The annual UCS Freshers Fair was back with a bang this year - and it was our busiest yet! Around 350 students from Taunton, Bridgwater, and Cannington campuses came together to kickstart the new academic year with an incredible day of fun, freebies, and community spirit.
This year’s fair was packed with excitement, featuring more stalls, giveaways, and entertainment than ever before. A huge highlight came from Labyrinth Nightclub, who set up a DJ set and kept the energy high while handing out free mocktails, glow sticks, headbands, and funky glasses. Students also tucked into plenty of treats with free pizza, popcorn, ice cream, and pasties available throughout the day.
Over 20 local organisations and community groups joined us to support and welcome our new cohort. Among this year’s supporters were All Stars Bowling (handing out vouchers and discounts), SWISH Services, National Trust, SARSAS, Somerset County Cricket Club, Samaritans, Hinkley Point C, Somerset Road Safety, Somerset Wyverns AFC, Taunton Brewhouse, Sweda, Love Musgrove, and SJB Foods. Their contributions, alongside many others, gave students a brilliant opportunity to find out about services, societies, career support, wellbeing, and local discounts.
The UCS teams also got involved in making the day special. The LRC brought along their creative Book Emoji Quiz - where students had to guess book titles written entirely in emojis (☀️👁️↪️👩🏼 anyone?). The HE team sold UCS hoodies, Team UCS College Group promoted our sports clubs, and the Student Engagement Team handed out even more freebies. Students also had the chance to win a cuddly UCS dragon mascot by correctly guessing the names - a prize that proved very popular! These were won by Kirsty Cockerill, Nursing Associate, for guessing Pryothax, and Jack Boddy, Nuclear, for guessing Mumpkin.
The atmosphere was fantastic, with students from making the trip to Taunton to celebrate together. With the music pumping, food flowing, and so many opportunities to connect, this really was the best Freshers Fair yet.
A huge thank you to all the organisations, businesses, and teams who supported the event - and of course to the students who came along and made it such a success. Roll on Freshers Fair 2026!