Freshers' week gets the rebranding treatment

By Andy Sharman

Published: 15 August 2006

I remember it clear as a bell: that cold and overcast September Saturday, when I first arrived at Edinburgh University. That first hop-infused whiff of Auld Reekie. The chill around my awfully out-of-place flip-flops. And the bubbling anticipation of freshers' week - that time that everybody mentions with raised eyebrows and satirical smiles. Ah yes, freshers' week, I remember...

Good or bad, the first week of university is something that sticks in the memory of students and graduates alike for all time. But the nature of the experience could be shifting thanks to an intensive re-branding campaign by a number of universities, keen to shirk the sozzled student stigma.

Lewes Winter, 20, has just finished his first year at Nottingham Trent (NTU). His freshers' week involved naked rugby, being handcuffed to a netball player and taking part in boat races - the drinking game rather than varsity rowing.

"It's really important to have freshers' week," says Winter. "It's where you begin your social side of university. I arrived on the Saturday morning and went straight out on the Saturday night. The reps came to the flats and took us out in a load of buses. The city was so busy: ram-packed."

So good was Winter's week that he has chosen to become a rep for this year's NTU Welcome Week. But, as he would admit, the boozing life is not for everyone, and the key to NTU's policy can be seen in the choice of the name.

"What we're trying to do is to get more inclusive branding," says Michael Lees, who is leading and co-ordinating activities for Welcome Week. "We wanted to help students feel 'this is the place for me', which means less emphasis on the drinking, and more on the social, cultural and pastoral events. We want to help people feel they've made the right decision."

And last year, the student body answered in numbers. The first Welcome Week reduced withdrawals over the first 10 weeks by 36 per cent.

Other universities are eschewing the traditional brand in search of ever more inclusive inductions to ease the entry of not only archetypal freshers, but also international, postgraduate, and mature students.

Add under-18s to that list for universities like Edinburgh, where Scottish students often enter at a younger age. Here, pub crawls operate alongside coffee crawls for the less alcoholically-inclined.

But it's by sheer wealth of events that Edinburgh seems to be able to cater for a wide audience. "With over 470 events, there literally is something for everyone," says Tom French, freshers' week co-ordinator at Edinburgh. Events run the gamut from a DJ set by Zane Lowe, through daytime trips to Rosslyn Chapel, all the way to a good old ceilidh.

Two years into his degree, French knows a thing or two about starting out. "Everyone says, 'it's the best week of your life', and students expect that they've got to have that and, if not, then there's something wrong with them. We're trying to get across the message 'do what you want to do'. If you do that then you're going to find the people you want to mix with."

Over at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), the Student Union of the Year, 2005 is planning a two-week long Intro for the incoming students. But it's not just the extra week that intrigues. As well as the usual high point - a clubs and societies fair leading to an evening social event - is a job fair.

"It's really important, especially with top-up fees now being introduced, to look for a job straight away," says Rebecca Fairclough, president of the Students' Union. At the fair, local businesses and student staples such as Bunac and Adecco sit alongside bigger names like BAE Systems and the Co-operative Group.

"It gives them an idea of what's available as a graduate," adds Fairclough. "Many don't think about that until their third year."

But there's an important message behind this. It seems that part of the brand-creation is an attempt to reassert the visibility of the Union - and not just in the first week.

"Students get so much information thrown at them when they arrive so we want to maintain welfare throughout the year," says Fairclough, who hopes to set up displays in the union building, flagging up issues of, say, diversity, to coincide with a larger event, such as black history week.

"As a student, I wish I'd known more about what the union did," she admits. "A lot of people just think it's a bar. If I'd have known about the welfare side, it would have eased my fears."

The importance of wider involvement is clear when you consider students like Emma Stuart-Ellis, 23, who had neither the convenience of halls or the benefit of common age when it came to starting out at the University of Gloucestershire.

"I found it quite difficult at first," she says. "Even though I had been living away from home for four years, it's quite a culture shock to be in a different town and not know anybody. Freshers' week was a really good gateway to get to know people. Once you begin your course and you've had that head start, it's so much better."

Despite falling in with a good set of friends and falling in love with Cheltenham itself, Stuart-Ellis would still do things differently. "I wish I'd gone to more of the university events," she says, since many others seemed to have made friends at those functions.

In the end, though, she admits it was all "quite daunting but good fun," and has sound advice for any new undergraduates. "Get yourself out there and just start talking to people. You want to meet new people: that's what university is all about."

Yet no article about freshers' week would be complete without a nod to two of the big student favourites, Newcastle and Nottingham, as they do battle with the rest of the crop for the title of Best Freshers' Week in the UK.

Newcastle readily makes claims to the throne. This year they have four suitably animated organisers wielding a team of 300 volunteers - an army that was whittled down from nearly 1,000 applicants. Freshers' week is clearly serious fun for the Tynesiders.

"No other university as far as we know runs their freshers' week like we do," trumpets James Storey, one of the four organisers. Events include paint-balling and beach parties alongside trips to Ikea and drag acts.

Further south, Nottingham also claim to put on the best introduction. They call it Week One, as in "Week One of a great experience," according to Co-ordinator Lizzie Dickson.

The university organises a week of events around The Big Day of Fun, which features bands, breakdancers and free food. "We try and make it as campus- and university-orientated as possible," says Dickson, "but the variety of clubs and nightspots is what makes it more successful."

But amongst all the hedonism you might associate with these two student cities, it's impressive to see safety and welfare balance things out. Both Nottingham and Newcastle offer transport home from events to limit student-wanderings in the early hours.

The prize for best branding goes to Nottingham, with its Easy Tiger awareness campaign. But who has the best freshers' week? Answers on a postcard, please.

Fresher's week 10 survival tips

1 Get involved: join a sports club or university society. You'll find it's the best way to make friends with a common interest.

2 Fashion: bring any fancy dress items you have: it'll save money later. And bring an extra bed sheet - perfect for that Freshers' Week toga party.

3 Get organised: take advantage of uni bus trips to Ikea and make a home of your room. And don't turn down the parents when they offer to take you to the supermarket.

4 Let go: don't allow mum and dad to stick around for too long. It'll take up socialising time and make the inevitable goodbye that bit harder. Embrace your new life!

5 So much for the city: go forth and take advantage of your second home. Get out and explore what your university town has to offer.

6 Be strong: don't think peer pressure ends at school - it just gets more sophisticated. University life presents all manner of temptations: just because the next man is indulging in a bit of Class C (or worse) doesn't mean you have to.

7 Be yourself: you meet so many different kinds of people at university, you're bound to find a crowd you fit in to. And they will appreciate you all the more for being your own person.

8 Pace yourself: that student loan might be burning a hole in your pocket, but put it into perspective. Try to stick to a budget; keep a credit card for emergencies only; and don't abuse the overdraft.

9 Forever friends: don't cling on to anyone, and don't give anyone more of yourself than you have to. Friendships take time: don't try to force things.

10 Great expectations: don't despair if it's not the week to top all others. Remember, it's natural to feel disorientated, homesick and lonely. And don't think everything you do in the first week will pigeon-hole you for the rest of the year. Relax!