In terms of hours, 1st semester clocked in at 21 hours a week, 2nd semester in at 14 hours a week. Add into that 25 hours workshop done over a 5 week period so it quite a lot of contact time. The uni tries to avoid having classes on Wednesday as this is when a lot of the sports teams have matches, and Friday tend to be a half day. As its only the first year most of the classes are theory, but there split between big lectures and small tutorials. The tutorials tend to be small classes, about 15-20 and is split between teaching and questions. The lectures are what they are, but they are backed up by tutorials of again 15-20 people. As far as labs, its first year so there will not be a lot. Each week you get a 2 hour lab for "Materials and Manufacture" which tend to be quite fun, and only about 10 people. During the second semester there are a set of labs for "Stess and Dynamics" and "Thermo and Fluids" each being 2 2 hour lab sessions, with a range of experiments. There is also the 25 hours of workshop time as well, so that comes to 65 hours of labs/workshops. The rest being lectures or tutorials. One module "Engineering Design" is always done in computer rooms. 1st semester we did CAD, designing a plug valve, we also mathematical modelled a trebuchet, and then tested are predictions by building a working model. At the moment we're just finishing designing a double wishbone suspension system for a car of our choosing, so this module is good fun also.
As for the social aspect, I live at home which means I miss out on a few social aspects but i'm not that kind of person anyway. From what i've seen and been told, the on campus accommodation is expensive but very nice and only a few years old, and you are right next to the tech block. The down side is that the social life on campus can be a bit dull. There are 3 bars which do theme nights etc, but all the action is in town. A lot of the people I know live in the city centre and get the free bus to and from uni. The advantage being that the city is a student city, lots a bars and clubs for different taste, large shopping centre and being in the centre its on your door step.
As far as my offer, I applied for the BEng and was offered 260, got 280, and am currently working at a 80%+ average.