A Students’ Union (SU) is an independent, student-led organisation that exists to represent, support, and advocate for students at a university, college, or other higher education institution. Under the Education Act 1994, every student in a university or college has the right to be represented by a students’ union. In its current form, Winchester Students’ Union was founded in 2005, when the former King Alfred’s College was awarded university status and became the University of Winchester.

All students who are registered students at the University of Winchester are granted automatic, free, membership of Winchester Students’ Union. Membership of the Union grants you a number of benefits, including the right to stand and vote in any Union election, participate in decision-making processes, representation of your interests to the University, other student bodies, organisations and persons on a local, and national basis.

All of our members have the right to opt out of membership with the Students’ Union. Anyone who is not a member of the Union is excluded from participating in any of our democratic processes, including standing in our elections, voting, or holding office in any of our activity groups (e.g. as a committee member). For further information, please contact student.union@winchester.ac.uk. Additionally, if you would like to retain membership, but opt out of our non-governance related correspondence, then please contact us at the address above.

You can get in touch with the Students’ Union in the following ways: Email: student.union@winchester.ac.uk (please note, we operate a 3 working day response time) ; Telephone: 01962 827418 (Please note, if leaving a voicemail you must include a contact email if you wish us to follow up on your message) ; Instagram DM: @winch_su ; In Person: Level 3 | King Alfred Centre

Winchester Students’ Union has a wide range of teams, societies and representational networks that you can get involved with during your time here. From Men's and Women's Football to Allotments, and Anime & Manga, there's something for everyone - and if you can't find a group for you, you can always propose a new one! You can find a complete list of our Activity Groups, and how to join them, on our website, here

We understand that taking part in a team, society, or network can incur costs that might act as a barrier to taking part. Because of this, Winchester Students’ Union offers an Activities Participation Fund, which is intended to support students in need of additional financial support to access our extra-curricular opportunities. To find out more about the fund, and apply, head here

Student Academic Representatives (StARs) play a vital role in supporting the Student Voice at the University of Winchester. StARs stand as representatives for their course at student-staff meetings, and are elected by their peers through an informal process – usually in class during the first few weeks of the academic year. If you’re interested in becoming a StAR, then get in touch with your Programme Leader. For more information about StARs, and what is involved, visit our site, here.

If you have an idea for an event, a campaign, or a suggestion for how the student experience could be enhanced at Winchester, then we’d love to hear from you! Our SUggestions platform is a space to submit, comment, and vote on your own and others’ ideas on how to make the student experience better. You can view and submit ideas, here.

A wide range of support is available to you during your time at Winchester. This includes on-site services and teams, including Student Support & Success, Personal Academic Tutors, and the Students’ Union Advice Centre, as well as local and national supporting services. For a full breakdown, please visit our Directory of Support. If you are in crisis and need immediate help, call 999 and/or go to A&E.

Winchester Students' Union's independent Advice Centre can provide general and specific advice to support you with academic appeals, complaints, misconduct, and more. You can find information on these matters, and the processes involved, as well as book an appointment with our Advisor, here .

Yes. Registered/confirmed students at the University of Winchester are welcome to bring 1 non-UoW guest to our events. In order to be admitted, guests must be accompanied by a UoW student, and sign-in at the point of entry with a valid form of photographic proof-of-age ID (e.g. a drivers licence, passport, etc.). During Freshers, for most events, we don't allow guests. This is to ensure that new and returning students have priority in enjoying our events. If you have a particular need for a guest to attend one of our Freshers events, then please get in touch with our team via student.union@winchester.ac.uk.

As a licensed venue, we require a valid form of photographic proof-of-age identification from anyone seeking admittance to our events (where alcohol is on sale). Valid forms of ID include, a passport, a drivers licence, and PASS ID cards And do not include student/university ID cards, birth certificates, bus/train passes, etc. We strongly advise, in addition to the above, that you bring along your University Student ID in order to prove your student status, as most of our events are student only.

Lost property for items left in the Students’ Union (e.g. at one of our events) can be requested from the Terrace, on Level 2 of the King Alfred Centre. For lost property around campus, you’ll need to go to Main Reception (top floor of the King Alfred Centre, next to the Learning Café). If it is the vacation period and the Terrace is closed, please go to the SU Offices on Level 3 of the King Alfred Centre – we hold unclaimed items for at least a year.

Absolutely! Please email our Commercial Team if you're interested in making use of our spaces.

What opportunities are there to work with the Students’ Union? Throughout the year, there are likely to be a range of opportunities to work with us. These may include voluntary, full-time, and/or part-time roles ranging from student voice and representation to retail and bar positions. The best way to keep up to date on those opportunities is through our social media. You can also find vacancies for paid positions on our website. For voluntary roles and/or placements, feel free to get in touch with us at student.union@winchester.ac.uk to find out about how you can get involved

If you’ve forgotten your password for the Students’ Union website, you can find a link to reset your password at the point of sign in. If you have forgotten the email you used to register on our site, or experience further difficulties in logging in, please feel free to contact us at student.union@winchester.ac.uk Please also be aware that, as a separate organisation from the University, your university username and password will not work on our site. If you haven’t previously accessed our site, you can register for an account through the sign-in link at the top of the page. For issues with your university account, please contact the University's Knowledge and Digital Services team