School of Sport and Exercise Sciences facilities

£38 million has been invested into state-of-the-art laboratory facilities for our current and future sport and exercise scientists.

This helps students, researchers and partners understand the science behind human performance and behaviour.

  • Copperas Hill is home to our brand new Sport Building and Student Life Building

  • A practical demonstration class within the physiology teaching lab

  • The Tom Reilly Building houses our state-of-the-art teaching laboratories and facilities

  • Student being fitted with a portable metabolic system to assess the energy expenditure of everyday tasks

  • Movement Function Research Laboratory. Real-time visualisation of joint loading can help patients reduce pain when walking

  • Participant undertaking a cardiopulmonary exercise treadmill test to assess maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max)

  • The weather is unpredictable however the controlled environmental chambers can be used to adapt humans to extreme environments and provide stress/response information safely

  • Student performing a skill-based assessment of hand-eye and movement coordination

  • Students on cycle ergometers performing an exercise test with external sport specific stimuli and constant feedback.

Tom Reilly Building

The £26 million Tom Reilly Building is the hub of our school. It is named after Professor Tom Reilly, who completed the world’s first PhD in sport science in 1975. He played a key role in building the strong heritage of sport and exercise science at Liverpool Polytechnic, LJMU and beyond.

The Tom Reilly Building houses world-class laboratories that support a research-informed curriculum. It also enables high-quality applied research alongside theoretical study.

Our facilities are always busy. You’ll find elite athletes, students, sports scholars, LJMU teams and recreational athletes. Members of the public also take part in performance work, exercise testing or research projects.

  • The Tom Reilly building

  • Exercise physiology teaching lab

  • Exercise physiology research suite

  • Muscle strength laboratory

  • Biochemistry laboratory

  • Biomechanics laboratory

  • Teaching space in Tom Reilly Building

Primrose Hill

Primrose Hill opened in 2005, following a £4.5 million award from HEFCE in recognition of LJMU’s excellence in sport and physical activity. The foyer features a modern social space for students, complete with PCs.

At the heart of the building is the LJMU High Performance Gym, a state-of-the-art facility in the city centre. It delivers strength and conditioning (S&C) programmes for LJMU Sport Scholars and sports teams. It is also an official TASS (Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme) site.

  • Primrose Hill building

  • The High Performance Gym

  • The High Performance Gym

  • The High Performance Gym

  • Primrose Hill’s High Performance Unit supports the development of LJMU Sports Scholars, TASS athletes and elite performers.

  • Performance Analysis Suite

Life Sciences Building

Mechanistic, cellular and molecular physiology research takes place in the £8.5 million refurbished Life Sciences Building (LSB). It houses excellent laboratories for biomolecular and stem cell biology.

  • Life Sciences building

  • Life Sciences laboratory

Copperas Hill

Copperas Hill offers modern sports facilities and teaching spaces in the heart of Liverpool city centre.

The site includes an eight-court sports hall built to Sport England specifications. It is suitable for basketball, badminton, five-a-side, volleyball, netball, futsal and handball. There are also two multi-purpose sports halls and a two-floor gym with 120 workstations.

  • The Student Life building and Sports building on the Mount Pleasant Campus.

  • Sports Hall

  • Sports Hall

  • Sports Hall

  • Sports Hall

  • LJMU Gym in the Sports Building which includes 120 work stations.

  • Study area in the Student Life Building.

  • Lecture room in the Student Life Building.

Explore the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences