Sunday 10-09-2017 - 09:00

Bristol SU has a number of societies who have been accredited with gold status through the Balloon Accreditation Scheme. We caught up with the 93% Club to find out a bit more about their society.

What you do?

The 93% club is predominantly concerned with providing a space for low income students to feel represented, but also with engaging in debate and being a sounding board for an ongoing argument which had no resolution: whether or not Bristol has an issue with a state and private school divide. The society aims to redress the social and cultural balance between state educated students and their privately educated counterparts, actively encouraging and lobbying for more equality and diversity within the student body and university.

Where you do it?

University-wide, making use of many different facilities for socials and employability workshops (e.g. balloon bar, student union, welcome fair) as well as nation-wide: the society is beginning to form connections with other universities seeking to start up their own state-school societies (e.g. Oxford and Cambridge).

What have you achieved and what are some of the ways you've met the standards of the Gold award?

The society ensures that whoever attends its events takes something tangible away from them, whether it be new friends, new ideas or useful life and employability skills for life after university, meaning that 93% club is a society that continuously gives to its members. Some examples of how we’ve achieved this already:

· LinkedIn workshops/photoshoots

· All-write UCAS- CV and application help

· Cuppa-Class- providing members with topics for lively debate, helping to enrich ideas and perspectives

Moreover, the society passed a motion at Student Council to require the students' union to support the society in researching the extent of disintegration of students of different educational and income backgrounds in halls of residence. This motion, which passed, will impact all students in halls of residences, ensuring that they have a more inclusive experience within the university.

Anything different you're planning for next year?

More networking events- outreach to local businesses and industries that which would share advice to our students.

Workshops that build confidence to help with networking, getting contacts and interviews.

Seminar series throughout the year based on class-related issues.

Make connections with other societies at the university create collaborative social events.