Welcome Week for 2020

The University and Students' Union have planned an alternative to traditional Welcome Week activities that include online events and YSJ Fest, a series of induction and transition events on campus to support new students in their studies.  

YSJ Fest activities have been planned with considerable safety measures in place. These include:  

• Ticketed access to campus, limited to 50 arrivals per 30 minutes, for one-hour festival entrance.  
• No-contact register upon arrival to collect contact details for track & trace  
• Pre-booking safety guidance and agreement to follow rules  
• Face coverings to be worn by staff, student ambassadors and students unless exempt  
• 2m distance signage and markings, plus signage to remind of face covering expectation   
• Trained student ambassadors to manage queues and groups  
• One-way systems in buildings and on campus  
• Additional hand sanitiser and sanitising wipes provided to every student  
• Barriers to manage distance between stands  
• Additional outdoor food stalls to reduce load indoors  
• Suitably spaced outdoor seating areas  
• Cash-free within festival area with all tokens bought before attendance to reduce queueing time and transaction risk  

We have made further adjustments to these measures to comply with new rules to restrict social gatherings over 6.  In addition to the safety considerations above, students will be alerted to new guidance in pre-booking information and the rules will be strongly reinforced on campus during the event, by staff, student ambassadors and through increased signage.  Teaching activity is exempt from this limit, although we continue to monitor government guidance and respond accordingly.

Social events and activities run by the Students’ Union clubs and societies will be adapted to comply with new guidance.   

The safety of our staff, students and local community continues to be our absolute priority as we safely welcome our students to their new community.