Leeds Trinity University is a public university in Horsforth, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Originally established to provide qualified teachers to Catholic schools, it gradually expanded and now offers foundation, undergraduate, and postgraduate degrees in a range of humanities and social sciences. Previously known as Leeds Trinity & All Saints, the institution became a

university college In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...

in 2009 after gaining the right to award its own degrees, and was granted full university status in December 2012. The university is a member of the Cathedrals Group and the

Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities The Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) is a voluntary association of delegates from Catholic institutions of higher learning. ACCU lists a total 230 Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States. Histor ...

History

Trinity and All Saints College - geograph

Leeds Trinity opened in 1966 as two

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

teacher training colleges for

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

– Trinity College for women and All Saints College for men. At the time there was a great demand for new teachers in Britain due to the post-war baby boom. Trinity College was composed of three residential halls to accommodate the female students: Shrewsbury (named after the birthplace of Elizabeth Prout), Whitby ( Saint Hilda, who was Abbess of

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...

), and Norwich ( Julian of Norwich). Located near these halls was a convent occupied by the Sisters of the Cross and Passion. All Saints College, meanwhile, was built on the south side of the campus, with four halls constructed for male students: Fountains and Rievaulx (after

Fountains A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

and Rievaulx Abbeys), St Albans ( Alban), and Ripon (

Wilfrid Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and beca ...

, Bishop of Ripon). Both colleges appointed separate principals: Augusta Maria, a

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

physics graduate and former deputy head of a Grammar School, was put in charge of Trinity College, while Andrew Kean, a Deputy Director of the Leeds University Institute of Education, became the first principal of All Saints. The colleges merged in 1980 to form Trinity and All Saints College, with one principal appointed for the new unified college – biochemist Dr Mary Hallaway. In November 1970 Kean informed the governors that the colleges should diversify and offer other courses in order to survive – although the driving purpose of the institution would remain as preparing Catholic teachers for Catholic schools. As a result, new academic divisions were introduced including Humanities, Modern Languages, Mathematics and Sciences and Social and Environmental Sciences, enabling students to specialise in another subject in addition to their teacher training. The

Postgraduate Certificate in Education The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE/PGCertEd) is a one- or two-year higher education course in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and South Africa -where it can take up to three years- which provides training in order to allow graduate ...

was introduced for prospective secondary school teachers. After the merger in 1980, the college was forced to justify courses deemed uneconomical. Consequently, course content was modified and efforts made to increase student numbers without diluting the college's Catholic identity. However, cuts still forced the closure of the Linguistic and Arts departments, with the Music, Science and Drama departments eventually meeting the same fate. Despite this student numbers gradually increased over the remainder of the decade. During the 1990s Trinity & All Saints once again found itself in challenging circumstances. It faced increased competition from newer universities such as Lincoln,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

, and Leeds Metropolitan – all of which had been granted university status in 1992. On top of this, the government of John Major had continued a policy of spending reductions on smaller university colleges. Nonetheless, academic provision was able to expand, particularly in Communications and Media, and by 1998 the college numbered nearly 2,000 undergraduates and 250 postgraduates. In 1991 Leeds Trinity was designated a college of the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

, and established a formal accreditation agreement with the university in 2001. In 2009 Leeds Trinity gained taught degree awarding powers from the Privy Council, and became a university college with the right to award its own degrees. In 2011 students at the new university college held the longest running

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

in the country as a protest against the national increase in

tuition fees Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spen ...

. In November 2012, following the government's announcement that the qualifying threshold for university title will be lowered from 4,000 to 1,000 students, it was announced that it would be recommended to the Privy Council that 10 institutions, including Leeds Trinity, should be granted university status. The change of title was made in December 2012. In 2016 Leeds Trinity marked its 50th anniversary by holding a Mass at

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic church in England and Wales. The shrine is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Ch ...

. A series of high-profile guest lectures was announced. Among them was

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

winner Mairead Maguire, who delivered a talk about her experiences during

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

Campus and facilities

Leeds Trinity is a campus university located off Brownberrie Lane in Horsforth, close to the village of Rawdon, with an additional campus in

Leeds city centre Leeds city centre is the central business district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is roughly bounded by the Leeds Inner Ring Road, Inner Ring Road to the north and the River Aire to the south and can be divided into several quarters. A ...

.Leeds Trinity University
Getting to Leeds City Campus
accessed on 27 February 2025 The main campus is 6 miles (10 km) from the city centre. Horsforth railway station is a 15-minute walk away, and trains into Leeds city centre also take 15 minutes. The city centre campus is just a few minutes' walk from

Leeds railway station Leeds railway station (also known as Leeds City railway station) is the mainline railway station serving the city centre of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is located on New Station Street to the south of City Square, at the foot of Park Ro ...

. In 2009–10 the campus underwent major developments and refurbishment, most notable being the new student accommodation block All Saints Court, with 198 bedrooms. Leeds Trinity University wide May 2017

Accommodation

There are eight Halls of Residence on campus at Leeds Trinity. These include All Saints Court, which is a £6m development of 198 bedrooms with ensuite and self-catering facilities that was opened in September 2010.

Library

Leeds Trinity's library is housed within the Andrew Kean Learning Centre and gives students access to over 500,000 electronic books and 115,000 print volumes, including a large classroom resources section to support students on teaching practice. There are 24-hour facilities.

Laboratories

There is a fully equipped sports science laboratory and a separate nutrition and food preparation laboratory. Both offer facilities for physiology, fitness testing, sport psychology practicals, dietary analysis and practical work with food. For Psychology students, there are a number of laboratories which include a Biopsychology and Psychophysiology Research Laboratory, a Human Assessment Laboratory, a Cognitive Psychology Laboratory, a Developmental / Social Psychology Laboratory and a Forensic Psychology Laboratory.

Primary education classrooms

Primary education classrooms have resources available for to practice with the equipment used in schools including interactive whiteboards, early years resources, ICT suites, art and DT resources.

Sports facilities

Leeds Trinity's sports centre was refurbished and extended in 2007. Its indoor facilities include a sports hall, a fully fitted fitness suite with free weights area, two treatment rooms, a movement and spin studio, a gymnasium (incorporating dance studio facilities) and two squash courts. Leeds Trinity outdoor sports facilities include 3 full-size rugby/football pitches, 6 dedicated tennis courts, 2 multi-use hard courts and a running track. In 2012, Leeds Trinity opened a new 3G All Weather Pitch. The pitch is the latest generation of 3G synthetic turf accredited by FIFATM for football and the FIHTM for

Hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

Organisation and structure

Leeds Trinity is an independent Roman Catholic foundation, and until earning the right to award its own degrees in 2009 was accredited by the University of Leeds. Overall responsibility for the activities of Leeds Trinity University rests with its

Board of Governors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...

. The ''ex officio'' Chair of the Board is the Rt Revd. Marcus Stock, Roman Catholic Bishop of Leeds. The Board delegate the day-to-day management of Leeds Trinity to Professor Charles Egbu (Vice-Chancellor), who is advised by the Executive Team, consisting of Professor Malcolm Todd (Deputy Vice-Chancellor), Professor Catherine O'Connor (Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Experience), Phill Dixon (Chief Operating Officer) and David Butcher (Director of Finance and University Secretary). In addition the Board of Governors delegates oversight of the academic function of the university to the Academic Board. The Vice-Chancellor is an ''ex officio'' member of the Board of Governors and the Chairperson of the Academic Board. The university's Chancellor, installed on 15 June 2018, is actor and playwright Deborah McAndrew.

Academic profile

Leeds Trinity had students in , almost all of whom are full-time. The ratio of male/female students is 35/65. A professional work placement is offered with every degree, through links Leeds Trinity maintains with local business, industry and schools. Foundation year programs are available for prospective students who may not already hold the required qualifications for university study. They are currently offered in Sport, Social Science, Law studies, and Computing.

Rankings and reputation

In the main university ranking guides , Leeds Trinity was ranked outside the top 100 in The Complete University Guide – being placed 108th in the country out of 131 listed institutions. It was rated somewhat higher in The Guardian league table, placing 85th out of 121 institutions. The university performed best in

The Times/The Sunday Times ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

table, finishing equal 67th alongside

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

out of 129 listed institutions. It is notable that Leeds Trinity is mainly a teaching institution and because of this has a low research output – contributing to a lower position in the major tables. In the 2014

Research Excellence Framework The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a research impact evaluation of British Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It is the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise and it was first used in 2014 to assess the period 2008–2013. REF is ...

it was ranked 145th out of 154 for research power, with only 20 research staff. The university has traditionally performed better in other criteria, such as teaching quality. In the 2018 The Times/The Sunday Times University league table it was ranked in the top 10 for both teaching quality and student experience, and was ranked 39th for the percentage of students achieving either a first or a 2:1 during their degrees. In 2016 overall satisfaction from students was 81% (

National Student Survey The National Student Survey is an annual survey, launched in 2005, of all final year undergraduate degree students at institutions in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom. The survey is designed to assess undergra ...

2016), with 100% satisfaction in some courses such as Business and Management, English and Media.

Research

Leeds Trinity is the home of a number of research centres and research projects.

Leeds Centre for Victorian Studies

Established in 1994, the LCVS is one of the longest-established and most active

Victorian Studies ''Victorian Studies'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Indiana University Press. It covers research on nineteenth-century Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901) and publishes essays, forums, and reviews o ...

centres in Britain. As well as sponsoring the publication of the Journal of Victorian Culture and the Leeds Working Papers in Victorian Studies, it runs an MA in Victorian Studies, and sponsors a full programme of seminars, one day colloquia and residential conferences.

Schools History Project

The Schools History Project is a curriculum development project concerned with history education in the 13–16 age range. The Project holds an annual conference, sponsors in-service training, publishes a regular bulletin, and collaborates with John Murray Ltd in the publishing of materials to support the SHP curriculum.

Links with industry

Leeds Trinity Business Network

The Leeds Trinity Business Network is an opportunity for local businesses to network, raise profiles, and work together to support local business. Piloted in 2011, it currently has 80+ members.

Centre for Journalism partnerships

Leeds Trinity is the current holder of the

BBC North BBC North (Group) is an operational business division of the BBC. It is also a brand that has been used by the BBC to mean: *The large ''BBC North'' region, centred on Manchester, that was active from the late 1920s until 1968 and was based u ...

Education Partnership Achievement award, given in recognition of its 'inspirational' journalism teaching, and Leeds Trinity news trainees have won the Partnership's Journalism award in two years out of the preceding three. Leeds Trinity works closely with the BBC to give its students access to a wide range of placements, challenges, workshops and other opportunities based at MediaCity in Salford and at

BBC Yorkshire BBC Yorkshire is one of the English regions of the BBC. It was formed from the division of the former BBC North region into BBC Yorkshire and BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, based in Kingston upon Hull. Serving West, North and South Yorkshir ...

in Leeds. At the core of the Centre for Journalism's provision are extended periods of live and as-live newsroom operation, giving students a real understanding of working to deadline. Leeds Trinity also works closely with the commercial sector; the news editors of

Radio Aire Radio Aire was an Independent Local Radio station, serving Leeds and West Yorkshire. The station was merged and relaunched as Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire, as part of a rebrand, on 1 September 2020. History Radio Aire was launched a ...

Hallam FM Hits Radio South Yorkshire, formerly Hallam FM, is an Independent Local Radio station based in Sheffield, England, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to South Yorkshire and Chesterfiel ...

, Capital FM (Yorkshire) and The Pulse all trained at Leeds Trinity, as did correspondents and reporters with

ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based media production and broadcast journalism company. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, New York City, New York, Paris, Sydney and Washin ...

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

and

ITV Yorkshire ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

Notable alumni

File:Steven Linares at the 2013 Gibraltar Music Festival.jpg, Steven Linares,

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

politician and trade unionist File:Official portrait of Jason McCartney MP crop 2.jpg, Jason McCartney, Conservative Party MP for

Colne Valley The Colne Valley is a steep sided valley on the east flank of the Pennine Hills in the English county of West Yorkshire. It takes its name from the River Colne which rises above the town of Marsden and flows eastward towards Huddersfield. ...

File:Mary Davis 1.jpg, Mary Davis, CEO of

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...

File:Fiona May, Olympic Games and world championship athlete (cropped).jpg, Fiona May, long jump silver medallist at

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and 2000 Olympics

Politics and government

* Nicola Chapman, Baroness Chapman – British peer and

disability rights The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all disabled people. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocates, around ...

activist * Mary Davis – Irish presidential candidate *

Kris Hopkins Kristan Frederick Hopkins (born 8 June 1963) is a British Conservative Party politician, who was formerly the Member of Parliament for Keighley in West Yorkshire. Elected in 2010, he served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, a government w ...

– Conservative Party MP * Steven Linares – Liberal Party of Gibraltar MP, Minister for Culture, Media, Youth, and Sports * Jason McCartney – Conservative Party MP * Paul McGrath – Irish

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...

politician,

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for Longford–Westmeath and

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

constituencies from 1989 to 2007

Arts and media

* Xana Antunes – business journalist, former Editor of ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' *

Kate Bottley Kate Bottley () is a Church of England vicar in North Nottinghamshire, a role which she combines with her other roles of journalist, media presenter and reality television star. She appears frequently on British radio and television as well as i ...

–

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

priest and television personality * Stephanie Busari – journalist,

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

* Kate Fox – writer and comedian *

Nick Hodgson Nicholas James David Hodgson (born 20 October 1977) is an English musician and songwriter, formerly of the indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs. Early life He attended St. Mary's Menston with Nick Baines and Simon Rix. He then went on to Trinity ...

– English musician, former

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who originally formed in 1996 as Runston Parva, before reforming as Parva in 2000, and releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their cur ...

drummer * Lis Howell – Journalist and author, Director of Broadcasting at

City, University of London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" an ...

* Julian Jarrold – TV and Film Director, known for '' Kinky Boots'' and '' Becoming Jane'' * Edward Jarvis – Author and historian of religion * Rebecca John – TV presenter * Shaun Keaveny – Radio presenter,

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

* Dorothy Koomson – Novelist * Rachel Mackley – TV weather presenter South East Today * Maureen Meikle – Historian, and Head of Humanities 2009–2018 * Mark Morris – Author * Hughie O'Donoghue – British painter * David Olusoga – historian and broadcaster * Gervase Phinn – Author and broadcaster * Paula Pryke – Florist * Don Riddell – Sports journalist, CNN World Sport * Natalie Sawyer –

Sky Sports News Sky Sports News (SSN) is a British pay television, paid television sports news channel run by Sky Group, Sky, a division of Comcast. History Sky Sports first started broadcasting sports news bulletins when it began broadcasting the Premi ...

presenter * Kimberley Walsh – singer,

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud are a British-Irish pop music, pop girl group that was created through the ITV (TV network), ITV talent show ''Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The line up consisted of members Cheryl (singer), Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, N ...

Sport

* Dayle Coleing – goalkeeper, Gibraltar national team * Fiona May – British-born Italian athlete, Olympic medalist in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

* Ian Thompson – Marathon runner,

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

champion

References

Bibliography

* James Hegarty, ''Trinity and All Saints 1966 to 2006 Celebrating 40 years of learning''

External links

*
Leeds Trinity University
{{authority control Education in Leeds Educational institutions established in 1966 1966 establishments in England Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities L Buildings and structures in West Yorkshire Education in West Yorkshire Horsforth Universities UK