Your Sabbatical Officer team have been working hard to represent you and fulfil their manifestos all year long. As they come to the end of their year in office, and as we prepare to welcome in the 26-27 Sabbatical Officer team, we wanted to reflect on just some of the successes of your outgoing team! 

Your Sabbatical Officer team was overseen this year by your Union President, Matt. Matt’s spent the year leading the delivery of the 25-26 Union Priorities, focusing on topics like a high-quality campus experience and a student-led sense of belonging and wellbeing. This has led to changes like Hillside Food Court opening for breakfast and dinner, and expanding our Surrey Belonging programme with even more free and low-cost events.  

Matt’s also continued to maintain regular contact with the local MP, Zöe Franklin, raising the topic of cost of living for students and the inequality in maintenance loans for Surrey students compared to those in London. Matt’s own manifesto successes include introducing the reusable Cauli Cup scheme across campus, improving sustainability, and contributing to the discussion to re-open the Library 24/7 during the semester.

Your VP Support for the past two years has been Sam, and she’s made wellbeing and student safety her priority. Under Sam’s leadership, the Support Zone has supported over 2700 students with academic or housing advice, and has also worked to prepare a new PGR Support Hub for the new academic year.

Sam’s own manifesto progress has led to the development of wellbeing spaces on campus, including sensory rooms, and the return of the “Light up the Night” event, speaking up for survivors of sexual violence. Sam’s also worked hard to represent students at a wider level, working closely with the University on the University Mental Health Charter.

In her role of VP Voice since 2024, Luana has championed the student voice across the University. Luana’s overseen big changes to the Voice Zone, which has included bringing Course Rep elections and Surrey Decides onto our new elections platform, both of which saw strong increases in engagement this year, with 3524 students casting a vote in Surrey Decides. The Surrey Teaching and Academic Greatness Awards also launched this year, with 120 nominations being submitted by students to celebrate great staff.

Luana’s completed her full manifesto this year – advocating for students by submitting Student Voice Reports with recommendations for change to the University, and by re-imagining Student Voice Forum agendas to be more student-led. She’s also overseen the introduction of an annual schedule of awareness campaigns delivered through our Student Equality Networks, to help celebrate student diversity and lived experience.

Your VP Activity this year, Kade, has helped to embed inclusivity and personal development even further in the Activity Zone. This year has seen the launch of Destination Success, our programme of free personal and professional development workshops, and the return of international trips to Paris and Finland. Over 15,000 memberships were purchased this year to Clubs and Societies, showing how vital these groups are to Surrey life.

Kade’s launched the Black Sport Collective (BSC), in line with her manifesto goal to promote diversity and inclusivity across the Activity Zone. The BSC was set up to improve engagement and employability opportunities for Black students through sport and community-building activities. The BSC ran several events and activities, including tournaments and a launch event which included useful insight from alumni speakers.

Your VP Community for 25-26, Amber, will also be continuing on for a second year in 26-27! The Community Zone has brought endless new events for students to enjoy, including new daily events at Manor Park Social, and the “Belonging Breakfast” to help students start their day right for free. Rubix has gone from strength to strength, with a sold-out celebration following Varsity, and even more Club & Society nights during the year.

Amber’s manifesto has prioritised student safety and cost of living this year, which has led to the increase of food deals at Manor Park Social, and pushing to extend the opening hours of Hillside Food Court. On student safety, Amber has worked with the University to introduce a Campus Path safe route, with increased lighting and CCTV coverage.

We’re thankful to all the hard work of the 25-26 Sabbatical Officer team, who have worked hard with Union and University staff to make Surrey life safer, more vibrant, and more welcoming for all students. We can’t wait to see what they go on to achieve, but for now, it’s thank you and goodbye to Matt, Sam, Luana, and Kade.

We’re looking forward to seeing what the new 26-27 Sabbatical Officer team achieve next year, including Amber as your returning VP Community – watch this space to learn more about the new team!