FAQs

Featuring our events programme packed full of exciting and engaging experiences, Freshers' Festival is your introduction to the Students' Union and everything we have to offer. Think of it as our welcome package to help kickstart your university experience, meet new people, and have loads of fun.

Freshers’ Festival is the Students’ Union’s contribution to the overall Welcome Week that is organised by the University. Make sure you check out the Welcome Week page to find out all about the events being hosted by the University.

Every student at Royal Holloway is automatically enrolled as member of the Students’ Union, granting you access to all of our amazing services. If you don’t wish to become a member, you can opt out by ticking a box during the enrolment process with the University.

If you’re not able to make it to campus, don’t worry! We’ll have plenty of virtual events taking place online so that you can immerse yourself in the fun, while becoming part of the tight-knit community that we’re so lucky to have at Royal Holloway.

We have been working hard over the summer to ensure that our events are as safe as possible for all attendees. All of our events have been designed to adhere to government guidance, and social distancing measures will be in place to ensure you can still access our events in a safe manner.

While indoor events can now be held in a socially distanced format, government guidelines do not allow for our regular club nights to take place. We have created an alternative programme of events to provide entertainment in a safe environment.

Our wristband offering is usually centred around our larger club night events. As we will not be running these events this year, we have decided to sell ticketed events on an individual basis.

As a registered charity and non-profit organisation, any surplus made from Freshers’ Festival (ticket fees, membership etc.) goes straight back into improving your experience as a student e.g. improving existing facilities or booking an awesome act for one of our events.

Because our events are limited in terms of capacity, we think it’s only fair that we give everyone as much opportunity as possible to purchase a ticket. If you’re looking to purchase a ticket for another student, they’ll need to log in to their account and buy one themselves.

To keep our events Covid-19 secure, we are only allowing Royal Holloway students to attend our Freshers’ Festival events.

Due to government guidelines around social distancing, it is safe to say Term One is going to have a very different look and feel for our student groups this year. While restrictions are easing and more activities are starting to be permitted, many groups will not be able to conduct activities in their usual manner. As a result, you’ll see a blended mix of online and physical activity – the finer details are still being worked out and this will vary from group to group, so please get in contact with them individually and follow their social media pages for updates.

Yes, we will be hosting a Digital Freshers’ Fair. This will be taking place online with dedicated ‘stalls’ for all of our student groups, featuring chat functionality so that you can meet and interact with committee members from groups you may be interested in joining.

You can join a society, sports club, or media outlet all year round. Simply head to the relevant page, search up our A-Z, and add the membership to your basket. If you’re able to, we recommend you attend our Digital Freshers’ Fair so that you don’t miss out on important information or activities taking place during Freshers’ Festival.

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 more about specific events on our accessibility page.

We understand that lots of students don’t drink for different reasons – that is totally fine and you should never have to do anything you’re not comfortable with.
We host loads of non-alcoholic events over the year for you to get involved with and there will always be alcohol-free drinks available to purchase at any of our events where alcohol is on sale.
If you feel harassed or pressured to do anything you’re not comfortable with, you can report it to a member of staff, security, or your Hall Life Duty Officer.

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 a 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.

You can contact the University’s Student Wellbeing team, who can offer you support and guidance.

Our Advice Centre advisors are happy to guide and support you, as well as accompany you to any meetings. Just drop an email to advice@su.rhul.ac.uk.

We run an Advice Centre to give you all the support you need on a wide range of topics. Our advisors will signpost or refer you to the relevant service if they can’t help you themselves.
No matter whether you’re studying on campus or from home, you’ll be able to access our Advice Centre support online through email and virtual appointments.
This service is independent from the University, so it's the perfect place for free and confidential advice, no matter what it is you want to talk about. Just drop an email to advice@su.rhul.ac.uk.

Our Looking Guide is a great place to start and should have all the information you need to know.
You can sign up to our RHSUHouseMating Facebook group where people are always advertising spare rooms.
You can check out properties in the local area by using our online platform, HouseSearch.

You can order free STI screening and contraception online through the NHS – it will arrive in an unmarked package and the results will be communicated to you by phone.

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.