Monthly Archives: May 2024

Mental Health Awareness Week: what’s on and support

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week (13-19 May 2024). Find out what’s on and support:

Event highlights

Look After Your Mate workshops

Kent Union is running “Look After Your Mate” workshops on both Wednesday 15 May and Thursday 16 May. These are in-person workshops to help give you the practical skills and knowledge to support a friend in need whilst protecting your own wellbeing.

The workshops are open to all students whether you are currently supporting a friend, want to be prepared for the future or just have a keen interest in wellbeing. And on completion, you’ll receive a certificate!

The workshop is approximately two hours long. Spaces are limited to 20 students per workshop so register now to avoid disappointment.

Book your place for Look After Your Mate workshop.

Relaxation sessions at The Hub, Medway

If you need a way to de-stress during exams, head to The Hub for one of their relaxation sessions on Monday 13 May and Friday 17 May. On the Monday you can choose between a 15-minute massage or a gel manicure. Friday is another chance to be pampered with a gel manicure.

Quiz Night at Woody’s

For Mental Health Awareness Week, Kent Union is hosting a Quiz Night on Wednesday 15 May 16:00 – 18:00 in Woody’s. This will be a fun-filled evening with fantastic monetary prizes up for grabs.

This event will feature a special round dedicated to men’s mental health, raising awareness for this important issue. Entry is £1 per person with proceeds going to men’s mental health initiative Men’s Shed.

See more Mental Health Awareness Week events.

Mental Health support at Kent

Student Support and Wellbeing offer a range of mental health support including:

Counselling offers a safe confidential space to help you re-balance thoughts, feelings and behaviours about life in general.
Mental health advisers can help you with managing the impact of your mental health on your academic progress and your day-to-day wellbeing.
Specialist wellbeing support– practical help and advice on sexual assault or rape, discrimination, hate incidents or bullying.
Addiction support – manage addiction and restore control, including gaming, gambling and substance use.

Spectrum Life for 24/7 support

Our partner organisation Spectrum Life can offer you online, text and telephone support from qualified counsellors and mental health professionals.

Spectrum Life will work with you in getting initial support and help and can liaise with Student Support and Wellbeing to continue supporting you.

See Student Support and Wellbeing website.

Changes to academic year from September 2025

If you will still be studying at Kent for the academic year 2025-26 (so the year after next), we are making some exciting changes to our term dates to improve flexibility and help you juggle your studies alongside other responsibilities.

The start and end of term dates will be broadly the same but the makeup of the term dates will be different. For undergraduates, instead of having two twelve week terms followed by a six week term, from 2025 we will have three ten week terms. So the number of teaching weeks will be the same, the difference is that they will be balanced throughout the academic year.

What’s changing from September 2025?

We’re introducing a three-term system for undergraduate study and a four-term system for postgraduate study, with simpler module choices and assessment spread throughout the year.

Taught Programme Term Dates 2025-2026

Welcome Week	29 September 2025 – 3 October 2025
Autumn Term	6 October 2025 – 12 December 2025
Spring Term	12 January 2026 – 20 March 2026
Summer Term	13 April 2026 – 19 June 2026
Late Summer Term (Postgraduates only)	6 July 2026 – 11 September 2026

Benefits of these changes

This curricular revision, rolling out from September 2025, is the University’s response to years of student feedback. It offers:

Timetables communicated well before the start of term, so you can balance your studies with work and other commitments 
Teaching spread over three teaching terms, typically with only two modules per term, so you can explore topics in depth
Assessments within each term, not bunched at the end of the year 
Learning about real world connections and career-relevant knowledge and skills  
Meaningful assessments which help you to demonstrate and develop skills and knowledge that you will need in your future career 
Frequent, ongoing feedback to help you learn  
Stronger connections with other students on your course

Want to know more?

We will provide more updates about the changes to the academic year next year, so don’t worry if you don’t feel like you fully understand the changes yet.

See our Education Modernisation webpages and FAQs. If those pages don’t answer your questions you can get in touch by emailing Kent2030Student@kent.ac.uk

New Oasis Lounge at Medway

Over the Spring break work has started to move all University of Kent activity at Medway to the Medway Building for September 2024.

Something that has already moved is the Oasis Lounge. The new and improved Oasis Lounge can now be found on the 1st floor of the Medway Building and is a place you can meet friends, study, heat up lunch and grab a drink.

You will still find Student Support in the Gillingham Building until the end of the 2023/24 academic year if you need student support or careers advice.

Exams are scheduled to take place in the Medway Building this term. However, Journalism exams will take place in the existing newsrooms on the first and second floor of the Gillingham Building. You will find where your exam is taking place in your exams timetable.

Cost of living support during exams

Earlier this year, Kent Union, along with the University and The Food Foundation carried out a Cost of Living Survey across the Canterbury and Medway campuses for a second year. The survey results highlight areas where we need to improve.

During exams especially, you don’t want money worries to negatively affect your studies. Here are some ways you can get support at Kent, so you can fulfil your potential this exam season:

Nutrition

We know that food insecurity is a growing issue on university campuses across the country. Kent Union’s Campus Pantry in Mandela Student Centre offers short-term support to students who find themselves in need of supplemental food. The first time you visit there are no questions asked, you just need to show your student ID and then you can choose some food items.

It’s important to be well fueled for exams. Some affordable food options on campus include the £3 Meal Deals, or you can bring in leftovers and heat them up in a microwave on campus. At Medway, you can also join a free community breakfast at The Hub on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Plus, don’t forget to hydrate. See places where you can refill your water bottle rather than buying a new one.

Free sanitary products

From the Cost of Living Survey results, we know that some students are spending less on sanitary products because they are worried about money. Sanitary products are not a luxury. On exam days, you can ask an exam invigilator who will give you a free sanitary product.

You can also find free sanitary products in the Mandela Student Centre reception at Canterbury and The Hub toilets at Medway campus year-round.

Travelling to exams

Check out travel discounts for getting to campus, including reduced bus tickets for Stagecoach and Arriva buses, as well as the 16-25 rail card (which is also available to full-time students who are 25+) where you save a third on your off-peak train travel. Please note, there is a planned train strike on Tuesday 7 May, so if you have an exam on this day, you should arrange alternative travel.

Is your technology playing up?

If you are having trouble with your laptop, you can borrow one from Templeman or Drill Hall Library for free so you can continue with your revision and other work.

Staying active

Exercise can be a great way to de-stress during exam season. If you are in your first year or live on campus, you have access to free Premium membership in Canterbury, or Premier Medway Park membership at Medway campus.

Even if you are not living on campus, we have different gym membership options for every budget at Kent Sport. There’s a monthly gym membership and the free Pay to Play membership where you just pay when you visit the gym facilities for £5 per session, or take part in an ALL Active sport or fitness class for just £2 per session.

See all gym membership options this summer.

Our cost of living website has more support including specific hardship funding available.

Train Strikes During Exams

Please be aware of planned train strikes if you usually travel to campus by train. Currently industrial strike action is scheduled on Southeastern Trains for the first day of exams, Tuesday 7 May. We recognise the impact this may have on your studies and are here to support you. The Southeastern Trains website has further details and helpful information.

If you have an in-person exam on a train strike day, please make every effort to make alternative travel arrangements as these exams cannot be rescheduled and it is in your best interests to complete your exams as scheduled. Our Campus Travel updates webpage can help you plan an alternative journey.

Bed and Flex in student accommodation on campus is available to book throughout the exam period for any student wanting to take advantage of this you can find booking details here.

Travel disruption in itself is not normally a reason for mitigation (see Credit Framework for details). However, if your circumstances mean that alternative arrangements to attend your in-person exam on Tuesday 7 May are not possible, you can apply for an End Of Year Mitigation through the Extenuating Circumstances portal in Kent Vision. You will need to detail your normal travel arrangements and how you are impacted by train strike action in your request.

For all other exams related matters, please follow the usual exams guidance.