A COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY

With rising student numbers and over 3,000 staff, the University has a significant impact in Loughborough. Through improved dialogue and increased partnerships, campus events, fundraising and voluntary work, we are working to ensure that our presence in the town brings benefits to the local community.

Building Relationships
In a positive step to improve its relationship with the community, the University appointed its first-ever Community Relations Officer, who acts as the focal point for liaison between the University and local community. The appointment is part of the University’s commitment to address the need for constructive dialogue with local people and build good relationships with the Loughborough community. The University’s pioneering community warden scheme, introduced originally to help improve communication between the University and those living in the Storer Road region of Loughborough, was also extended to the Burleigh Road area of the town, following the success of the initial scheme.

The Arts play their part
Just twelve months after opening, the Cope Auditorium is proving to be a popular venue with both the University and local community. Ten Arts Centre events were held there this year, including performances by the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and the Maggini Quartet, and the venue also played host to fourteen community events. Other well-attended performances on campus have this year included: Mozart’s Don Giovanni performed by the London Opera Players, the Actors of Dionysus’ presentation of Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, the Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers, and Flames and Fire – a combination of Kathak, Flamenco and Contemporary dance styles by the Classical Indian Dance Company Treveni.

The Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers. A student performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Consulting on Accommodation Plans
The University’s proposed redevelopment of some of its off-campus student accommodation continued to be debated with the local community. Following a Government planning inspector's decision in June to refuse the University’s proposals for the Harry French hall of residence, the future of the site remains uncertain. Planning permission has been gained however for the redevelopment of the Holt, after thorough consultation with local residents, and a number of further options are now being considered in a University residential accommodation strategy, which aims to meet future student accommodation needs in a planned way. The plan is being drawn up in consultation with the University’s Students’ Union, the local authority and local residents’ groups.

Budding Beckhams Boost their Soccer Skills
Almost 300 promising young footballers from around the region were given the chance to hone their skills at a series of soccer schools during the summer. Providing top-class coaching for girls and boys, the four-day courses enabled them to train with qualified coaches, many of whom were ex-professional players, with competitions, trophies and medals also on offer. The scheme was sponsored by local building society The Loughborough, with matched funding from Sportsmatch – a business sponsorship incentive scheme for grass roots sport that is administered by the Institute of Sports Sponsorship on behalf of the Government
and Sport England.

The University’s sports facilities were this year used by a record number of local sports clubs and schools, among them Shelthorpe Lions and Revive Football Clubs, Rothley Park and Woodhouse Eaves Cricket Clubs, Loughborough Grammar School, Loughborough Leys Badminton Club, Falcons Netball Club, Enshin Loughborough Karate Club, and Holywell Primary and Normanton on Soar schools. In the summer huge crowds descended on Loughborough for a sporting ‘double-bill’, when the University hosted its annual international athletics match and the men’s European volleyball championships qualification tournament, and the Area Youth Games once again drew over 1,000 young sporting stars, representing teams from the county’s nine local authorities. The employment this year of a Community Sport Manager will help to strengthen the University’s community sports links still further.

Rag Record Broken… again!
Cementing their reputation as the country’s leading student fundraising organisation, and perhaps the best in the world, Loughborough Students’ Rag smashed their own record yet again in 2002-03, raising a staggering £299,262. Through well-established events such as the Bonfire Party and Lord Mayor’s Parade and newer events held for the first time this year like It’s a Knockout, Loughborough Students’ Rag have brought the total raised over the last eight years to almost £1.8 million. Local charities and organisations benefiting from this year’s fund include the Charnwood Community Transport Project, St Peter’s Community Centre and Loughborough Youth Affairs.

Students and Staff Make their Contribution
Now boasting over 200 active volunteers, Loughborough Students’ Community Action was able to run more than forty projects for all ages this year both on and off campus. In November the Union’s auditorium was transformed into an old-style cinema for ‘A Flick Down Memory Lane’, with Loughborough’s elderly community treated to a showing of Singing in the Rain while being waited on hand and foot by a team of volunteers. At the ‘Monster Fun Day’ local school children were asked to create the scariest monsters possible from junk, while at ‘Dress to Impress’ 14 to 16 year olds were invited to parade on the catwalk in their stylish outfits created from recyclable materials. Following the success of last year’s Residential Weekend, the event was extended to a full week in 2002, with 17 children descending on Edale in Derbyshire to take part in a variety of outdoor activities, such as pony trekking and a trip to the local caverns.

Opportunities for staff volunteering also continued to develop. The Right to Read project, which enables volunteers to help local school children with poor literacy levels in their reading practice, was run for a second year, and the Burleigh Community College scheme was initiated, enabling volunteers to mentor students over 16 years who lack motivation and time management skills.