Shape St Mary's: Your Healthy Life

More personal support

You have access 24/7 to free online resources as well as 1:1 counselling via Together All. There are more staff counsellors and advisers on campus, new trained student sport welfare officers and the mental health advocacy on campus twice a week for you to talk to. The Student Union’s Mental Health Monday events showcase charities and organisations who offer support, and the new Student Engagement Dashboard means your tutor can better support you.

Student Reconnect Week

We were committed to welcoming you back to campus as soon as we could in line with government restrictions, so we hosted Student Reconnect Week as a festival of learning with daily social activities to give you opportunities to catch up with old friends and make new ones.

Better chairs

You have new, more comfy chairs in many classrooms to improve your physical and mental wellbeing.

Student Engagement Fund

You can access funding of up to £150 to help you access course related and extracurricular activities to ensure cost isn’t a prohibitive factor for students engaging with enriching activities while they study.

Extra support during lockdowns 

You were able to continue to your 1:1 contact time with your lecturers online throughout lockdown as well as to make friends and have fun by taking part in the Simmies at Home programme of activities, ran collaboratively between your Students’ Union, Student Services and Sport St Mary’s.

A better night’s sleep

So far 200 students are enjoying new top-quality mattresses in campus residences and the 90 bedrooms in Old House have been upgraded.

More recognition for those playing sport

Those participating in sport are now rewarded with a new accreditation which also helps our British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) ranking.

Wider choice of food

You have a wider range of hot and cold meals and snacks available in the Refectory and Dolce Vita, including a diverse range of plant-based options.

Sport for all

You can now get active via the No Ordinary Sport programme, for like-minded beginners wanting to try sport for the first time or try a new sport, and take part in the SIMMSActive recreational programme. You can get fit and chat at the same time by joining the new running group – Run Talk Run. 20 new wheelchairs are now available to make sport more accessible and BAME students have more opportunities to get coaching qualifications.

Improved lighting on training pitches

You can play sport outside of daylight hours thanks to the new and improved LED lights.