Looking for the Freshers Week timetable or directions to the Hall? You've come to the right place.
With around 170 students and the highest returner rate - St Regulus hall is arguably the best hall in St Andrews.
St Regs is a small, friendly community of about 170 undergraduate students of all years. It is split over two buildings, the Main Hall and the Annexe. The Main Hall houses most people, with the Annexe containing about 30. We are very conveniently located for all students, due to our location right in the centre of town and a direct path to the North Haugh.
According to the Catholic Church, there are in fact 4 Saints by the name of Regulus. The one we are concerned with lived in the 4th Century, and has a long and venerable link to this very town.
Way back in the 4th Century, when men were men and Scots wore woad, an angel appeared in a dream to St Regulus, who was happily living his little life in Greece (Patros or Constantinople) at the time. The angel instructed St Regulus to convey the remains of St Andrew to an unknown destination “in the North-West, towards the ends of the earth”.
Being a good saint, Regulus duly gathered up the shoulder bone, kneecap, shinbone and some knuckles of St Andrews, and jumped into a boat. What happened next is open to argument. The more optimistic suggest that a sign from heaven showed him where to land his ship, whilst more realistic historians suggest that he was shipwrecked due to awful weather near an iron-age settlement in some forsaken part of what was to become North East Fife. Whichever, he jumped out of the boat, built a church, stuffed the remains into it, and the rest is history - he became the first Abbot of St Andrews
The moral of the story: St Andrews is here solely thanks to some Greek guy (prone to hallucinations, driven here by bad weather, who stayed because he thought it was the ends of the earth) - to whom this hall is dedicated.
Regsians come from all over the world. We are a multicultured hall, and run events from all over the world.
Making your way to Regs for the first time? Just follow the directions below if you are arriving by car or public transport (plane, train and/or bus). Even if you are living in the annexe, please remember that you must come to the main hall on arrival to pick up your keys!
St Regulus Hall is located on the corner of Queens Gardens and Queens Terrace, indicated by the pin on the map above. Queens Gardens is off South Street.
To get to St Regulus Hall, driving towards St Andrews from Guardbridge on the A91, go straight on past the large first roundabout as you approach the town (follow signs for the Town Centre). Turn right at the 2nd roundabout, into A915 City Road.
This climbs a small hill, passing the bus station on the right hand side. Go straight across the first mini-roundabout, following A915 City Road.
Turn left at the second mini roundabout into South Street, passing under the Westport, a stone arch spanning the road.
Continue along South Street, going straight over the mini-roundabout, until you reach the church on the left hand side - turn right into Queens Gardens. Follow Queens Gardens to the end, and the main hall is the last building on the left hand side.
Edinburgh Airport is about an hour away, and is served by a variety of airlines including British Airways, Easyjet, Ryanair, Lufthansa, KLM, Delta and United.
You will need to make an onward connections to St Andrews by car, bus, or train. There is a frequent shuttle bus from Edinburgh Airport to the centre of Edinburgh, costing £3 single/£5 return. These take about 25 minutes, and call at Edinburgh Haymarket and Edinburgh Waverley stations, both of which are on the railway line to Leuchars.
On the weekend that hall opens in Freshers’ Week, the University organises direct shuttle buses to St Andrews for students arriving at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports - watch for people in bright red University gowns at the airport.
St Andrews does not have its own train station (there are plans afoot to reintroduce a rail link but this is some way off still). As a result you will need to take the train to Leuchars station, which is roughly 5 miles from St Andrews itself.
Leuchars is on the line from Edinburgh to Dundee/Aberdeen, and is served by approximately hourly ScotRail trains in each direction.
There are also a few direct trains from London-Aberdeen which call at Leuchars run by National Express East Coast: if you are coming from London and catch these you don’t need to change in Edinburgh.
From Leuchars, you can get a taxi (~£10) or take the Stagecoach X99 (or 99a/b) bus to St Andrews (~£3). The bus will drop you at St Andrews bus station. From here it takes a little over 5 minutes to walk to Regs.
From the bus station, cross City Road at the traffic lights, and follow Market Street until you meet a cross-roads, turning right into Bell Street. If you get to the Tescos on Market Street, you’ve gone about 25m too far!
At the end of Bell Street, turn left into South Street and follow it until a square with a large church on the left side of the road. Opposite is the entrance to Queens Gardens - follow this until the very end and St Regulus Hall is on the left hand side.
Regs provides 19 meals per week - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Mon-Fri, and Breakfast and Lunch at Weekends. These are served in the dining room on the ground floor, which is very easy to find: through the double doors on the right of the entrance to the Hall. You will, however, need to organise your own weekend evening meals. Meal times are outlined below:
Day | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner |
---|---|---|---|
Mon - Fri | 0800 - 0900 | 1230 - 1330 | 1745 - 1830 |
Saturday | 0800 - 0930 | 12.00 - 13.00 | N/A |
Sunday | 0800 - 0930 | 12.00 - 13.00 | N/A |
The laundry room is in the basement, and accessible either from the lobby or one of the back staircases. A textual description of the route is not very useful, but you should be shown the location on the first night you arrive, during your room talk. There are 3 washing machines (£1.80 standard, or £2.00 extra-long rinse) and 3 dryers (£1.00), plus a drying room. There is also a drying room in both the annexe and main hall to hang clothes should you not wish to use the dryers. These washing machines and dryers live in some form of warped time-zone (!), as when they say “37 minutes remaining”, you can expect to wait at least 45-50. Finally, they are run and maintained by an external company, so if there is a problem report it to the Residence Manager and they will get it sorted A.S.A.P.
The main hall bike shed is underneath G-floor in the main building, on the side closest to the Bute Medical Centre. Access with bikes is down the ramp from Queens Terrace, though from within hall you can get there through the stairwell on that side of the building. However only G Floor and A Floor residents will be able to open that door (due to noise restrictions) from the outside, so be warned, if you go out that door and close it, you may have to walk round to the main hall to get back in! You can get a bike shed key from the Residence Managers in return for a deposit which is reclaimable at the end of the year. There is also a bike shed in the annexe, located on the “light-side” (right hand side) of the building just past the main kitchen.
The computer room is located on G Floor, next to the exit of the back stairwell. You can use this room 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is also the study room, with a number of desks - it gets very busy during the exam season! It contains six networked computers (with Floppy Disk drives (no idea why these still exist) and USB ports, if you need to print something) and a laser printer. You require your St Andrews username and password to use these computers, just like any others in the computer rooms around the university. You need to purchase printer credits if you wish to print things out, though new students are given fifty free credits at the start of the year. More can then be bought from the Library I.T. Services Help Desk (or cheaper online on the St Andrews University web page). If there is a problem with either the printer or a computer, notify the Regs Technology Rep (whose contact details will be inside the computer room), who will then come and sort out the problem.
The Library is on the ground floor near the front of Regs, on the corridor leading to the Dining Room. Your resident Librarian is a committee member, so if you need to withdraw an item from the Regs library, see them. Contact details for the Regs librarian should be found in the Regs library or on the committee noticeboard opposite the post pigeon holes. This is also where the daily newspapers are put in the morning - these are for use by everyone in the hall, so they should not be removed.
This is on B-floor, just opposite the main stairwell. It includes the TV, DVD player, PlayStation and Projector. It is large and contains comfortable chairs and a sofa - as well as the Hall Organ(s) and out of tune piano! This is where the video nights and a few other events will take place throughout the year.
This is on the ground floor, behind a semi-permanent partition from the dining room. Access is through the corridor behind the Warden’s office, and the staircase leading to all levels from there. In the games room we have a table-football table, table-tennis and a drinks vending machine(useful for last minute mixers).
In the main hall, there is one main kitchen on each floor, which is situated next to the stairs down to the Computer Room. This contains a fridge (some have a freezer compartment), sink, oven/grill, toaster, kettle, microwave, and 4 hobs to cook on. On B and C Floors there are also smaller kitchens situated on other parts of the corridor as they are the bigger floors. In the Annexe there is one main kitchen on the ground floor on the light side. This is the biggest kitchen in Regs, with 2 fridge-freezers, umpteen cupboards and drawers, two microwaves, two toasters, two sinks, 4 hobs to cook on and 2 oven/grills. Please note that whilst some cutlery/ crockery is provided, it is strongly recommended that students to bring their own as there is not much, and you do not know whether there will be what you want there.
Our aim is that you make your best friends as quickly as possible and you're left feeling at home. Look below for the fresher's timetable.
# | Saturday | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
9 | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast & Pimms Morning | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast |
10 | Arrival | - | - | - | - | Pimms Morning | - | Party Cleanup | - |
11 | Arrival | Tea & Coffee | Brunch | Rise & Bake | Mix & Mingle | - | - | - | 1130 Pierwalk |
12 | Arrival | Lunch | Brunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch |
1 | Arrival | - | Brunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch |
2 | Arrival | Wardens Talk / Charity Vote | Art Painting | Himalayas/Six a Side | - | Hide & Seek / Waterfight | Sports & Alumni in the Park | - | - |
3 | Arrival | Tours | Art Painting | Himalayas/Six a Side | - | Hide & Seek / Waterfight | Movie Afternoon | - | - |
4 | Arrival | Garden Party / BBQ | Art Painting | Himalayas/Six a Side | - | - | Sports & Alumni in the Park | Movie Afternoon | - |
5 | 5:45 Dinner | Garden Party / BBQ | 5.45 Dinner | 5.45 Dinner | 5.45 Dinner | 5.45 Dinner | 5.45 Dinner | Movie Afternoon | 1730 Hall Olympics & Bonfire |
6 | Dinner | Garden Party / BBQ | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | - | Bonfire |
7 | Room Talks 1945- Committee Introductions |
Garden Party / BBQ | - | - | - | - | - | - | Bonfire |
8 | Committee Introductions | Clan Warfare | Wine & Cheese | Speed Meeting | Pub Quiz & Karaoke | Pub Golf | Party | Ceilidh | Bonfire |
9 | The Rule / Rectors Cafe | Clan Warfare | Wine & Cheese | Speed Meeting | Pub Quiz & Karaoke | Pub Golf | Party | Ceilidh | Bonfire |
10 | The Rule/ Rectors Cafe | Clan Warfare | Wine & Cheese | Speed Meeting | Pub Quiz & Karaoke | Pub Golf | Party | Ceilidh | Bonfire |
11 | - | Clan Warfare | - | - | Pub Quiz & Karaoke | Pub Golf | Party | - | - |
12 | - | Clan Warfare | - | - | - | Pub Golf | Party | - | - |
Going away to Uni for the first time can be confusing… here are the answers to some commonly asked questions:
As you’re on the St Regulus Hall website, hopefully here! The online accommodation form uses a rather obscure code - such as SR/B4b, so here’s a quick guide to deciphering it.
The two letter prefix indicates your hall (SR = St Regulus). It does not mean “Single Room”!
The rest of the code refers, in the example above “B4b“, tells you where in the hall you are living. In Regs, the first letter refers to the floor:
If your room number begins with G, A, B, C, or D- you are in the Main Hall
If your room number begins with NX - you are in the Annexe The main hall has a slightly strange U-shaped layout: starting working up from the bottom, G Floor is lowest and A Floor just above it. They are both “half” floors on the right hand part of the U. B Floor is effectively the “first” floor, and the first which runs the whole width of the building. C Floor, above it, is the same. D Floor is similar, but being built into the roof has a shallowed ceiling.
So B4 is a room on B Floor, G3 on G Floor, C25 on C Floor and so on. If you are in the Annexe (NX), there is no “floor” code - all rooms in the Annexe are numbered consecutively regardless of what floor they’re on.
If you have a suffix to your room number - ordinarily “a” or “b” - then you will have a roommate. Elsewhere on the contract it should state what kind of room you have - i.e. whether its shared or single.
The best chance of finding your room-mate would be to swing by the Facebook page, and posting a little message in the relevant section of the board. Those of you in shared rooms needn’t worry: you’ll almost always find that your room-mate is a pretty excellent person.
Within reason, almost anything. Every room is equipped with a bed, a chair, desk, storage (drawers, bookshelf etc.), and a telephone and network socket for each person in the room.
Beyond this, bring what seems to be reasonable, and bear in mind that you almost certainly will not have enough space for everything you own. You will need to provide your own bedlinen, you will be sleeping in what is known in the UK as a Single Bed, and what those in the US call a Twin. A computer (laptop or desktop) will be exceptionally useful, although not essential, as Regs has some communal computers accessible in the Computer Room. If you intend to cook, you will need to bring crockery and cutlery, and probably some pots and pans. However, your kitchen will include a cooker, a microwave and a kettle, so you will not need those things. Please be aware that if you bring a TV, you will need to purchase your own TV license in order to use it.
A great many University and Hall events are formal, so if you have a Tuxedo or suit, or any other kind of formalwear, it is advisable to bring it along.
There are certain things you are not allowed to bring. You may not have any pets (yes, that includes fish). You may not have any “high powered electrical equipment”, such as heaters and toasters. You may not have any candles, or other fires. If you have any concerns about what you can or cannot bring, please swing by the Facebook group for confirmation.
Every room in Regs is slightly different, which makes it very difficult to tell you exactly what your room will look like. Some have turrets and walk in wardrobes, there is one en-suite. Most have a sink.
The answer depends a bit on who is doing the answering. Some people would answer that the committee do nothing, that they’re elected slobs who are wasting everyone’s time, and that hall would be better off as an anarchist commune (this thought pattern is, admittedly, rare). Others would say that the committee are involved in organising events and community-building within hall. One thing is for sure: the committee have been at the University for at least a year, most of them have lived at least one year in Regs, and they all have the benefit of experience.
Loads. We’re not even joking, loads. Regs has a history of providing more hall events during Fresher’s Week than any other Hall of Residence, and the current committee has every intention of continuing this tradition. There will usually be two to three events each day, ranging from simple Hall trips to the pub one night, to sports on the beach, to garden parties with food and drink. In the event that these don’t suit you, there will be nightly events at the Student Union, organised by the union itself, that the Hall will also be sending a lot of students to. If you’re looking for more specific information, the calendar will be updated shortly to include the finalised list of events. We suggest that you look back the week before you arrive to see the final list, and to get all giddy with excitement.
This kind of question will always depend on who you ask, and what you want out of it.
Regs prides itself as a small, very friendly hall, and - especially in Freshers Week - it is very easy to make friends. Remember, everyone else is in the same situation as you are! The hall committee organises a large number of events during Freshers weeks to help everyone get to know each other.
You are never short of a place to go out for a drink in St. Andrews. They range from typical bars you might find in any town (The Westport, The Raisin, The Vic), to more traditional pubs such as the Whey Pat. We even have a European Beer specialist in the form of Aikmans on Bell Street. If you’re more interested in the warmer drink types, there are a great many coffee shops suited to all tastes and ethical positions - the Northpoint does amazing hot chocolate!
In addition, the Students Union organises tons of events, such as “bops”, live bands, karaoke, and much more, as well as having the cheapest drinks prices in town.
There are many student-organised societies as well. To give you just a very brief flavour of some them:
Music: JazzSoc, Ballroom/Latin-American Dancing, RockSoc, AltSoc
Subject-related: ChemSoc, the History Society
Political: Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, International Politics Association
Religious: Anglican network, Islamic society, Christian Union, Jewish society
Charity/Support: Tibetan Relief fund, Supnet, Save the Children
Many, many more including: Wine & Cheese, Whiskey Society, DocSoc - the Doctor Who Society, NeoTokyo, LGBT society, Dessert Society, Real Ale Society, Project Anim As there are well over 100 societies covering a wide range of interests, you’re sure to find several which interest you!
Sports are also well represented at St. Andrews, with around 45 societies ranging from Football and Rugby, to Fencing and Tae Kwon-Do, Sailing and Boats (rowing), to Trampolining. These all come together under the umbrella organisation, the Athletic Union. If you read the question “What should I bring with me” (above), and are wondering why we recommend some form of formal dress…
A large number of societies organise a formal dinner or ball. There are two annual University Balls (October and May), plus our very own Hall Ball. If you go to even a fraction of these, you end up having to hire a lot of clothing. Many people go to at least 3 or 4 formal events per year, and buying your own formalwear will probably pay for itself within that time. If you’re here for four years, it is definitely cheaper to buy your own tux!
Perhaps the only downside to the St. Andrews social scene, if you are used to a large city such as London or Edinburgh, is the lack of a nightclub! The Union has a Bop every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday night, and some bars - The Vic, Ma Bells and the Westport - make a good attempt at becoming clubs on at least one night of the week. If you cannot live without a club, some bars organise a bus to a Dundee nightclub once or twice a week - about £5 covers the transport and club entry.
Overall, most people find St. Andrews to be fine for their needs, and with Dundee 20 minutes away and Edinburgh an hour, if you feel the urge to get out it is very easy to do..
The University of St Andrews has a lot of traditions due to its age, and the academic family system is one of many. In a nutshell, an academic family is a support network and fun social opportunity that helps link students together. A student will end up with an Academic Father and an Academic Mother, whose task it is to ensure that the student has the best possible time while they’re at the University. Academic Parents are third years or fourth years, which means that by the time you can take your own Academic Children, your parents will have moved on to bigger and better things.
Traditionally the system works as follows. Academic children are chosen by their Father, while they get to choose their Mother. The system is, in reality, a great deal more flexible than this, and you cannot be forced into being someone’s child or parent. Usually, however, you’ll find it fairly easy to get an academic father or mother, so long as you put yourself out there.
While some consider academic families to be useful for having some closer friends and a support network, many consider it to be at its best during Raisin Weekend. Raisin Weekend is held quite a while into first semester, and is one of the biggest social events in the St Andrews calendar. Essentially, it’s a weekend long academic family celebration. For those who enjoy a little alcohol, traditionally gifts of alcohol are given to the parents, who will then hold parties for their children. It culminates in a foam fight on Monday morning, for which everyone will be dressed up by their mothers.
Regs heartily endorses the Academic Family and the Raisin Weekend tradition, and beds are provided in the library for anyone who finds the weekend to be a bit too intense for them. The Wardens become very understanding during this time of year, and a good time is always had by all.
For anyone who is concerned by any of this, please remember two things. Firstly, the academic family system is completely voluntary: if you don’t want to take part, no-one can make you. Secondly, whatever you’re looking for in an academic family, it is always possible to find it. If you want a comparatively quiet Raisin Weekend, there will always be someone willing to provide it.
Many thousands of people have lived in St Regulus Hall since it opened more than sixty years ago. We hope that Regs Alumni will keep in touch with each other, and with the Hall, after they have left St Andrews.Check out the St Regulus Hall Alumni group on Facebook.. We regularly organise events and activities in partnership with official Alumni events.
Hi, I am Jonny and will be your Senior Student for the year. I study Economics and Management and have been in Regs for my whole time at St Andrews. You guys are the luckiest freshers St Andrews for getting into Regs, it is a small hall which leads to a great community feel and its location in the centre of town is the best you could ask for. Get excited for freshers, the committee has planned a great week for you all, which is topped off by one of the Regs infamous parties! Enjoy the rest of your summer and see you in September!
I look forward to seeing you in September.
Day | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner |
---|---|---|---|
Mon - Fri | 0800 - 0900 | 1230 - 1330 | 1745 - 1830 |
Saturday | 0800 - 0930 | 12.00 - 13.00 | N/A |
Sunday | 0800 - 0930 | 12.00 - 13.00 | N/A |
The Wardens work in the University and live in Regs. They can be contacted during term time.