Special Events run at Bristol SU are intended to be successful, safe, impactful, and fun. The primary criteria all Special Events must meet are:
- Will take place in the Anson Rooms in The Richmond Building
- Are for at least 200 attendees
- Appeal to a wide variety of students and are inclusive
- Are likely to sell out
- Make a positive impact on student life at Bristol
How to Apply
Applications to host a Special Event this academic year (24/25) have now closed. Applications to host a Special Event in the next academic year (25/26) will open in June 2025.
For any Special Event related enquiries, you can contact Rosa Digby, or book a meeting.
Deadlines
The deadline for submitting an application to host an event is 10am Monday 5th August 2024 for TB1 events, and 10am Monday 7th October 2024 for TB2 events.
Applications for TB1 events will still be accepted and considered after this deadline on an ad hoc basis if there are still available slots. Please do not start planning until your event slot has been confirmed by a member of the SU Events team.
Further Information
See further information about Putting on a Special Event.
Trips & Tours
Whilst planning your trip, please think about the following:
- Plan your itinerary and book your transport, accommodation etc well in advance
- Nominate a Trip Organiser
- Keep members informed
- Create a budget and remember to include transport, accommodation, entrance fees, food and any other expenses. Ensure what you charge covers all your costs and don't assume you'll sell all the trip places
- Manage the risks – carry out risk assessments for the trip. Remember, the trip includes the journey to and from the place you're visiting
- Ensure you have the names and contact details of all the trip participants
- Ensure you have the emergency contact details of all the trip participants
- Know what to do in case of an emergency (see below)
- Seek advice from Bristol SU if you need it
Risk Assessment
Ensure you are doing all you can to keep your members safe by risk assessing each trip. We have a useful one off risk assessment template which you can add identified hazards and mitigations to. Once you’ve completed your risk assessment send it to the Student Services Team who will review it and provide any necessary feedback.
Trip Registration
All groups must register Trips & Tours with Bristol SU. It is important you let the SU know about your trip or tour (using the form in the trip registration section below), as this has an impact on things like insurance cover, safeguarding of under 18s, and reaching emergency contacts. We also want to make sure that committees have thought about anything that could go wrong, as you have a responsibility for taking reasonable steps to ensure your activities are safe for all members.
Typically trips and tours may involve some or all of the following:
- Staying overnight or for multiple nights
- Travelling outside the Bristol area
- Travelling outside of the UK
- Activities other than your main regular activity
Exceptions for completing this form include
- Travelling somewhere with the sole purpose of fulfilling a sports fixture arranged by S.E.H
- Where your main premises or location for your group activity is outside of Bristol (as travel to and from this location should feature on your annual risk assessment)
Accident Reporting
Accidents happen, and when they do it’s important you know what to do. If an accident, incident or near miss happens during your groups activities you should firstly report it to the appropriate officials at the venue e.g. sports venue staff, event organisers etc.
Once this has been done you will need to report the incident, accidents and/or near miss to Bristol SU using this form.
Don’t forget to tell us about near misses. This is any situation where an accident nearly occurred. Near miss recording is essential in helping both you and your members learn lessons without things getting to a point where someone is injured.
Insurance
Students benefit from the university personal accident policy in some instances. Information can be found on the university webpages here.
If your student group is going abroad, please ensure your members are aware that Bristol SU does not provide travel insurance. If your members do not already have cover in place (for example, as part of a family policy) they will need to arrange this themselves.
Conduct
When you are away with your group, you are a representative of Bristol SU and the University of Bristol. As such, certain expectations relating to conduct and behaviour must be adhered to. Student Groups and their members are expected to abide by the Bristol SU Student Group Code of Conduct
We would expect all members to:
- Behave in a manner which does not endanger or is anti-social towards other individuals and to abide by Bristol SU’s Health and Safety policies at all times
- Ensure all members feel welcome to participate in non-judgemental and non-threatening discussions, activities, services or events
- Act responsibly at all times when participating in activities and avoid actions which could bring the group, the Students’ Union or sponsors, funders or partners into disrepute
- Conduct themselves in a reasonable manner relating to language, noise and behaviour
- Not encourage or pressure others into acting against the Code
- Operate within the rules that govern the activity or the facility in which it is taking place
- Not carry out initiation ceremonies
- Student leaders (i.e. student group committees) have a particular responsibility to uphold the Code of Conduct in the areas of activity that they lead
Transport Bookings
This service is temporarily paused.
We aim to support our affiliated student groups to plan and run successful trips. For some groups this includes the need to hire different types of self-driven vehicles to transport members and/or equipment to different locations around the UK. We offer this service via a local vehicle hire company.
We advise you read the below information thoroughly before requesting to hire a vehicle.
Who can hire vehicles?
All Bristol SU affiliated student groups can request to hire vehicles. We primarily use Bristol Car and Van Hire for our transport bookings.
How does it work?
We have a simple request form embedded within this web page which asks for all the information we initially need, including what type of vehicle you need, dates of hire and details of who will be driving.
The Student Services Team will review your request, check your drivers are registered, and forward it to the transport hire company who will then let us know if your requested vehicles are available on the dates you require.
If the vehicle is available, we’ll check there’s enough money in your SU account to cover the costs and send you a confirmation email including the total cost and pick up and drop off instructions.
Who can drive?
Any member of your group who holds a full driving licence and is registered on our driver database. If a driver is not listed on our database they’ll need to complete our driver declaration form before the booking can be confirmed.
When registering, drivers will need to provide photographs of the front and back of their driving licence. Submissions will not be approved without the required information.
What about insurance?
We have an insurance policy which covers our student groups when they hire vehicles that are booked through Bristol SU. This means drivers who would normally not meet the criteria set by hire companies due to their age or the length of time their licence has been held can drive these vehicles.
In the event of an accident/incident you must let us know as soon as possible so that we can tell the insurance company. You will also need to inform Bristol Car and Van Hire. If a claim needs to be made in order to fix damages, your group will be liable for the £150 policy excess fee.
The insurance costs £15 per vehicle, per day, and will be added to the total hire cost.
Hiring a minibus
If you are hiring a minibus your driver(s) will need to be MiDAS trained. MiDAS (Minibus Driving Awareness Scheme) is a nationally recognised standard for the assessment and training of minibus drivers. We recommend booking this training through Travelwest.
You will need to provide proof that your drivers are MiDAS trained before your minibus booking can be confirmed.
Can we cancel our booking?
You can cancel your booking at any time by contacting the Student Services Team at bristolsu@bristol.ac.uk. You should do this at the earliest opportunity to avoid being charged. Cancellation within 48 hours of vehicle pick up means that you will be charged the full cost of hire, but you will not be charged for insurance.
Transport Booking Form (Not currently live)
Hiring Technical Equipment
Are you part of a Bristol SU affiliated student society? Are you hosting an event soon and in need of some technical equipment to make your event the best it can be?
For a small fee to your group, we can provide you with a range of simple sound/lighting/AV packages.
Running Social Events
All groups should offer a range of social opportunities to their members. Socials help to:
- Build community within your group
- Retain members
- Support your core offer
- Diversify your group
View our Running Safe and Inclusive Socials training slides here or check out our Inclusive Socials Guide
Planning your socials
It’s a good idea to plan out your social offer well in advance. Many groups set their plan over summer and use it to sell their group to new members over Welcome. By showing you have a vibrant, active social calendar, you will pique interest in your group and gain more members.
Think about the following:
1. What's the type of activity?
- Will it allow everyone to participate? Ensure the activity is something everyone of all backgrounds can attend.
- Does it involve any risks? If yes, fill out a risk assessment form.
- Are your committee willing to help organise it? It should not be down to one person to organise the whole event, especially if it's a big scale one. Everyone involved needs to pull their weight.
2. Budget
- Does this activity require any money? Can you afford it?
- Is it a fund raising social activity? e.g. Games Night, Portsmouth Monopoly Scavenger Hunt.
3. Organisation
- Do you need to book anything in advance - venues etc?
- Make a timeline of when events need to happen, e.g. advertising, setting up times, etc
- Have a backup plan. Sometimes things happen e.g. people drop out, venues mix up bookings, etc - so have a contingency plan B just in case. Think of everything that could go wrong and find a solution before it happens.
4. Post-Event
- After the event has happened, take some time aside with the rest of the organisers/committee to review it, was it a success? If not, why not - what could've been done differently to make it more of a success.
Variety
It is important that you show a wide variety of social engagement opportunities within the group. You need to make sure, as committee members, you work together to ensure you are providing a range of opportunities to demonstrate inclusivity within your group throughout the academic year.
For example, a social event to a sporting event that is relevant to your group's general activity might not be to everyone's taste. Attendance to a food fest, a scavenger hunt or end of year meal would demonstrate a range of activities that your members could get involved with.
Whilst you group may have socials or events that take place every year, do ensure you are trying out new things too. The more diversity you have in your social calendar, the better.
Initiations
The following information forms part of the Bristol SU Code of Conduct, which lays out the expected behaviour of all affiliated student groups.
In line with the majority of universities and as a result of a number of very serious incidents at other institutions, Bristol SU and UoB do not permit “initiation ceremonies”.
For this purpose, an initiation ceremony is any event at which members of a group are expected to perform an activity as a means of gaining credibility, status or entry into that group. This peer pressure is normally (though not explicitly) exerted on first year students or new members and may involve the consumption of alcohol, eating various food stuffs, nudity and behaviour that may be deemed humiliating.
In the past, students at UoB and elsewhere have caused criminal damage, been seriously injured and, in at least three cases, died as a result of having to take part in an initiation. As well as this, initiation ceremonies are intimidating, humiliating and can amount to bullying. They do not encourage the welcoming and inclusive student groups that Bristol SU wants.
Social activities such as welcome evenings, team meals, social nights, trips away and celebration events that welcome new members and offer a positive first impression of university life are encouraged. The following rules must be followed:
- All activities must be opt-in and have no bearing on the acceptance into the student group or team/squad selection etc
- Peer pressure must not be exerted on individuals
- Activities must not be humiliating, unlawful or degrading
- Activities must not involve the forced consumption of any fluid/substance
- Taking of alcohol to the activity/event must not be made a condition of attendance
- If activities involve alcohol then non-alcoholic drinks must be made available
- Activities must not bring the reputation of Bristol SU, UoB or the student group into question or disrepute
The organiser of the event, individual Club Captains or group Presidents and/or the groups as a whole may be held responsible for an “initiation ceremony” and may have University disciplinary action taken against them (including suspension or expulsion).
Alcohol-free Socials
We know, from Rate My group Feedback, that members overwhelmingly want more than just socials at the pub. Increasingly, students are drinking less and they wish to see this reflected in club and society social offers, therefore we have designed a tool to help groups find ideas for alcohol-free events.
Volunteering With Your Group
Volunteering as a group is a fantastic way to give back to the community while hosting a fun and inclusive social activity. Whether you're interested in a one-off session or ongoing volunteering, the Bristol SU Volunteering Team is happy to help you plan your activity and work towards achieving the Volunteering Accreditation criteria. They will connect your group with a local organisation and provide support to make sure your experience is both meaningful and impactful.
Send a message to bristolsu-volunteering@bristol.ac.uk
Additional Support
Stuck with any of the above?
Development Meetings
The Development Team can support you with a wide variety of things including (but not limited to):
- Event Planning
- Collaborations
- Building Communities
- Conduct Issues
Book a meeting with the Development Team or email us - bristolsu-development@bristol.ac.uk
Meet with the Events Team
If you need some help with an upcoming event, or would like to find out more about running events in Bristol SU's venues, please book a meeting with a member of our team. We're all happy to help with general enquiries but please read our bios below to select the most relevant team member.
- Rosa - Events Coordinator - happy to help with any enquiries for SU Special Events, and for Performing Arts groups looking for information about running events in the Winston and Pegg theatres.
- Grace - Student Community Events and Spaces Coordinator - happy to help with enquiries about community events and activities, particularly in the SU Living Rooms, SU Loft, and Balloon Bar.
- Freya - Events Manager - happy to help with enquiries about club nights, events taking place in external venues around the city, and in university venues.
Book a meeting with the Events Team
Running Events and Socials Whatsapp Community
Join our Running Events and Socials Whatsapp Community where you will receive updates and reminders to help you in your role
Get in touch with the Development Team
Book a meeting with the Dev Team
Book a meeting with the Events TeamSend an email to the Dev Team
Check out training on the Bristol SU Learning Space