Arriving in the UK can be both exciting and frightening. The practicalities of finding your way to the School, locating your accommodation and settling in all pose certain difficulties. Nevertheless, most Students settle in quickly and thoroughly enjoy their time at London School of Business and Computing. Students are advised to be prepared for a few initial frustrations.

Immigration and Customs
When you arrive at a British port or airport, you will pass through immigration and customs. The stamp placed on your passport dates your arrival into the UK. For some of you the stamp tells you how long you are legally entitled to stay in the UK without further renewal. The time each individual is allowed to stay varies and many of you will have to extend your student visa to remain and complete the course.

Customs control the type and amount of all goods brought into Britain. Customs usually allow you to bring older, small personal effects into Britain free of charge. However, if you are staying for a year or more in Britain, customs will probably allow import without duty of one type of newer article. If you require any further information about customs regulations, please contact the British Embassy or High Commission before you leave for Britain. Please ensure that no edible items are brought from overseas, as these will be seized by customs.

Public Transport
Once you have completed your journey through Immigration and Customs you will want to make your way to the place where you will be staying. Travelling in London is very easy, as London has a very good bus, train and underground train (tube) system. We recommend that you study the underground map carefully, working out where you are going and planning your route, using the information provided. Don't be worried about asking people for information or for directions - look for signs at the airport. You may have to take a black cab for some part of the journey but not all the way from the airport.

Meet & Greet Service
LSBC offer a meet and greet service for international students whereby if required all students arriving at Heathrow airport will be collected and accompanied to their accommodation address. To take advantage of this service, students will need to inform the School two weeks prior to arrival in the UK. There is a small charge for this service of £50. Payments must be made prior to arrival.

Student Travel
London is divided into six London Regional Transport fare zones that are measured in distance outwards from the centre. As you will probably travel every day, it will save you money to buy a weekly or monthly travel card. These are bought by zone and allow unlimited travel on buses, underground tube trains and on overland trains within London.

Students may apply for a special discount card which gives a 30% reduction on travel, upon enrolment at the School. The discount card allows you to buy weekly, monthly or yearly travel cards at a discount.

Travelling to Central London from Heathrow Airport
If you are coming in to central London from Heathrow you have the option of travelling by tube, train, bus or rail links. By tube, take the Piccadilly line (blue) into central London. By bus, take an Air-bus to either Victoria train station, Russell Square or Kings Cross. By rail link, you can catch the Heathrow express into Paddington train Station. The cost and ease of travel is variable but the rail link takes 15 minutes and costs about £10. The bus and tube take longer but cost less. The airport website provides lots of useful information. http://www.heathrow-airport-guide.co.uk

Travelling to Central London from Gatwick Airport
If you are coming to central London via Gatwick airport, you can take the Gatwick Express train or the coach/bus. By train a single costs around £10 and takes 30 minutes to reach Victoria Coach Station. The airport website provides lots of useful information. http://www.gatwick-airport-guide.co.uk

Important Information & Advice

The Post Office
Normal business hours are 9.00am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday, and at some locations 9.00am to 12.00 midday on Saturdays. In addition to stamps and telephone facilities, they stock many useful information leaflets and forms.

Telephones
You will find public telephones at all airports, seaports, railway stations, bus stations and on many streets. Instructions on how to use them are displayed next to the telephone. They accept coins from 10p upwards and many also accept British Telecom (BT) phone cards, which can be bought in shops where the green phone card sign is displayed. There are also a variety of other companies' phone cards you can buy that offer cheap rates for international calls.

All calls made from private telephones are much cheaper than those made from public telephones. These calls are even cheaper between 6pm and 8am and at weekends. The British Telecom website gives details of different packages at www.bt.co.uk.

International calls can be very expensive; you might wish to check the charges with the international operator before you call on 155. It is generally cheaper to call after 8pm but it depends on the country you are calling.

Driving in the UK
During your first year in Britain, an International Student may drive a motor vehicle with a valid overseas driving license or an International Driving permit. If you wish to drive after this time, you must apply for a provisional UK license before the year ends, and pass a Department of Transport driving test. With a provisional license you are not permitted to drive without being accompanied by someone who has a 'full' UK license and has passed the Department of Transport test.

European Economic Area nationals and nationals of countries with which the UK has made an agreement may drive a small vehicle such as a car on a valid community license until either it expires or they reach 70.

For further information see the DVLA website www.dvla.gov.uk.

Television License
If you have a television, you must buy a television license. You need one license per dwelling. If you live in a shared house (where you rent the house as a group), you will only need one license, no matter how many televisions there are in the house. If you live in accommodation where you rent your room individually, you will need to buy a license. The license fee pays for the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), which provides non-commercial television on channels BBC1 and BBC2. You can buy a license from the Post Office. The license fee is currently £121 per year for a colour television, and £40.50 for a black and white television set. There is a large fine if you are found without a television license.

Female Safety
It may be wise to purchase what is known as a "rape alarm". If you find yourself threatened or in a dangerous situation you can press the alarm and it will give out a very loud noise. Rape alarms are available from most hardware shops.

To report an attack or an attempted attack or a crime in an emergency, dial 999 from any telephone box free of charge. You can than state whether you want the Police, Ambulance or Fire service.

Public Libraries
You will find public libraries in every locality. Membership of your local public library is free of charge and you need only to provide proof of residence to be able to borrow books. All libraries should have a reference section where you may be able to consult large dictionaries and encyclopedias. The public libraries are excellent sources of information. They stock national and local newspapers and a wide variety of magazines, which can be read free of charge. In the library entrance there will usually be a notice board with local information.

Airports
Gatwick is a long way out of London, so it is very expensive and lengthy to take a black cab all the way. Most students arrive at Heathrow which is larger and is nearer to London.

At the height of the rush hour (8.00-9.30am and 5.00- 6.30pm) all tube trains are busy; try to avoid travelling across London during these times. Arriving in the middle of the night is more difficult because most public transport doesn't operate throughout the night.

Black Cabs (taxis)
When the yellow sign is lit up, this means that a black cab is available for hire. You will need to stick your arm out to stop the cab. You can also pick up a cab at a taxi rank. The black cabs are metered and start at £3.50; the cost can be expensive if you are travelling alone. The alternative to black cabs are mini cabs: these are unregulated so a price should be set beforehand. It is advisable to learn a bit about London before you start to use mini cabs. Mini cabs are ordinary cars and can be ordered by phone or by going to a mini cab rank. Never get into a mini cab without checking the driver's credentials. Also there is no bargaining when it comes to taxi fares in the UK.

Buying a Street Map
You can buy a street map of London called an 'A to Z' from most newsagents. It is very useful and details relevant landmarks, stations, and hospitals.

Making Phone Calls
If you want to ring home, you can use the public telephones, which are easily identified on the streets. Public phones are either coin or card operated. You can buy telephone cards in most newsagents. If calling overseas you should dial 00 and then the country code. The cheapest time to ring is between 8.00pm and 6.00am. To ring a UK number you must know the area code which prefixes the telephone number. In London there are two main area codes - 0208 for and 0207.

Television and Radio
There are five terrestrial channels in the UK, the two BBC Channels, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. Information about television programs can be found either in newspapers or in Radio Times magazine.

Outside London
Staying in youth hostels is one of the most economical and fun ways of seeing the country. There are over 240 in England and Wales with seven in London. Nearly all have cooking facilities and most offer excellent value cooked meals. Prices vary according to the facilities provided and the location. You may book ahead by telephone. If you do not have a membership card of the Youth Hostels Association in your own country, you can buy an international Guest Card at any youth hostel. Their website is www.yha.org.uk

Checklist of What to Bring
You should ensure that on arrival to the UK, the following is available:

Your letter of acceptance.

 

Evidence of your qualifications, usually original certificates with certified translations where appropriate.

 

Travellers' cheques or pounds sterling for the first few weeks you are in the UK.

 

Enough money for tuition fees, accommodation, deposit and living expenses.

 

A valid passport and visa if necessary.

 

Travel insurance and health insurance (if necessary).

 

Documentary evidence of your finances and references from your bank including details of overseas accounts or your parents as long as they hold the same surname.

 

Information from your doctor about any medical condition you have.

 

Driver's license (if you have one).

 

Arrange to bring a blanket particularly if you are arriving at night, as in most accommodation bedding is not provided.

 

Arrange to bring some warm clothing as the weather in the UK may be different to what you are accustomed to.

 

First Week at LSBC

Enrolling on your course
There is no teaching during enrolment week as this is when students register with the School. At enrolment you will have to provide the original certificates of your qualifications, passport and pay your tuition fees. Once you have enrolled on your course you can apply for a student discount on your travel cards.

International students will not be recognized as students of the School until they enroll, even though they have acceptance letters these will be meaningless in the UK.

Improving your English as part of your course
If English is not the first language of the student then students can take English Language classes simultaneously with their chosen programme and in some cases where it is deemed necessary, the student may initially take the English Language courses before progressing to their chosen programme of study.

The English language courses are of up to a maximum of one year duration and consist of five papers. All certifications are awarded by the Cambridge ESOL examining body.

Changing Course
In some instances students may change there initial programmes on arrival to the UK, but this is at the discretion of the registrar and enrolling staff and is subject to vacancies being available.

If students start one course and then decide to change the programme of study after one month of the course commencement they will lose their initial deposit that was paid.

Activities in UK
You will not spend all of your time studying. We hope that you can make the most of your time in London, getting to know the city and taking advantage of the many opportunities that London offers. London can be expensive, but there are also a wide range of activities that will cost you little or no money.

Opportunities for watching Sports
London offers an unparalleled opportunity to watch most sports. There are international matches in most sports at various venues in London throughout the year. Further details will be found in national and local newspapers and in the listings magazine, Time Out.

Museums and Art Galleries
London has 600 art galleries and 140 museums, ranging from major collections such as at the National Gallery, the Tate Modern and the British Museum to smaller, specialist ones such as the Photographer's Gallery or the Theatre Museum. Many galleries have temporary exhibitions in addition to permanent ones; these are advertised in the press.

Classical Music, Opera and Ballet
The quantity and quality of music available in London is excellent. In addition to the major concert halls, such as the Royal Festival Hall, and the Barbican Centre, and the two Opera Houses, in which top caliber performers can be heard most evenings, there are various other musical events at lunch-times and in the evenings in halls and churches throughout London. Full details are given weekly in Time Out, and selective lists are printed daily in the quality newspapers.

Theatre and Cinema
London has a wealth of theatres and cinemas. Details of current performances can be found in Time Out and in daily newspapers such as The Guardian, The Independent or The Times. It is cheaper to buy tickets from the theatre box-office than from an agency, although the agency may supply tickets for popular shows. There is a kiosk in Leicester Square where tickets for some shows may be purchased at half-price on the afternoon of the performance. Most theatres offer Student Stand-by tickets, which are available a few hours before the performance.

Cinemas in central London are significantly more expensive than local cinemas. Many cinemas have reductions for students, if you have your Students' Union card and cinemas in the West End usually offer reduced price tickets all day on Mondays and before 6pm Monday to Thursday.