Northcourt Avenue, Reading, RG2 7HB
Once you have settled down in your new room, take time to read this residential information:
St. Patricks Hall is in Northcourt Group.
All of the halls are split into a group of residences. There are generally three in each group. St Patricks hall is in Northcourt Group along with Sherfield and Sibly. For most queries you should go to the Sherfield Hall reception located through a gate inbetween Cafe Shamrock and the entrance to New Court. This is also the location you will pick up most of your parcels that will not fit in the communal letter boxes in the Junior Common Room. It is open all week from 8am to 8pm. You can call them on 0118 3784980.
St Patricks Hall does have its own office however this is only open for a couple of hours per day for queries, between 10am and 11.30am. It is located opposite Paddys bar. Tony Parr is the redicence manager for the hall and will help you with any queries.
Maintenence
Northcourt Group have a Building Attendant team which is normally very efficient. If you are having any problems, simply email the details to patricksmaint@reading.ac.uk and it should be fixed within days. When we first moved in there were a couple of minor problems. Our corridor got together to send an email, and within hours most of the problems were fixed. Obviously this service is only available during the week, and the most essential works will be attended to first.
NEW: Check the heating status of St. Patricks Hall. Click here...
Fire Alarms
Every room has a smoke detector which doubles up as a fire alarm. If it goes off you will hear it, and if your asleep, it will wake you up! Last year in New Court the firm alarm never went off once because of people setting it off, items in rooms setting if off, or burnt food in the kitchen. Surprisingly it never even went off when the L block microwave caught fire (though fault of the user, not the equipment!) ... They will be tested in the first and second terms, normally nice and early in the morning and you must go outside to the croquet lawn. Ours were tested in around the fourth week of the first term at around 7.50am, and then again in the second term! Just get up and go out in your pyjamas - everyone else will be exactly the same! Apparently, all residents should be out of the building in less than four minutes... In our first attempt we did it in 8 minutes, and the second time in the second term I think we make it!
Security
Halls no longer have a porter looking after each hall, and instead the main University Security service will visit the hall a number of times during the night to ensure there are no problems. Last year there were also resident assistants that were available between 6pm and 8am everyday, however it seems a new system is being brought in for the new academic year. If you have a problem and feel you need to contact a resident assistant or you need to call security to the hall, dial 97799 from a hall phone. There is one located outside the old porters lodge (archway leading to old court, shown in picture below) or one by L Block mens bathroom. You can also contact security from your mobile on 0118 378 7799. If there is an emergency and you need immediate assistance, security can be called on 0118 378 6300 or simply 96300 from a hall phone. This number is only for emergencies. All rooms will contain leaflets about calling security, see these for more information...
St. Patricks Hall is in Northcourt Group.
All of the halls are split into a group of residences. There are generally three in each group. St Patricks hall is in Northcourt Group along with Sherfield and Sibly. For most queries you should go to the Sherfield Hall reception located through a gate inbetween Cafe Shamrock and the entrance to New Court. This is also the location you will pick up most of your parcels that will not fit in the communal letter boxes in the Junior Common Room. It is open all week from 8am to 8pm. You can call them on 0118 3784980.
St Patricks Hall does have its own office however this is only open for a couple of hours per day for queries, between 10am and 11.30am. It is located opposite Paddys bar. Tony Parr is the redicence manager for the hall and will help you with any queries.
Maintenence
Northcourt Group have a Building Attendant team which is normally very efficient. If you are having any problems, simply email the details to patricksmaint@reading.ac.uk and it should be fixed within days. When we first moved in there were a couple of minor problems. Our corridor got together to send an email, and within hours most of the problems were fixed. Obviously this service is only available during the week, and the most essential works will be attended to first.
NEW: Check the heating status of St. Patricks Hall. Click here...
Fire Alarms
Every room has a smoke detector which doubles up as a fire alarm. If it goes off you will hear it, and if your asleep, it will wake you up! Last year in New Court the firm alarm never went off once because of people setting it off, items in rooms setting if off, or burnt food in the kitchen. Surprisingly it never even went off when the L block microwave caught fire (though fault of the user, not the equipment!) ... They will be tested in the first and second terms, normally nice and early in the morning and you must go outside to the croquet lawn. Ours were tested in around the fourth week of the first term at around 7.50am, and then again in the second term! Just get up and go out in your pyjamas - everyone else will be exactly the same! Apparently, all residents should be out of the building in less than four minutes... In our first attempt we did it in 8 minutes, and the second time in the second term I think we make it!
Security
Halls no longer have a porter looking after each hall, and instead the main University Security service will visit the hall a number of times during the night to ensure there are no problems. Last year there were also resident assistants that were available between 6pm and 8am everyday, however it seems a new system is being brought in for the new academic year. If you have a problem and feel you need to contact a resident assistant or you need to call security to the hall, dial 97799 from a hall phone. There is one located outside the old porters lodge (archway leading to old court, shown in picture below) or one by L Block mens bathroom. You can also contact security from your mobile on 0118 378 7799. If there is an emergency and you need immediate assistance, security can be called on 0118 378 6300 or simply 96300 from a hall phone. This number is only for emergencies. All rooms will contain leaflets about calling security, see these for more information...
If you want to find out more information, you could read the Hall Handbook which is available for download here.
If you have any questions about any of these issues, post a question below...