STUDENTNEWS


Varsity victory for Chester


THE sunmay have stayed hidden, but a carnival atmospherewas enjoyed at this year’sVarsity.


With stalls and a summer fete feel, hun-


dreds of students demonstrated their sporting prowess in a range of events from the traditional, such as football, rugby, hockey and netball, through to themore alternative including dodgeball and tug of war contests! BenMassey,Vice-President (Chester)


RADIO TEAM: Kelly-Jo Coney and Stephen Nolan.


was delightedwith the Chester campus win.He said: “The daywent reallywell. “We had 16 events in total.About 300


Photo: Laura Clarke


students turned out for the day. “Chesterwon the event 10-6 to bring the


Varsity shield back home. “Face painting, cake sales and palm


readingmade some of our clubs and so- cietiesmoney for next year’s event! “Itwas a party atmosphere all through


ON AIR: Ousted Liberal Democrat Lembit Opik, Labour’s Ivan Lewis and Eddisbury’s Conservative MP Stephen O’Brien.


“The decent thing for Mr Brown to do would be to leave Number 10.” Opinions from all sides were


given and LabourMP Ivan Lewis remindedtheaudience that itwas Gordon Brown’s ‘constitutional right’ to remain as Prime Min- ister for the time being. David Banks was also intent on


pointingout toeveryone:“Gordon Brownmay have lost, butDavid Cameron did notwin.” After debating reform, an audi-


encemember said: “Wehave had 13 years of being dictated to,but nowthey have to listen.The issue is not electoral reform,it is the


Photo: Liam Cronin


economy.” The atmosphere was electric. Kelly-Jo Coney,a Radio Produc-


tion student fromtheWarrington campus, was busy behind the scenes, helping with the live show. For the past 12 months she has


beenworkingwithDerek Ivens, a Senior Broadcast Journalistwith theBBCaspartof theUniversity’s BBC North Developing Talent partnership. During the evening she was


joined by fellowRadioProduction students Yvette Kirtley and Saira Kewley, involved with the same initiative.


EX-INDEPENDENT: Martin Bell


NEW


CHIEF: Dechlan Jarrett.


improvements at Kingsway, andmaking sure Riverside fulfils its promise are all issues which I strongly believe the Students’ Union can achieve this year. Forme, I justwant to make sure that the students gain their degree, trouble-free, whilst having the best time doing so. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? Football first


umwiththe threemajor parties’ prospectiveMPs for Chester ■ Increased library opening hours, and made the computer base 24 hours a day ■ Held drop-in sessions at Leighton and Clatterbridgehos- pitals for nursing students ■ Involved in the internal audit of international students and presented a plan from the Stu- dents’Unionto theUniversity in assisting in the integration of international students in the coming years ■ Healthy living events in the Students’ Union from rowing challenges, massage appoint- ments and discounts through to beauty treatments and so on ■ Raised money forHaiti through different sports and so-


and foremost – both playing andwatching.Music,mainly grime and dubstep. I helpwith the running of various nights out in Chester. I go to the gym when I can, and of course, PlayStation 3. What’s the best thing about being a student at the University of Chester? Everyonewho comes to Chester literally loves it. The city and the campus are not too big and not too small, so it’s a nice community whereby everyone knowswhat’s going on. Sometimes that can be a bad thing, but on thewhole, and I’msure I can speak for the overwhelmingmajority,we all love it just theway it is.


ciety challenges and head shav- ing in the Students’ Union! Jamie said: “All of this would


not have been possiblewithout a very dedicated staff teamand an excellent Executive Team who have gone aboveand beyond their roles this year in making CSU (Chester Students’ Union) have the best, most successful year ever! “In particular I would like to


thank Ben Massey and Olly Howardfor all their hardwork and continued support throughout the academic year 2009/10. It has been the best year of my life and it wouldn’t have been if it wasn’t forall these peoplementioned and the amaz- ing students at this University! Thank you all so verymuch.”


Photo: Liam Cronin


PRESENTER’S PICK: Jimi Watkinson and Stephen Nolan


Countdown to student Photo: Liam Cronin


the day,withWarrington Radio Produc- tion students recording fromthe field and playing some very goodmusic. “Both campuses had parties in the bar in


the evening, after a good day of compet- ition. Chesterwon, so I’mdelighted!” OllyHoward,Vice-President (Warring-


ton), added: “We broughtmore than three coaches-full of people, about 160 altogeth- er, sowewerewell supported on the day. “Stand-out results for uswere themen’s


football 1st and 2nd teams beating the Chester 1st and 2nd teams. “Althoughwe lost 10-6 overall,we gave a


good account of ourselves and showed that we can competewith Chester despite our size.” Laura Pearsons,GeneralManager,


Chester Students’ Union, said: “The day was a great celebration for Chester and Warrington students taking part in a full programme of activities.”


5


survey prize draw A RECORD 61%of final year studentswhowere taught at the University have completed this year’s National Student Survey (NSS) and around 50 of thosewill find out imminently whether they havewon a travel-related prize. Among the thousands of poundsworth of items in the


draw, one lucky individual haswon an exotic holiday for two, so keep checking your University email account! A total of 1,350 people expressed an opinion, 11%


above the target and a 3%improvement on last year’s figure. Nationally,more than 250,000 students responded to the 22 questions, which is the highest return in the survey’s history. Parts of the University were transformed into ‘check-in


desks’, as part of a travel-themed initiative to encourage final year students to complete the survey. BenMassey, CSU Vice-President (Chester) and his


opposite number at theWarrington campus, Olly Howard, devised the airport-style campaign locally. Ben said: “It’s vital that asmany final year students in as


many subject areas as possible complete the survey, so that the University can gain a true picture ofwhere it does well andwhere it could do better. “The results can bring about real change, for example,


previous surveys have led to increased access to library facilities before exams andmore copies of key texts on reading lists beingmade available.” Olly added: “We came upwith the idea of having a bank


of computers where students could complete the survey online, like those in an airport terminal, and the theme ‘took off’ fromthere. Students’ Union representatives wore pilots’ uniforms and refreshmentswere served by ‘Chester Airways’. The NSS definitivelymeasures the quality of the


teaching experience at each UK institution, gathering information directly fromstudents across all subject areas, providing a true picture ofwhat isworkingwell and where improvements are required. The anonymous submissions are nowbeing analysed by


the independentmarket research agency Ipsos-MORI, whose findingswill be released to the University in September. Togetherwith aworking groupwhich includes Chester


Students’ Union, the Learning and Teaching Institute has been co-ordinating the campaign to promote the NSS. Jane Thomas, Academic DevelopmentManager, said:


“Sincere thanks to all final year studentswho helped the NSSmake a difference.”


Boughton, Chester


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