Thousands of prospective students will be upping sticks and heading down from across the country and around the world to start their degrees in earnest at Anglia Ruskin and the University of Essex.
The pain of A Levels is over, so its time to start afresh in one of England's newest cities - but how much do you know about Chelmsford?
See our guide to the city below as your very first lecture.
Business history
- Guglielmo Marconi set up his famous New Street factory in Chelmsford all the way back in 1912, a pioneering venture into the transmission of wireless signals.
- Chelmsford also saw the founding of soft drink giant Britvic, the UK's second largest producer, in the 19th century. It remained in Chelmsford until the company headquarters were relocated to Hertfordshire in 2012.
- Dunton is home to Ford's major automotive research and development facility.
Geography
- Chelmsford is Essex's county town, in addition to being its only city
- Channel 4's Location Location Location voted it as the eighth best place to live in the United Kingdom in 2007.
- Other large towns and district relatively nearby include Southend (home to the world's longest pier), Thurrock and Basildon.
Music
- Essex boasts two major summer music festivals, V Festival and Brownstock.
- Both have regularly hosted the biggest names in music, this year saw Justin Timberlake, The Killers, Lily Allen and Razorlight coming to the county.
- There is also a thriving music scene in the city, with Ayslum a key alternative music venue
Shopping
- Lakeside Shopping Centre, home to more than 250 shops and services, reigns supreme as Essex's biggest shopping district.
- Freeport Designer Outlet in Braintree is next in line to the consumer crown, with Basildon, Chelmsford and Southend centres each providing an excellent array of retailers. And just over the M25, there's always Bluewater
Sport
- July this year saw Essex proudly host the third stage of the Tour de France as the world's greatest cyclists pedal through parts of Uttlesford, Braintree, Chelmsford and Epping Forest.
- Famous sporting heroes of the county include England's 1966 World Cup winning manager Sir Alf Ramsey, former Essex and England cricket captain Graham Gooch, former world champion swimmer Mark Foster former Olympic champions Fatima Whitbread and Sally Gunnell.
- Essex County Cricket Club, based in Chelmsford are one of the 18 major county clubs, and boast current England test and one-day international captain Alistair Cook.
- Southend United and Colchester United are Essex's best known football teams, both playing in the Football League.
Travel
- Stansted Airport is Essex's major airport offering flights to destinations across Europe, North America and North Africa. The county is also served by the smaller London Southend Airport with flights across Europe.
- There are three main c2c lines from City of London to Southend-on-Sea, two from Fenchurch Street and one from Liverpool Street. Epping Forest is served by the London Underground Central line.
- Greater Anglia serves stations through Essex from London Liverpool Street to neighbouring Suffolk and Norfolk and Stansted Airport.
- Crossrail, a railway line poised to open in 2018, will link stations from Shenfield, via central London to Reading.
