College Life at Digby Stuart College
At Digby Stuart, we believe in the power of community and celebrating the triumphs, challenges, and everyday moments of university life. Our college programme aims to centre our students and community at every turn, empowering them to forge friendships and pursue passions and skills that they can carry with them during and beyond their time with us at Roehampton.
We offer everything from large-scale events to small informal gatherings, leadership & training opportunities, and versatile community spaces for the use of our students and staff. Our aim is ensure that all our members feel able and empowered to take part and make things happen in whatever way they feel most comfortable.
College Spaces
As well as our residential blocks of Elm Grove, Bede House, Shaw House & Newman House, we have several common spaces in College open to our entire community to use to relax, recharge, and socialise:
Digby Diner
The Diner is our central social space in college and is a great spot to grab some food, spend time with friends, or just hang out.
Digby Diner is open from 9am-8pm every day during termtime, with hot food available to buy from onsite caterers Elior from 12pm-2pm and 5pm-7pm on weekdays.
The Diner is also available to be booked in the evenings for student-led or faculty events – please contact Sorrel (College Engagement & Activities Officer) for more information and a booking request form.
The Base
The Base is our chaplaincy social space and kitchen and is available for use by our entire College community. The Base is located on the ground floor of Erasmus House (near the College offices) and is open every day as a place to chill out and relax. We have books, games, and puzzles for you to enjoy with a hot drink – tea and coffee making facilities are provided! - and it is a lovely space to wind down and socialise with friends.
The Base is also used for our weekly College Drop-In sessions, where students are welcome to stop by for a cup of tea and chat with the College team. These take place every Monday from 1pm-3pm.
The Base is available to be booked out for afternoon and evening social groups upon request – please contact the College chaplaincy team for more details.
Events, Activities & Social Life
Meeting new people is an integral part of the university experience, and at Digby Stuart College we want to empower our students to make friendships and networks that will last a lifetime. We have a regular and varied programme of social events and activities to enable all our College community members to find their people and be accepted and welcomed as they are.
College Formals are a highlight of our social calendar, with three scheduled throughout the academic year – Mater Admirabilis Formal (October), Christmas Formal (December), and Celebration Formal (May). Students and staff alike are invited to dress up and join us for a delicious three-course meal and post-formal social, in celebration of the friendships and ongoing achievements of our Digby Stuart community. Sign up for Formal tickets will be opening during Welcome Week, so keep an eye out for details on how to book yours!
For those that prefer smaller, more relaxed social gatherings, College Informals – part of our Digby Hospitality Network – are a great opportunity to meet new people and form friendships over food! Informals are fortnightly, free, family-style meals for up to 12 students and members of staff, and each meal is prepared and shared by members of our College community. If you’d be interested in attending one of our College Informals or volunteering to help prepare and share a meal, you can sign up here.
We also have a programme of student-led activities and events put on by our College President and College Deputy President as part of their roles as your Elected College Officers. You can find out more about this year’s Elected College Officers and their plans for the year via the drop-down menu.
Societies are another vital part of student life, and the RSU has loads of groups for our college community to get involved with:
If sport is your thing, the mighty Digby Lions football team are always hungry for new players, and in recent years we have seen several of our Digby Stuart students stepping up to leadership roles within University-level sports teams including rugby, netball, volleyball, and dance.
We also have many students involved in music, theatre, photography, and other creative projects across the university, and we even helped to kickstart the brand-new Roehampton Lego Society in 2023, founded entirely by Digby Stuart students! Whatever your passion, we want to celebrate it with you and help you to take part in whatever way you wish, both in college and across campus as a whole.
Finally, if you’ve got an idea for community activity, event, or society that you feel would be a great thing for the college community, you can make a pitch to the Digby Community Fund! We have pots of funding available throughout the year for projects and initiatives set up by our students for our students, and we want to empower you to make your ideas happen. Stay tuned for more information about the pitching process later on in Term 1.
Leadership & Volunteering Opportunities
Flat Leaders
Moving away from home and starting at university can be scary, so to ease the transition Digby Stuart College has a team of Flat Leaders spread throughout our residential blocks to assist our residential students and build a community within their accommodation.
Digby Stuart Flat Leaders are second and third year students who have elected to live on campus and have been chosen by the College to act as representatives of our residential community. Our Flat Leaders are fully trained and are a friendly, visible presence for residential students to turn to for assistance with day-to-day issues. Flat Leaders can also direct students to key services across the university, and report any problems or concerns raised by students back to the College staff team.
Our Flat Leaders help our new students in a number of different ways as they adjust to life at Roehampton, including:
- Navigating around campus
- Information about College life, events, and activities
- Information about accessing Student Support Servicesg. Wellbeing
- Key contacts at the University e.g. College Team, Security, etc.
- Tips, tricks, and useful information for living on campus
Interested in becoming a Digby Stuart Flat Leader in your second or third year? Recruitment for next year’s team will open in December. For more information about the Flat Leader programme, please email Sorrel Brown (College Engagement & Activities Officer).
Digby Hospitality Network – Volunteering Opportunities
The Digby Hospitality Network is a flagship College programme bringing people together to eat, meet, and take part. The Hospitality Network is open to any and all Digby Stuart students interested in using food as a tool for building community, with opportunities to volunteer your time to make a difference and build your skills along the way.
One of the ways you can volunteer with the Hospitality Network is through our College Informals – a series of fortnightly, free, family-style meals that are prepared and shared by volunteers from within our College community. Each Informal is for up to 12 students and staff guests, and volunteer cooks are of course invited to share in the meal as well! Informals are an incredible way to meet new people and form friendships over food, and you don’t have to plan anything in advance or have any cooking experience – just come along and have a go! If you’d be interested in volunteering at or attending our College Informals, you can sign up here.
The Hospitality Network also has a partnership with UK charity Rackets Cubed, who use nutrition programmes, racket sports and integrated STEM education to improve the lives of children from underserved areas. Rackets Cubed have a variety of volunteer-led programmes available within the local Roehampton community, which are open to students from Digby Stuart College and across the university to volunteer with. For more information or to register your interest, please contact Julia Tomas (Chaplaincy Community Worker).
Our Elected College Officers
Each year, College Officers are elected by the student body to represent them within College and the Students’ Union. The College Officers are students themselves, and are here to listen to the student body, build community, highlight issues to the University staff, and lift up student voices throughout the entire academic year.
Please see below a message from this year’s elected officers for Digby Stuart College:
Riley Burchell – Digby Stuart College President 2023-24
Sam Gonzalez – Digby Stuart College Deputy President 2023-24
College Drop In Sessions
College Drop-In sessions take place during term-time on Mondays from 1pm-3pm in The Base, and are a great way for new and current students to meet with the college team and raise any questions or issues they might be experiencing.
Whether you have a question about life in Digby Stuart, you’ve got a college-related issue and you’re not sure who to speak to about it, or you just fancy a cup of tea and a chat with a friendly face, you are welcome to pop down and say hello!