Officially the Best Union in the World!

What an evening!!

Whilst regularly banging on about being the best in the country, we are now, once again, officially recognised as such.

This is a great award to win on several counts.

Firstly, John Sargeant presented it and he's a legend.

Secondly, Monday night was the first NUS awards ceremony ever to be held. And in this inaugural event we were recognised as being the best Higher Education Students' Union in the country - a fantastic achievement as the award recognises excellence in student participation, democratic engagement, strategic planning and vision setting and inclusion.

Thirdly, and most satisfying in winning this award, is that it comes from the student movement itself - we are recognised by our peers to be the very best.

We were the first to win the Club Mirror Students' Union of the year (which we retained this year).
We were the first to win the Virgin Guide Students' Union of the year.

So alongside all our many other awards, it really is a fantastic achievement.

Whilst I would love to say it is all my doing that brought us this award, I can't even utter those words with any integrity! One of the key reasons why we won is because of the excellent collaborative work which exists between staff and students. The enthusiasm, creativity and drive of students and the student leadership is matched beautifully by the support, wisdom, expertise and continuity of staff. This adds a depth and substance to our services, activities and representation which is second to none.

And that is why we won.

Thank you so much to all of you for playing a part in winning yet another award. It's students engaging in all the areas in which you do that gives us the richness of diversity and creativity which brings the Union to life.

Let's enjoy the success but not be complacent. Many Unions are bucking up their ideas and for us to remain at the forefront we must remain open to change, innovative and reponsive and most importantly - student led.


I've never looked so shiny..

Mind you, Rob Ellerington who took the photo was blinded by the light bouncing off Bill Rammell's head.