongst people I have met. Another thrilling feature of the house is its guest speaker series. This complements an atmosphere conducive for study. With the wide range of topics covered by the different guests, I have discovered new interests and I can also say I have met people, who are some of the best at what they do! The highlight so far, is my trip to Thailand with some residents of the house to carry out a social project, building classrooms for Burmese refugees in Maesot (a Thai town bordering Burma). This was an opportunity to do my little part to help people less privileged than myself. This is just one of many opportunities the House organises, another being delivering food to the homeless in Holborn. In all, Netherhall has made my University experience more exciting in what could otherwise have been the lonely and difficult ‘away from home experience’. How can I not feel lucky!"
   - Eniola L (Nigeria), 3rd year law student at the London School of Economics
• "The international student accommodation London has to offer is very variable. For me Netherhall was a great place to stay far away from my family in Chile."
   - Nicholas Wolf (Chile), UCL Master in Maritime Engineering
• "When looking for a student halls of residence, London has a bewildering choice. Netherall House stuck out amongst the others, for its excellent prices, homely atmosphere and wide range of activities going on in the house."
   - David W (UK), 2nd year Theology student at Hethrop College
• "At the end of my first year of University, I was looking for an accommodation that was in a quiet, safe and yet central part of London. Netherhall House struck me as optimal because of its great location: it's situated in Hampstead! The beautiful park at Hampstead Heath is only a few minutes walk away and Hampstead High Street is replete with London's classy cafes (a great place to go for a walk, have brunch and chat with a friend!). For the avid restaurant- and movie-goers, the O2 centre is a few footsteps away. This is my second year at Netherhall House. What attracts me most about this hall of residence is its international fabric and the great community feeling. Everyone is friendly here and there's always somebody you'll meet and ask yourself: 'Have we met before?' It's quite difficult to get bored given that there is so much happening at NH. For those who sometimes prefer staying indoors on a weekend evening, there is a lot at offer (believe me): films are screened at Netherhall's theatre, Comedy evenings are organised by students and piano and cello recitals have now become a tradition. This is definitely a place I would recommend to anyone interested in studying in London!"
   - Ali E. (Austria), Law student at the London School of Economics