Support for Local Non-resident Students
Four Deputy Community Liaison Officers have been appointed to visit new student households and help you sort out any settling in problems. They are all local members of College staff and will be pleased to help you out.
Latest messages from your DCLOs
Winter Weather Update - 11/01/10
The College is working hard to ensure there is minimum disruption to campus and local life during the current adverse weather conditions and are sending regular updates on the weather and its impact. The College updates can be found online at:
www.rhul.ac.uk/about/severe-weather.html
Additionally advice and precautions for students living locally or in Halls to dealing and coping with adverse weather and freezing conditions can be found at:
www.rhul.ac.uk/for-students/weather.html
Keep Your Heating on to Avoid Burst Pipes - 11/01/10
If you are renting a house in the private sector off campus, you MUST ensure that your heating is left switched ON all through this current period of cold weather, even if your property is empty at any time. If your heating isn't on or isn't heating the house properly, the water pipes may freeze and burst, leading to flooding.
- If your heating isn't working properly, write to your landlord immediately and ask him to fix it.
- If you don't already have possessions insurance please get some, as your landlord's insurance is not likely to cover your belongings.
If you have any concerns or questions, please contact Tina Rainer in the Students' Union Advice & Support Centre at tina@su.rhul.ac.uk or on 01784 486300 .
Mulled Wine & Mince Pies - Thursday December 10th
Gowar Common Room (H Block) next Thursday (10th) at 7.00pm
This is a free event hosted by the Residential Support Team, but you will need to collect a ticket from Founder’s West 170 so we can make sure enough mince pies are on order!
Community Action Initiative - 03/12/09
A Christmas Parcels project is running this year in conjunction with Age Concern Runnymede and East to West youth charity to support vulnerable old and young people in the local community this Christmas. There are collection points located over campus until Monday December 7th for you to donate gifts; the collection bins are wrapped in Christmas paper to make them obvious!
On Wednesday 9th December the Students' Union transforms into Santa's Workshop for wrapping and packing parcels to be delivered to the vulnerable old and young alike in the local community. » More information
Preventing Burglaries - 08/10/09
According to Home Office figures young people (aged 16 to 24 year old) are around three times more likely to be victims of burglary than people in other age groups.
A few simple steps you and your housemates can take to reduce the chances of being a victim of a break-in:
- A third of all burglaries happen because a door or window has been left open. Make sure everyone in the flat/house knows when the property is going to be empty and ensure that the house is well secured during this period.
- Ask your landlord to fit deadlocks to all outside doors, and to put key-operated locks on all downstairs or accessible windows.
- Lock up goods in your garden – including ladders, tools and bikes – not only are these are at risk from being stolen, but burglars can also use them to break in.
- If you have to leave TVs and other valuables in the house, try to make sure they can’t be seen from your window.
- Use a timer switch to turn lights and radios on when you are away, to give the impression that your house is occupied (as little as £2 each).
- Marking your property helps to deter burglars and can help the police to catch them. Mark your property with RHUL and your student ID number for example.
» Home Office student safety advice
A-Z Guide to Healthy Living – 18/09/09
The Community Liaison and Non-Resident Support office have produced an A-Z Guide to Healthy Living to give you some advice on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle whilst studying here at Royal Holloway. A wide variety of health and lifestyle issues are covered and the booklet provides contact details of both College internal services and external charities / organisations that can help you with these health and lifestyle matters.
» Download our healthy living guide (PDF)
Start of Session – September 2009
We look forward to welcoming all our new students in September 2009 for the new academic year. The Start of Session weekend for new incoming students will be held over September 19th and 20th 2009.
There will be an induction specifically for new 1st year students who will be living off campus (non-resident) on Saturday September 19th at 6.30pm in the Windsor Auditorium (right) followed by a meal in Founder’s Dining Hall at 7.15pm. › Induction talk slides | Campus plan
We do need to know numbers in advance so we can get the catering right, so please email community@rhul.ac.uk with the following details if you are planning to attend:
- Subject Field: Non Resident Induction Acceptance
- Your name
- Student number (9 digits beginning with 100)
- Term time address from September
- Address for the ticket to be posted to
You should only attend this event if you will be a new non-resident undergraduate student. If you have accepted a place in a Hall of Residence, you will be invited to a similar event in your allocated hall.
Details of other weekend welcome events will be available at Weekend Identity Check in the Windsor Building. We plan to hold a social event for new non-resident students during Freshers' Week. Watch this space for more details.
Message for Incoming Non-res Students
Our Community Liaison and Non-resident Support Team will be pleased to help you throughout your time living in the local community of Egham and Englefield Green as a student. Their contact details can be found here.
Please do not hesitate to contact us at dclo@rhul.ac.uk if you have any questions or queries.
We would also ask that you read our ‘Be a Good Neighbour’ policy and our ‘A-Z Guide to Living in the Private Sector’ as you move into the local community, so that you know and understand our community liaison policy.
Keeping Up-to-date
To keep up with what is happening within Support and Advisory Services at Royal Holloway join our Facebook group ‘Support & Advisory Services at Royal Holloway’ or follow us at Twitter: RHULSuppAdv.
Search for Accommodation at Netlet RHUL - 09/06/09
The Student Housing Bureau advertises available flats, houses and lodgings through the official RHUL private sector accommodation site Netlet RHUL. Students can:
- Search for properties within a particular area
- Use message boards to form a group or look for a housemate
- See how many properties are available and what the average rent is locally
- Access information and advice on a wide range of housing-related topics.
Incidents in Englefield Green - 09/03/09
If you have any concerns please contact Support and Advisory Services at their new email address SupportandAdvisory@rhul.ac.uk
Preventing Burglaries - 06/01/09
According to Home Office figures young people (aged 16 to 24 year old) are around three times more likely to be victims of burglary than people in other age groups.
A few simple steps you and your housemates can take to reduce the chances of being a victim of a break-in:
- A third of all burglaries happen because a door or window has been left open. Make sure everyone in the flat/house knows when the property is going to be empty and ensure that the house is well secured during this period.
- Ask your landlord to fit deadlocks to all outside doors, and to put key operated locks on all downstairs or accessible windows.
- Lock up goods in your garden – including ladders, tools and bikes – not only are these are at risk from being stolen, but burglars can also use them to break in.
- If you have to leave TVs and other valuables in the house, try to make sure they can’t be seen from your window.
- Use a timer switch to turn lights and radios on when you are away, to give the impression that your house is occupied (as little as £2 each).
- Marking your property helps to deter burglars and can help the police to catch them. Mark your property with RHUL and your student ID number for example.
» Home Office student safety advice
Free Legal Advice - 16/10/08
Royal Holloway Support & Advisory Services and the Students’ Union Advice Centre have begun a joint venture to provide Royal Holloway students with access to a local solicitor on campus free of charge*.
The next available dates are to be advised for 2009/10.
To book an appointment please email Tina Rainer (Welfare Adviser) at tina@su.rhul.ac.uk and include a brief description of the legal advice required.
* The 20 minute session on campus is free. If you require any further appointments at the solicitor’s office, you may be charged and will be advised on this.
No Hot Water & Cycle Parking - 06/10/08
A couple of student households in the area have recently moved into properties with no hot water. If you find yourself in this situation, email us and we can advise you about how you can access hot showers while you're waiting for the issue to be fixed.
Another recent query was about where you are allowed to lock up your bike. The official line is there are 600 spaces in cycle sheds across campus so there is not usually any need for students to chain them up elsewhere.
Support & Advisory Services on Facebook - 04/09/08
In the last two weeks Royal Holloway's Student Welfare Support team have set up a group on Facebook.
It outlines the various support services available to students, and provides contact email addresses. » RHUL Facebook group
A to Z Accommodation in the Private Sector - 28/08/08
Student Support have produced this handy A to Z of issues you might encounter living in private rented accommodation here: A to Z Accommodation Guide 
Topics covered vary from the standard of accommodation you should expect, to choosing your housemates.
Moving On - 17/04/08
Chances are, if you're not looking for a job to pay off that student debt, you still might be looking for somewhere else to live shortly.
The NUS has some excellent practical advice on getting your deposit back, safety and security as well as choosing landlords and letting agents, which can be found here.
Useful housing information offered by Student Administration and the Student's Union can also be found here:
Calling the Fire Service - 12/03/08
We would like to advise you of the procedure to be followed in the event of discovering a fire in a College building.
If you discover a fire you must:
- Operate the nearest fire alarm call point.
- Dial 444 (or 01784 443888 from an external line or mobile) to notify Security, who will call the Fire Brigade.
- Leave the building by the nearest exit.
- Report to your designated assembly point.
You should also remember that on hearing the fire alarm you must:
- Leave the building by the nearest route.
- Close doors behind you.
- Report to your designated assembly point.
- Do not return to the building until authorised to do so.
- Do not use lifts.
Where necessary, the existing Fire Action Notices, which are found next to the red fire alarm call points, will be replaced as soon as practicable to reflect the above, which is effective immediately and is the only accepted procedure.
Drink Aware Facts & Tips - 11/01/2008
Many of us enjoyed a drink or two over the festive period and have now made New Year resolutions to look after our health and well-being. This site will give you more information about how to do both sensibly and safely: www.drinkaware.co.uk
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - 12/12/07
We hope you enjoy the Christmas break, whatever your religious affiliation and however you choose celebrate it (or not!).
Time Out has a useful guide to how public services will be affected over the Christmas holidays: London Christmas survival directory.
We've produced a leaflet with a few reminders for the festive season regarding security, how to avoid allowing your water pipes freeze solid and not annoying the neighbours, which can be downloaded as a PDF here.
The College will be closed the week beginning 24th December, and will not reopen until Wednesday 2nd January 2008. Your Deputy Community Liaison Officers will remain on call over the holidays (see Contact us) however please bear in mind that we have families and social lives too!
Rubbish Outside Student Properties - 30/11/07
Runnymede Borough Council have advised the College that there have, in the past, been issues at the end of each academic year, and to some extent at the end of each term, with students leaving large amounts of waste at the front of their properties causing a great eyesore and degrading the environment. The Direct Services Organisation go to great expense to clear all this additional waste and it is felt that if the students were perhaps made more aware at these key times of year of the facilities, services and procedures of Runnymede Borough Council, this would lessen the problem.
Some of the most important aspects being:
- The Council operates a ‘no side waste’ and ‘closed lid’ policy, in attempt to encourage residents to minimise the volume of waste they produce. Refuse Collectors are instructed not to empty bins that do not have closed lids, nor take away any waste not contained within the bin.
- The collection day for Englefield Green and Egham varies. Refuse should be made available from 6am on the morning of collection. Details of collection days can be found at www.runnymede.gov.uk
- The Council operate a ‘kerbside collection recycling service’ that all residents are encouraged to get involved in, for more information please call the Recycling Hotline on freephone 0800 052 0067.
- Residents are required to move their wheeled bin to the boundary of their property for collection, once emptied the bin is returned to the curtilage of your land i.e. gateway.
- There are some materials we have to prohibit from being put in the wheeled bin for safety reasons or because they damage the vehicles. These include liquids, such as waste oil and paint, brick rubble and metal bars. These can be taken to an amenity site; the nearest one being located at Lyne Lane, Lyne.
- The Council can arrange to collect unwanted furniture, for bulky household items there is a fee of £30.00 for up to three items, for a fridge or a freezer there is a fee of £30.00 each. Please contact Runnymede Depot on 01932 425750 or 01932 425776 for more details.
- Those who dump large amounts of household waste run the risk of being prosecuted for the serious crime of fly-tipping which carries heavy fines.
- green waste (grass cuttings etc.) should not be put in domestic waste bins. There is a separate green waste collection at £15 per year for 1 bag, £30 per year for 2 bags and £35 per year for 3 bags. These are collected fortnightly. This waste is sent for composting. Signing up details are on the Council’s website www.runnymede.gov.uk
Home Security at Christmas - 21/11/07
Leaving your house empty for a month? Christmas break-ins are a particular problem in areas with large student populations. A few simple steps you and your housemates can take to reduce the chances of being a victim of a break-in:
- A third of all burglaries happen because a door or window has been left open. Make sure everyone in the flat/house knows when the property is going to be empty and ensure that the house is well secured during this period.
- Ask your landlord to fit deadlocks to all outside doors, and to put key operated locks on all downstairs or accessible windows.
- Lock up goods in your garden – including ladders, tools and bikes – not only are these are at risk from being stolen, but burglars can also use them to break in.
- If you have to leave TVs and other valuables in the house, try to make sure they can’t be seen from your window.
- Use a timer switch to turn lights and radios on when you are away, to give the impression that your house is occupied (as little as £2 each).
- Marking your property helps to deter burglars and can help the police to catch them. Mark your property with RHUL and your student ID number for example.
Home Office student safety advice
Neighbourhood Police Teams: Egham | Englefield Green
Personal Safety Advice - 16/11/07
While this area has a very low record of reported crime, we would stress that students should exercise caution wherever they are, and in particular do not use the short-cut through the cemetery after dark.
Personal safety advice
Bonfire Night & Student Houses From Hell - 26/10/07
Bonfire Night aka Guy Fawkes Night is on November 5th: there are numerous firework displays on locally (such as in Legoland, Windsor) or in London. If you are planning to let off your own fireworks or have a bonfire party, please read this helpful bonfire night leaflet we will shortly be distributing to student households.
On a lighter note, we have recently been reminded that housework is a chore not every member of the student household actively participates in. Feel the pain then of these students whose unhygienic living conditions, caused by poor housing, has resulted in some of them developing nasty-looking skin reactions:
Fear not though, since the video aired on Five News their landlord has released them from their contract, and now they live somewhere ten times better.
TV Licences - 01/10/07
Just a quick reminder that students are not exempt from having to get a TV Licence and that you're not covered by your Parents' licence. Details on who is liable, including how to apply for a refund if you are only here for 9 months, can be found at: http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/information/students.jsp
Welcome - 27/09/07
The College welcomes all new first year students living locally - and of course welcomes back all returning students living in the area.