Two new colleges are set to open in under five years and contain an additional 1,300 on campus rooms, according to an official source.
The colleges will both be built on the Heslington East campus with completion dates scheduled for 2018 and 2019.
These developments come less than a year after College Nine, Constantine, first opened its doors to students.
David Duncan, the university registrar and secretary said: “Increasing numbers of upper year and postgraduate students are seeking rooms on campus, and consequently we expect all nine colleges to be full this academic year.
“In order to cater for future demand, we have begun planning for two new colleges, which will be located to the east of Constantine College.”
No name or logo has officially been decided upon for the latest additions to York’s collegiate system, and it is not yet clear how they will be decided.
Constantine College’s name was announced two years before opening by a senior member of university management and an earlier version of Constantine’s logo was changed after a York Vision poll last year found nearly 3 in 4 students didn’t like it.
YUSU President Ben Leatham is set to advise on the types of facilities students would like included.
He said: “The development of Colleges 10 and 11 is an incredibly exciting process.
“I am working closely with the University to ensure that both Colleges include space for diverse social activity.
“Colleges shouldn’t just be accommodation blocks, but environments that fosters a strong sense of community.”
Duncan added: “As part of the ongoing redevelopment of the older parts of the campus, we also anticipate building 1,100 rooms in three locations – around the Derwent College nucleus, in the quadrangle beside the Vanbrugh College nucleus, and on the peninsula site near the old James College nucleus.
“Finally, we are exploring ways of increasing our stock of family accommodation, which will probably be located to the west of the Theatre, Film and TV Department.”
I hope that’s not adding new buildings around Derwent – I wouldn’t want that end of campus to be too built up, and the Spring Lane building is going up. I do wonder if the colleges are too large – maybe Derwent could be split in two again, with Old Langwith being New New Derwent. The new family accommodation is to be welcomed, as is the general increase in the amount of campus accommodation – let’s just hope it’s not as eye-wateringly expensive as it is at the moment.
Oh, and College Ten should be called Maximus Decimus Meridius college.