Northumbria University is investing £4 million to expand and upgrade facilities for physiotherapy, nursing, midwifery and allied health students.
The investment – part of a wider commitment to providing authentic real-world learning experiences on campus – will allow the University to recruit more students to some of its most popular health-related courses, which sit at the top of the national league table rankings.
Following the opening of new state-of-the-art teaching spaces and a significantly expanded, fully accessible clinic – offering more opportunities for placements and hands-on clinical experience – Northumbria’s Physiotherapy programmes will relocate to the University’s city campus later this year, from the Coach Lane Campus on the outskirts of Newcastle.
The move will allow Northumbria to substantially grow student numbers and recruit several new members of staff for one of its most in-demand courses, which is ranked first in the UK by the Daily Mail University Guide 2026.
Physiotherapy students will benefit from new facilities including a gait laboratory, a bespoke anatomage room and a clinical simulation suite and control room. They will also have access to Northumbria’s existing strength and conditioning suites and laboratory facilities on the city campus.
The student-led physiotherapy clinic already allows students to provide assessment, treatment and rehabilitation for people with a wide range of health conditions under the supervision of a registered physiotherapist. It is now being significantly expanded to broaden its impact beyond the University, further establishing Northumbria as a regional hub for physiotherapy education, rehabilitation and clinical practice.
The expanded clinic will house a range of leading facilities including a rehabilitation gym, dedicated treatment, assessment and consultation rooms and a specialised anti-gravity treadmill that uses air pressure technology to reduce pressure on joints and muscles.
The clinic will increase opportunities for community engagement, as well as creating enhanced real-world learning opportunities for Northumbria students. It will enable the University to offer more appointments for members of the public as well as explore new opportunities for partnership working with professional and community sports organisations.
The clinic, based in the heart of the University’s Newcastle city campus, close to the Students’ Union, Library and Sport Central facilities, is expected to open in November.
The investment also extends to the University’s Coach Lane Campus, where Northumbria has doubled the size of its existing clinical skills facilities for nursing, midwifery and allied health students.
Northumbria is currently ranked first in the UK for children’s nursing and second in the UK for general nursing in The Guardian University Guide 2026.
The expansion is providing a marked increase in simulation capacity for healthcare students. Simulation training – using virtual reality, computer-based simulations, sophisticated manikins and task trainers – is an essential part of healthcare learning, giving students hands-on access to realistic experiences before they go onto real-world placements in NHS and private organisations across the region.
The new clinical skills facilities will also enable Northumbria to launch a new Nursing Associate foundation degree in September, designed to support people without traditional university entry qualifications into nurse training.
Applicants must have GCSE Maths and English Language, or equivalent qualifications, and will receive structured support to transition into university-level study. After two years, upon successful completion, students can qualify as a registered Nursing Associate or progress onto a full undergraduate degree in Nursing Science, to qualify as a registered nurse.
The new course is another example of how Northumbria is working to drive social mobility and encourage students from backgrounds that do not usually participate in higher education to develop their careers.
The University launched The Bridge – a suite of new courses for adult learners – in July, with courses specially designed to produce highly-skilled graduates with the skills needed in the North East region.
Professor Andy Long, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive at Northumbria University, said: “This investment reflects our commitment to growing areas of real demand – not only from strong student interest, but also the region’s need for more qualified nurses and physiotherapists.
“These new facilities for two of our schools in the Faculty of Health & Wellbeing will ensure our students can gain invaluable real-world clinical experiences as part of their programmes, as well as benefitting members of the wider community and beyond, who can come onto our campus to access expert assessment, treatment and rehabilitation delivered by students under supervision of registered physiotherapists.
“I’m delighted that this expansion will allow Northumbria to recruit more students who want to study these vital, in-demand subjects in time for the new academic year, and will help us to widen access to healthcare careers for people right across our region and beyond.”
