Bristol SU Term 1 Round-Up: What a Term It's Been!
Wow! What a busy start to the year!
From new spaces and events to big wins for students, TB1 has been packed with activity, fun and achievements.
Here’s a quick round-up of just some of the highlights – keep reading to find out what’s been going on at Bristol SU!
New Home at Senate House
This year, we made a big move!
For students who’ve been around for a while, you’ll know that Bristol SU’s home used to be in the Richmond Building. But now, we’re based on the 5th floor of Senate House - much closer to the heart of campus 🎓
Our new space includes a welcome desk, study areas, and staff offices, making it even easier for students to pop-by and access all our services. Being more visible and central means that more of you can get involved with what we offer.
Come check it out!
Welcome Week 2024: A Record-Breaker
We kicked off the academic year in style with one of the biggest Welcome Fairs in the country! Held in the sunshine on the Clifton Downs, this year’s event saw a record-breaking 16,000 attendees! The most we’ve ever had 🌟
The week was also packed with 93 different events, from club nights to crafts, sober socials, and games nights. Our Student Groups also led 377 Give-It-A-Go sessions, helping thousands of students settle into university life.
It’s been amazing to see such a warm welcome to new and returning students. In the new year we will be launching our Refreshers week, starting January 13. See you all there 🤗
Celebrating 100 Years of Bristol SU
You may have heard… it was someone’s birthday this term! 🍰
Ours!
Unfortunately, we did not receive a letter from the King, but Bristol SU still celebrated 100 years in style!
We were joined by students in the Living Rooms, who shared cake and memories of Bristol SU over the years.
It’s been incredible to look back on how far the Students’ Union has come. But, we have so much more to come. Keep an eye on our socials for everything we have planned in TB2 as part of the 100 years campaign! 🥳
Student Council: A Successful Start
In November, we held our first Student Council of the year, where students can propose motions and shape Bristol SU policy for the next three years. This event was a huge success, with all motions passing! 📢
Some key highlights included improved support for international students, changes to our representation review, and the introduction of an anti-Palestinian racism definition to be added to our policy. It's great to see such active student participation in shaping the future of the SU.
Next term we will be meeting again for the Annual Members Meeting (AMM), TB2 Student Council and inviting you all to vote as part of TB2 Elections! ✉️
Officer Wins!
Our Full-Time Officer Team has been hard at work this term, launching new campaigns, advocating for students, and securing some fantastic wins! Here are just a few of the highlights:
- 💵Cost of living support: The team worked to reduce the cost of food, transport, and access on campus. You can read more about their cost-of-living achievements and where to find these discounts!
- 🤝UEB Agreement: After talks with the University Executive Board (UEB), the Full-Time Officer Team secured significant commitments on their student poverty, academic satisfaction, and collective wellbeing priorities.
- 📢Westminster visit: The team travelled to Westminster to meet with Bristol Central MP Carla Denyer, campaigning for better renters' rights for students.
- 🏘️My Rent My Rights campaign: Led by Student Living Officer Lucy Pears, this campaign brought back the successful Housing Fair, with over 600 students attending, and provided a series of helpful articles for students who are looking for a new home.
- 🎆International Students Week: Once again, this week was a huge success and celebrated Bristol’s diverse student population! Events ran throughout the week including film nights, day trips, and a fantastic global food fair. Held in the Anson Rooms, student groups from around the world shared their cuisines for over 200 attendees.
- 👖Swap Shop: Based in Living Room 1 of Senate House, this revamped campaign aims to reduce waste and help students save money in the process. Keep an eye out for the Swap Shop Big Swaps coming in TB2!
- 📚Education improvements: Full Time Education Officers Mia and Gurvin have been working closely with the University on key academic issues, including clearer marking criteria and guidelines around the use of AI in assessments.
- 🏉Activity Hardship Fund: Led by Ella, your Sport and Development Officer, the Activity Hardship Fund was enhanced to allow any Bristol student to apply for up to £200 a year! This is to help with student group fees, new equipment, transport and more!
But it doesn’t stop there!
Student Groups
We recognise that our Student Groups have been thriving this term too! This Welcome, Give it a Go! finished with a record 395 events run over the two weeks, of which all were free and run by student groups. We also affiliated 14 new groups in September and will be reviewing more applications to make new societies and clubs in January!
On top of all that, student groups have been raising thousands for local and global causes; we celebrated these student group activites in a recent article.
Events
The events team here at Bristol SU have also had an incredible term! Building on the successes of welcome week, Bristol SU ran a series of day trips to some of the UKs top attractions including Windsor, Stonehenge and the Tower of London. By providing students with accessible, organised trips it has allowed over 600 students to see these places at a fraction of the cost!
The team also supported student groups to run special events including Galenical's Welcome Fair, UBES Ceilidh, The Connect, Dola Re Garba, BRISOC Sister’s Charity Auction Dinner and Diwali! We've welcomed over 1000 attendees to these events, and attendee feedback has averaged 8/10, with a third hitting 10/10!
Intramural Sport
We had over 3,000 students taking part in Intramural sport in TB1, with 266 different student teams! We offer 11 different sport options as part of our Intramural programme for students to take part in.
Volunteering
Alongside university commitments, students have also been taking advantage of Bristol SU’s volunteering opportunities. In September, we redistributed 3623 items of kitchenware to 725 students through our Take a Plate campaign; everything went in a couple of hours! In October, 406 students and 40 stallholders from a range of organisations across Bristol attended the annual Volunteering Fair.
We have also launched "one-off opportunities" in volunteering this academic year! Following this, 480 students have joined the WhatsApp chat to get updates on one-off volunteering opportunities, and we've run 12 one-off opportunities with a range of local organisations with 68 students taking part.
Students can browse the Volunteering Hub for these and all our other volunteering opportunities. This academic year, 539 new students have registered on the Volunteering Hub and we've had 731 applications to volunteering opportunities.
So Much More to Come!
This is just a snapshot of all the amazing things that have happened in TB1 at Bristol SU!
We’re excited for everything we have planned, and we can’t wait to see you all getting involved! We start with Refreshers on the 13 January!
Follow Bristol SU on Instagram and LinkedIn for more updates on these events and everything that we are doing!
