Reflecting on a Successful Freshers' Week

Now that the first semester is in full swing, we just wanted to take a moment to reflect on what has been a fantastic Freshers’ Week 2022.

The week was jam-packed with a whole host of incredible activities and events that wouldn’t have been possible without the support and commitment of our amazing student groups and over 100 volunteer Freshers’ Week Captains who dedicated so much of their time. Every year we are blown away by the support and passion shown by our volunteers, and this year has been no different!

We would also like to give a special shoutout to Campus TV, Bath Time Magazine, University Radio Bath and Backstage Technical Services for supporting our events and making them the best they can be while capturing all the action.

We must also thank our three amazing Freshers’ Week Event Managers, Lisa, Sam and Niamh. They worked hard all summer and dedicated themselves fully to the success of the week and we couldn’t be prouder of what they have achieved.

Finally, thanks to all our wonderful staff and SU Officers for making it the best week!                                                                                  

Here is just a small summary of what we collectively pulled off:

• Recruited and trained over 100 Freshers’ Week Captains
• Sold 2,600 Freshers’ Week Wristbands
• Held over 60 individual SU-led events ranging from inflatables day, pub quizzes and vintage fairs to a cycle cinema
• Had over 50 students keep the film screening running by cycling at the cycle cinema attended by nearly 200 students
• Transformed the Sports Hall into a huge 2,500-capacity Arena and ran five huge Arena Nights
• Held daily mixers which helped form communities of students with similar experiences and  backgrounds
• Distributed 2,935 FW T-shirts through wristband and individual sales
• Got arty with workshops, open mic sessions, comedy, murder mystery and more at the Edge
• Had over 150 groups take part in Sports Day & SU Groups Day across campus
• Signed up 4,107 members of sports, societies and volunteering groups since the start of September
• Held over 50 Give it a Go events led by student groups, with more to come
• Had 50 external companies attend the Freshers’ Fair for the busiest one yet
• Our amazing Captains packed and distributed 4,000 bedroom bags
• Handed out enough Zoflora to fill the STV Swimming pool!   
• Transformed the Sports Hall into ‘The Big Pub’, an event that attracted both freshers and returning students
• Were visited by acts such as Scouting for Girls, Dean McCullough, Sigala and our favourites, the Chip Shop Boys
• Ran a sell-out PG-only timetable of events including a cheese & wine night, a pub tour and visits to Bradford on Avon and The American Museum
• Kicked off our first sell-out SCORE of the year at the Tub!
• Introduced a new bar at the STV to support the super league Rugby Matches on campus,
• Handed out thousands of slices of Domino’s pizza at the Freshers’ Fair and on moving in weekend
• Hundreds of horns were honked on arrivals weekend with encouragement from our FW Captains
• Sold over 500 items of vintage clothing over the week
• Raised £1400 for RAG by selling over 3,000 second-hand kitchenware items
• Held our Sustainability Day which was attended by over 2,000 students
• Launched our Bath Active sessions, our free recreational sport offer
• Held 21 Peer Mentor Welcome Events with different departments across the University
• Spoke at 15 UniLife Talks
• Hundreds of students bounced their way through inflatables day in the Sports Hall
• Launched our Academic Rep, Hall Rep and other elections to give students the chance to make a stand!
• Advertised over 190 job vacancies throughout September
• Supported over 50 students to find the advice and confidence they needed to resolve an academic, housing or personal issue

And that’s just within the first week! Just imagine what else we can achieve together over the rest of the year. We hope you’ve enjoyed Freshers’ Week as much as we have and that you’ve experienced the best possible start - or return - to Bath. None of this would have been possible without everyone’s dedication and time, and we’re immensely grateful. A huge thank-you and well done from and to all of us at The SU!

See you at the next one!