The campaign to raise £60 million for the University of Surrey 
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Clubs & societies
By funding extracurricular activities, we not only provide informal learning and social opportunities. We also support health and wellbeing.
What’s the problem?
Lectures, seminars, reading lists, essay deadlines, group projects, exams… student life can be demanding. But not all university learning involves textbooks.
Higher education is a holistic experience where you develop new friendship groups and peer over new horizons.
A key part of this growth is extracurricular activity.
Covid-19, however, has badly impacted clubs and societies with limited opportunities for face-to-face activities and fundraising. More than half of UK students surveyed by the National Union of Students said their mental health has been affected negatively by the pandemic.
The social outlets and physical health benefits offered by our clubs and societies provide a solution to this.
What we’re trying to do
We’ve always had a thriving roster of sporting clubs and societies. Even during the 2020 lockdown, we achieved success with Jamie Gamble and Leonie Kennedy from our Boat Club securing silver medals in the virtual version of the British Rowing Indoor Championships. The same organisation also claimed three accolades at the 2021 British Rowing Awards.
But it’s not just about excellence…
We want to open access, so wealth is never a barrier to participation in any activity. Many students, for example, find even subsidised gym memberships prohibitively expensive. By funding our sporting clubs, we can ensure the likes of football, cricket, rugby, mixed martials arts, fencing and many other activities are open to all.
We do this by providing grants for equipment and facilities. Making this happen is also an investment in student success. Statistics show that those who participate in physical activities alongside their academic studies achieve better results than those who don’t.
Who benefits?
Here are several examples of what grants were used for:
- Archery: Updated and expanded the club’s equipment, allowing the club to be even more inclusive.
- String Orchestra: bought new equipment to enable an expanded outreach programme with the Royal Grammar School and Guildford Youth Symphony.
- Triathlon Society: purchased two women’s road bikes, meaning the club could offer the same high-quality experience to female and male students.
- Ultimate Frisbee: bought new equipment. This ensured wider participation and meant club members could arrange taster sessions for 570 schoolchildren in Woking.
“This fund has allowed us to spend on vital protective kit, key to participating in the game. Now we have a healthy stock of equipment, we can encourage more women to take up the sport without the need to buy their own expensive gear.”
Polly McCarthy-Williams, Women’s Cricket Captain & BSc Biomedical Sciences student
Why we need your help
Covid-19 meant many clubs and societies couldn’t collect membership fees, placing them in a precarious position. With the post-pandemic return of students to campus, we want to ensure these organisations have access to funding that will allow them to take their club and student experience to the next level. Funding will provide:
- Access: Any student can participate, regardless of their financial means.
- Equipment: All Clubs can purchase transformative pieces of equipment that fall outside the scope of their standard budget.
- Excellence: Anyone has the chance to compete and achieve at the highest level.
We know the value students place on our clubs and societies. Improved physical and mental health, peer support, social opportunities and better academic achievement are just some of the benefits.
Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders. This is one way we can support them while they are here growing into the adults they’ll become.
Having access to industry-standard equipment at Stag TV has given me the opportunity to see what can be achieved – so much so that I’m reconsidering my career direction post-graduation.