Southampton is the largest city in Hampshire, England. It is located 75 miles away from London and lies at the north end of Southampton Water in the confluence of the River Test and River Itchen. Southampton has a population of around 250,000 people. Southampton is famous for its link with the RMS Titanic, a passenger liner which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912, and the Spitfire fighter plane. Its other World War II links come from the fact it was one of the largest departure points for D-Day but recently, it is the home port to a large number of cruise ships across the world.
Other large employers in Southampton are BBC South, the NHS, Carnival UK and West Quay which was the largest city centre shopping complex in Europe when it opened. There are two universities in Southampton; The University of Southampton and Southampton Solent University. They have a collective student population of over 40,000 people.
The University of Southampton was founded in 1982 but officially became a university by receiving its Royal Charter in 1952. It has over 22,000 students. It considers itself one of the top five universities in the UK and has been ranked in the top eighty universities in the world by the THES-QS World University Rankings. The university is famous for its research into engineering, oceanography, cancer sciences and chemistry. It houses the National Oceanography Centre which is the focus of a great deal of Natural Environment Research Council-funded research into marine life. Southampton Solent University has 17,000 students who can take a variety of educational programs on training, research and design.
The Warsash Maritime Academy also resides at Southampton Solent and provides programs and training for international shipping and oil off-shore industries. There are a number of different sixth form colleges in Southampton including Itchen College and Richard Taunton Sixth Form College. There are around 20 infant schools, 16 junior schools, 24 primary schools, 8 secondary schools, 2 academies and 5 specialised schools. As for independent schools, Southampton is home to The Gregg School and St Mary’s College.
Popular searched areas in and around Southampton include:-
- Ashurst
- Bishops Waltham
- Botley
- Bursledon
- Chilworth
- Fawley
- Hamble
- Hedge End
- Hythe
- Marchwood
- Netley Abbey
- Ocean Village
- Shirley
- Swanwick
- Totton
- Warsash
- West End
- Winsor
- Woodlands