tapton hall

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Reply 20

grahamh

Hi, I guess you've now moved in and hope you're settling in well.

I don't know if this will now be of use, but I would like to offer an alternative perspective on some of the points made in this thread, being a Tapton veteran.

Re. Expression's early posts

The hall known for its "toffs", privately educated students and rugby players is Stephenson (Stevo). I have never been aware of Tapton having such a reputation, and the worst thing said about the hall in relation to the others is that it's on the hill (not that anything in Sheffield is on a level).

The Old Grindstone (Grinder) is reasonable, but there are plenty of good alternatives. For roasts I would have to recommend the Crosspool Tavern. It's perhaps a ten minute walk up Lydgate Lane (to the left of the Grinder) and on the Manchester Road, but they do excellent full carveries starting from under £4 (if I remember correctly) depending on the time of your meal. A bit out of the way, though.

For pubs, Broomhill has plenty (I can think of 5 off the top of my head, and there are probably at least twice that number). Most are aimed at students, though in Crookes most are aimed at locals. The Noah's (Noah's Ark, Crookes) offers good wholesome Yorkshire snacks, The Fox and Duck (Broomhill) is Union-owned and allows you to take your own food in. And Tapton has a decent bar of its own, with prices quite below many of the locals.

Broomhill has as many takeaways as pubs - The (Broomhill) Friery is highly regarded, Northern Sole has good fish, Balti King (Balti Sting) (and sister takeaway Millennium) is infamous for its hygeine, but is open practically all hours. The takeaway nearest Tapton, Broomheads, is aimed mainly at locals and has short opening hours. As for Chinese, there's Sun Yee in Crookes. Supermarkets are Co-op (Crookes), and Somerfield and Alldays (24hr) in Broomhill.

Don't worry too much about the walk into Broomhill or Crookes, neither are far, and you've twice the choice of the other halls, who have to walk further to get just Broomhill.

I would say Goodwin is 15 minutes away if you take the *wrong* route! (There are three main routes, and they're all pretty direct). Normally takes me 7-8 minutes, though allow a bit longer until you aclimatise. The Crookesmoor building is pretty much 3 minutes away. The main campus is 15 minutes on a busy day, or quicker when it's quiet. A map shows Tapton is the Hall nearest the main campus (and Ranmoor the furthest), but students from the other halls tend not to believe in maps.

Dopey812, while I won't say Ranmoor isn't lively - get any bunch of students together and liveliness will ensue - but its reputation is more one of anonymity because the place has twice the number of students as other halls such as Tapton. Halls like Tapton and Stevo are conversely known for their friendliness because of they're relatively small size - everybody knows everybody else, which means it's easier to have a laugh and more secure. I'm not trying to directly contradict what you're saying, but it is at least true that Tapton is no less lively than the others, and its intro week and in-hall events are famed while many other halls are beginning to cut back on their ents programmes or simply don't have the people willing to run them. As for whether or not Tapton's decent, I'm personally of the view that it's the best hall, and this is echoed by staff who have served across campus, however most students are loyal to their halls, so differing views do exist. I'm a little surprised that you've been plucked from Ranmoor into Tapton since demand for Tapton places usually outstrips supply, but I hope you enjoy it there - I'm sure you can keep in touch with your Ranmoor friends and still make many new ones.

I've not really heard anything about the rooms being better than other halls - by and large they're all of a similar standing. The en suite rooms are a bit larger with modern furnishings, though all rooms are a reasonable size. I understand that Ranmoor's are slightly larger, but you can still fit a lot into the rooms - especially with the huge fitted wardrobe/drawer/shelving units. As for prices, last I knew Tapton was priced similarly to the other Halls, though you'll probably know better than me. Obviously it depends on if you're looking at en suite or standard rooms. The University is trying to milk the Halls, though, and are now slapping prices on everything. Unfortunately that's across the board, not just at Tapton. In fact the Gym used to be free until a few years ago - look at the prices now! (Still, Sheffield is apparently the cheapest student city). As I say, Stevo has the reputation as being the '"rich kids' playground", Halifax is known for it's International students, and the other halls don't really have a reputation for any particular type of student.

Tapton has pantries - two for most floors. They typically have a small oven, microwave, water boiler/kettle and fridge/freezer. By and large you'll have the catered food, though for weekday lunches (when no meal is provided) and evening snacks the facilities are sufficient for cooking most things.

I hope that provides some insight for you. Tapton will apparently soon have a website up at www.tapton.net, though in the meantime there are some Q&A at the Tapton Message Board. It's a bit old, but a lot of the information is still valid, especially on the earlier posts before people had moved in. (NB. if the site asks you to install some software, refuse - some of the ads have become a bit didgy since the board was set up).

University of Sheffield

Sheffield

tapton hall

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