From the cosiest quiet corners to escape to and catch up on your reading. How (and where) to snap up major discounts on theatre, cinema and concert tickets. Plus student happy hours and incredible specialist libraries that you should know...
Here's our guide to South Bank's most student-friendly places to get you started!
South Bank is one of London's most prominent cultural hubs. Happily for students, all of the neighbourhood's major cultural institutions are dedicated to helping make their spaces more accessible to students and young people. Student concession offers include considerable discounts on concert and exhibition tickets as well as cut-price theatre and cinema.
25 & Under £3 tickets at BFI Southbank
At £3 a pop, this youth discount at the BFI Southbank might be the cheapest cinema ticket around! If you are aged under 26 (student or no) you can enjoy £3 tickets for all regular screenings at the BFI when you book in advance. Discounted tickets are also available on the day for special events and previews (subject to availability), and on the day for £5 to films showing at BFI festivals. Head to bfi.org.uk and register your free account.
25% off concession tickets at Southbank Centre
All Southbank Centre events have a limited number of concession tickets available for students at a 25% discount. Concession tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Once all concession tickets are sold out that’s it - so make sure to get your bookings in as early as possible!
50% off entrance to The Garden Museum
Students get 50% off entrance to this wonderful museum dedicated to all things gardening. In addition to the permanent exhibitions that track the history and evolution of horticulture, the museum also hosts superb temporary exhibitions themed around gardens and artists and the relationships between nature and artistic expression.
16-25 £10 tickets at National Theatre
Every season the National Theatre makes scores of tickets available for just £10 for top productions on its South Bank stages. The offer applies to everyone aged 16-25 and entitles you to two tickets to a show (subject to availability). Where £10 tickets aren’t available the next cheapest seats start at just £20 – a bargain!
Bored of sitting in the library but still in need of somewhere quiet to sit, read and catch up on your studies? South Bank has plenty of cafes and coffee shops to choose from, while the inspired architecture of landmark buildings like the National Theatre and Southbank Centre are home to plenty of cosy corners for holing up with a book.
Denys Lasdun’s epic Brutalist masterpiece the National Theatre was designed to be a grand home for theatre, and for the people who love it. The vast interconnected lobbies with their soaring windows, offer plenty of quiet corners in which to sit, read and discuss. Coffee is available until 7:30pm from the Atrium Café or the Espresso Bar, made with beans from the south London artisan roasters Hej.
In 2024 the Royal Festival Hall’s main lobby and foyer areas were given a makeover and there’s now extra seating with benches and plug points for visitors needing to catch up on their laptops over coffee plus a newly improved cafe. In the warm months the long benches on the terraces in front of the Queen Elizabeth Hall are another popular spot to sit and read or catch up with friends, while inside the Queen Elizabeth Hall foyer refreshments are available at the Concrete Café.
Looking for coffee in the evening? Caffe Nero is your friend! This branch of the popular coffee shop chain stays open until 10pm (until 10:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays). Overlooking the river on the ground floor of the iconic Oxo Tower, this small coffee shop is located right in the heart of South Bank.
In addition to some of the most prominent cultural institutions in the UK, South Bank is also blessed with outstanding specialist libraries that are a magnet for scholars of poetry and film.
Literature students welcome to your new home from home! Located on the fifth floor of the Royal Festival Hall, the National Poetry Library has one of the biggest collections of modern and contemporary poetry in the world. The library attracts a dedicated poetry-loving community and the staff is outstanding when it comes to tracking down hard-to-find books and collections.
BFI Mediatheque & Reuben Library
At the BFI Mediatheque you can take a seat, put on a headset and explore recordings from the BFI’s vast film archive with over 95,000 film and television titles available in the digital archives. Meanwhile, the BFI Reuben Library holds the world’s largest collection of books, journals and digitised material about film, television and the moving image. Both the library and Mediatheque are free to access, although it’s recommended to book a study place online in advance as space is limited.
In addition to the following always-on student discounts, if you’re a student who lives or studies in South Bank or Waterloo you can sign up online for the free discount card STARCard and score great discounts at venues across both neighbourhoods.
STARCard is a 100% free digital card for local residents, workers and students that entitles you to dozens of discounts at bars, restaurants, cafes and shops across South Bank and Waterloo. Sign up for your free STARCard at starcard.london.
15% off at The Understudy
Flash your student card at the bar to get 15% off drinks at the buzzing Understudy bar at the National Theatre. Not just a theatre bar, The Understudy stays open late and has loads of tables outside in the huge theatre piazza, perfect for enjoying a lazy afternoon by the river.
25% off food and drink at BrewDog Waterloo
The epic BrewDog bar at The Sidings at Waterloo Station has plenty to offer students, whether you're bunking class for a round of duckpin bowling or looking for somewhere to grab a pint after lectures. Show your student card when you order to get 25% off food and drinks, all day every day (note the discount only applies to those who can show a student card). Find out more here.
Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall is the venue for the graduation ceremonies of many of London's leading universities including LSBU, UCL, Kings College London, London Business School and the Royal College of Arts.
After you've had your celebratory picture taken with South Bank's iconic London backdrop, when it's time to sit down for that celebratory lunch there are loads of great options just a short walk away! Check out our guide to where to book a table for your graduation lunch in South Bank here.
You don't need to spend a fortune to enjoy a great day out sightseeing in South Bank.
