FAQ

Freshers’ Festival is the Students’ Union’s official programme of events that are held from 22 September to the 30 September! It’s your welcome to the University and one of the most important weeks on the calendar. It’s basically one huge party to celebrate the beginning of your university life. You can definitely expect to meet loads of new people and discover new experiences.

Freshers’ Festival is the Students’ Union’s contribution to Welcome Week at Royal Holloway. Essentially all the events run by the SU or any that require a wristband are included in the festival.

Every student at Royal Holloway is automatically a member of Royal Holloway Students’ Union. You can opt out of this by ticking a box during the enrolment process with the University.

All the major late-night events (excluding Freshers’ Ball for bronze wristbands) are covered by the wristbands, allowing you fast-track entry to the event. If you want a more specific list of what late-night events we offer, head on over to the events page.

Our system is set up to only allow purchases to be made by individuals who are 18+. That said, there are still plenty of ways to get involved, and our Trading Services team (who are a lovely bunch by the way) can issue wristbands to individuals under the age of 18. This is on a case by case basis so you’ll need to drop them an email at venues@su.rhul.ac.uk.

Wristbands and online tickets guarantee you entry into the event before 11pm.

We have three wristbands available with the Bronze package at £45, the Silver package at £65 and the Gold package at £75. With the Bronze package you'll bag your entry to all marked events excluding Freshers' Ball. Splash out on the Silver or Gold and you'll also guarantee your attendance to Freshers' Ball, and with the Gold wristband you'll also pick up a discounted TOTUM card.

You can collect your wristbands from the Union Helpdesk between Saturday 21 - Friday 27 Sept. These times and dates are subject to change, so keep an eye on this site and your emails for any updates. Following that, you’ll be able to collect your wristband at normal times alongside the event night tickets.

Saturday 21 - Sunday 22 | 8am - 8pm
Monday 23 - Friday 27 | 9am - 8pm

If you’ve already acquired your student login details but you’re still experiencing issues trying to log in, you can try and resolve them by following the steps provided by our login guide. If you’re still struggling after following the guide, please email marketing@su.rhul.ac.uk stating your student number and the error message you have encountered.

If don’t have your login details yet, you can register for a guest account so you can access the website. However, you won’t be able to purchase most tickets, wristbands or memberships with a guest account, so it’s best to sort your student login details as soon as possible.

As we are a non-profit charity organisation, any surplus made from Freshers’ Festival (e.g. ticket fees, membership) goes straight back into improving your experience as a student. For example, the surplus made could be used to improve existing facilities or booking an awesome act in one of our late-night events for you guys to enjoy. Most importantly, we want to hear what you guys want, so don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any ideas.

Not for the most part! Almost all of our day-time events are free of charge for all students (excluding spending money), so enjoy it to your heart’s content - there are a few exceptions though, such as the IKEA trip. Make sure you check the individual event pages - if there's no option to purchase a ticket, that event is free.

Don’t worry if you are unable to acquire tickets for any of our late-night events, there are plenty of other events happening every day and night. For example, The Packhorse are running a variety of free late-night events every day or you could get involved in our Colour Run for a colourful fitness session.

Although, we do recommend getting tickets before coming to university to avoid disappointment as we sell out in advance every year.

As your Students' Union, we're keen to promote equality of opportunity for people with disabilities and to take the necessary steps to meet their requirements - that's why we've ensured that everything we do is accessible to as many of you as possible.

You can find out which of our events are not accessible on our accessibility page.

If you want to invite a guest to any of the late-night Freshers’ events, you will need to purchase an individual event ticket for them alongside your own. After that, you need to sign them in at any of the following locations:

Union Helpdesk | Midday to 8pm
On the door | 10pm to midnight

This can only be done on the night of the event. Once signed in they will then receive a guest wristband which they need to bring to the venue upon entry. It’s only £2 to sign a friend in, and if they have a TOTUM card, it’s free! Please note that your College Card will automatically have their ticket, so they will need to be with you when you enter the venue.

You can join a sports club or society all year round. Simply purchase your one, two or three year Student Opportunities Membership from either the Helpdesk or online. Visit the sports club or societies website pages to get a full list of the activities that you can get involved in. We recommend you attend Freshers’ Fair though, as signing up via the website doesn’t guarantee you information on any important information such as the first social that the group might host during Freshers’ Festival.

We understand that many of our students attending our Freshers’ events may live far away from campus. That's why we run the Night Bus to make sure that everyone gets home safely after a night out at our venues. It runs during club nights at the Students’ Union and Medicine, taking you from campus to your door. It starts at 10pm and finishes its rounds only when everyone has been taken home from the latest closing venue - including our student staff.

Please note that if you live on campus or if you live further than three miles away, you won't be able to use this service.

You can purchase individual tickets on the night for £1.50, or you can bag yourself 10 journeys for £10 by buying a loyalty pass.

As a Students’ Union, we believe that we have the duty to challenge harassment and violence at any instance and encourage all students to report it. When we are silent about these issues, we become complicit to them.

When we talk about sexual harassment, it often is given a very narrow definition of what it might involve. Sexual harassment is not just about physical touching or groping, it can be applied to any unwanted and persistent behaviour of sexual nature.

If you experience any form of sexual harassment at any of our events, you can report the incident to any member of security, bar staff or supervisor/duty manager and the situation will be investigated immediately and appropriate action taken. The staff will also advise you if you want to follow up on the complaint.

If you feel able to talk to someone about it and you'd like to, you can book an appointment with one of our advisors by visiting the Union Helpdesk - our advisors offer free and impartial advice and are happy to chat with you about any problems you are having. Alternatively, the College provides free counselling services to support you if you need a chat or you need professional and impartial advice. You can contact them by emailing counselling@royalholloway.ac.uk.

Freshers’ Festival is all about making sure that you have the best first experiences at Royal Holloway. This includes making sure that you don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with. We understand that lots of students don’t drink for different reasons, and that’s totally valid. We host loads of non-alcoholic events over the week for you to get involved with including a full series of events in the venue Imagine alongside our regulars such as the Colour Run, diversity picnic and more! If you feel harassed or pressured to do anything you’re not comfortable with, you can report it to security at an evening event, a member of identifiable college staff during the day or your hall duty officer.