Town
You'd expect to find Goldsmiths, with its reputation for being all arty and cutting edge, somewhere trendy like Soho or Shoreditch. Not, perhaps, tucked away in New Cross, in the depths of south-east London. It's certainly urban, only not in the fashionable sense of the word. There's as much inner-city grit as any sensible person could desire, but plenty of leafy streets and villagey communities nearby, too.
Gown
Something old and something new on the New Cross site. Goldsmiths started life as the Royal Naval School in 1843 and the ivy-clad building remains. This month, the university buildings are brought bang up-to-date with the unveiling of the new Ben Pimlott building, a seven-storey structure providing purpose-built teaching space including art studios, lecture theatres and digital media labs. Goldsmiths traditionally thrives in the creative arts. Damien Hirst, Sam Taylor-Wood and half of Blur studied here. You may find you have to watch a lot of performance art "installations", but don't let that put you off.
Top-rated teaching departments
Art and design, drama, dance and media all do well, you will not be astounded to learn.
Top-rated research departments
Good show in the 2001 RAE. Sociology and communication, cultural and media studies both got the top 5*; anthropology, English, art and design and music all got a 5.
Celebrity academics
Professor Chris French is a psychologist specialising in paranormal beliefs and experiences; Professor Angela McRobbie is head of the media and communications department and an expert in popular culture, magazines and feminism; and Windy Dryden is professor of counselling, often appearing in those very magazines.
Head count
There are 8,677 students, just over a third of whom are part-time. Around 90% are from state schools and a whopping 67% are female. And 329 academic staff; 44% are women.
Academic pay
Arts academics do quite nicely, as you might expect: a professor might earn upwards of £50,000. Otherwise, happily average: social science lecturer on around £31,000, for example.
Climate
You'll be snug as a bug in a globally warmed rug.
Transport links
The train is probably your best bet for getting around London in a hurry. New Cross Gate and New Cross stations are both nearby for connections into central London. They are also both on the East London underground line, but that won't take you many places worth getting excited about apart from linking you to the Docklands Light Railway or the Jubilee line. There are lots of buses, too, and the university is active in encouraging its staff to use more environmentally friendly modes of transport.
Entertainment
Aside from the obvious artistic output of the student body, there's the Broadway Theatre nearby the country's leading venue for black theatre. It's not too far to go to Blackheath or Greenwich Royal Park: perfect for a blowy weekend walk.
Greenwich is also home to a lovely market, the National Maritime Museum, the Royal Observatory, the Cutty Sark, the Thames Barrier and the Dome. There are plenty of cinemas and the like, while Canary Wharf is probably the closest for big-name shopping, though there's a nice local high-street feeling in Blackheath. Good pubs and bars, and then of course there's the rest of London.
Schools
Lewisham LEA comes in below average in the league tables. Gems to be found include John Ball primary and Turnham primary; Prendergast school (girls only), Bonus Pastor RC school and Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College - very good for post-16 too, that one.
House prices
As London goes, not too horrific. Whether you think New Cross is too horrific or not is another matter. Two-bed flats around £185,000, two-bed houses at £214,500 and four-bed houses just under £400,000.
What to say in the common room...
"But is it art?"
The essentials
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