We have a number of spaces which are available throughout the week and offer you a warm and comfortable place to either relax or study.

The Bristol SU Loft and Bristol SU Living Room are both open in Senate House 08:00-22:00 Monday to Friday, and 09:00-18:00 at the weekend. The Richmond Building has study spaces which are available for use 08:00 - 23:00 Monday to Saturday, and 10:00 - 22:00 on Sundays.

The University have increased the amount of financial support available to students.

Thanks to lobbying from your officers, this is easier to access with a quicker turnaround after reaching out for support. If you're in need of financial support, you can find out more about university funding here.

Bristol SU recognises that the joining fees, trips and other costs of student groups can be prohibitively expensive for some students.

The Activity Hardship Fund was created to support those students who wouldn't otherwise be able to participate in their chosen activity due to the cost. You can find more information about applying for the Activity Hardship Fund here.

Your Full-Time Officers have worked with the university to secure £40k additional funding for our Activity Hardship Fund. This increase, alongside £20k from the Students’ Union, will allow 260 additional students to be supported – with the maximum award being increased to £200, which covers full membership fees for several clubs and societies.

We are not the only Students' Union who are campaigning on this issue for students.

We've signed the NUS petition around the Cost of Living Crisis to show support for the NUS campaign. You can also sign this here. We've also met with other officers nationally and are continuing conversations between SUs on how we can best support students.

Throughout Welcome we facilitated free events for students and made sure these were highlighted clearly on our website. We'll continue to do this throughout the year. You can view free events here.Over half of our Welcome events this year are completely free.

We hire students to support our work and also operate a Jobshop to show jobs in the area. We'll be continuing to develop our JobShop this year. You can access the Jobshop here.

The Bristol SU Living Room has tea, coffee, milk and hot water available so that you can help yourself to hot drinks throughout the day.

There are also tea and coffee making stations in the second floor link space in The Richmond Building, Queens Building Lobby, School of Anatomy Kitchen and Merchant Venturers Building (MVB) Kitchenette - these facilities are subject to funding.

There are microwaves available in the SU Loft and Bristol SU Living Room in Senate House and on the second floor in the Richmond Building so that you can re-heat food during the day, rather than having to buy something.

Also find microwaves in the Queens Building Lobby, Anatomy Kitchen and Merchant Venturers Building (MVB) Kitchenette.

Your officer team has worked hard to with the Uni to make sport more accessible. You can now get a free shuttle bus to the Coombe Dingle Sports Complex on Wednesday’s. For players and spectators, the buses run throughout the day and you can find the timetable here.

Your Full Time Officer Team have continued to secure cheaper food options on campus for you this year.

Offers include:

• Soup and roll for just 80p (with own cup) or £1 without in all the campus cafes (except Senate)
• Hot meals are being served at both Hawthorns and the Balloon Bar for just £2
• A Baked Potato Meal from £2.50 at the Merchant Ventures Building Cafe
• Free Curry/Chilli from the Balloon and Hiatt Bar on the first Thursday of the month

This initiative is part of the SU's commitment to address student poverty, funded by the £540k allocation from the university to last year’s officers, who determined how to allocate those funds. The current officer team is committed to monitoring demand, availability, pricing, and overall suitability of these offerings.

Alongside over 70 organisations, we have submitted evidence (based on data from our Bristol student surveys) to the All-Part Parliamentary Group (APPG) Students’ inquiry. This looks into the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on students, whilst giving you – the students of Bristol – a national voice. The final report has been published alongside a series of recommendations for universities and the UK government.

In line with these recommendations, your Full Time Officer Team is working to minimise the impact of the cost-of-living crises. You can read the published report here.