News

Mojo’s, the local pub on campus, is undergoing refurbishment.

The refurbishment is part of an on-going improvement project for commercial areas of the Students’ Union.

The refurbishment is set to be completed on September 27 with it now set to include new furniture, bars and screens to create a versatile lighter and contemporary facility for day time use and vibrant bar in the evening.

Evenings in Mojo’s include Quiz Nights, Karaoke, Live Music Nights, Wednesday flirt!» >

The Justice Secretary has announced that Reading Jail is to close by March next year.

Jails in Dorchester, Blundeston and Northallerton are all set to close too with plans for a new super-prison to be built in Wales.

Reading Jail is best known for its most famous inmate, Oscar Widle, who was sent there in 1895 after being convicted of “homosexual offences” and sentenced to two years hard labour.

Reading’s general public have stressed that they wish for the site to be utilised and Reading East MP Rob Wilson said: “The important thing now is that we have a proper consultation of local people so they can have their say on what is the best use for the future of this landmark site.”

He added: “I would encourage anyone who has ideas to contact me so that we ensure that the Ministry of Justice does the right thing with the land.”» >

The unpaid internship; a hopeless and futile series of hoops through which naive and jewel eyed students are encouraged to jump or a prerequisite for securing a sensible job upon departing from cushy campus life and arriving wide eyed and terrified at the big bad world of the workplace. New research suggests the latter is truer than ever before.

‘High Fliers Research’, a leading independent market research company in the field of graduate recruitment, has provided statistical insight into the elusive and often fruitless world of work experience.» >

The University of Reading has announced a new teaching and learning strategy, ready for introduction in 2013 that will then run through until 2018. The aim is to provide a supportive educational environment, a collegial community of learning and a system which intellectually challenges those involved.

The University aims to increase its student’s opportunity to engage in a wealth of extra-curricular experiences, to attract potential students from a range of cultural backgrounds and to ensure that this new teaching and learning strategy is specifically catered to the needs of students, to give them the best possible learning experience at University.» >

Reading University Students’ Union has been named the Student Union Venue of the Year.

The very first Ents Forum saw RUSU accredited with the award ‘Best Student Union Venue (Over 1000 capacity)’ and other categories included Best One-Off Event, Best Regular Club Night and Students’ Union Manager of the Year.

The Ents Forum was created to bring Student Union staff together in one place to share opinions and discuss all aspects of working within Student Unions.» >

An impressive performance by four University of Reading students this summer saw them defeat St Johns College from Cambridge University and sail through to the second round of BBC Two’s University Challenge.

On the 22^nd July 2013 the team consisting of post-graduates, Peter Burgess and Luke Tudge and undergraduates, Michael Dunleavy and Christopher White found themselves face to face with the illustrious presenter Jeremy Paxman in the hope of progressing through to the final fourteen teams.» >

You may not believe it at the moment but the library is an important part of university life. Whether you simply use it occasionally to borrow books, or pull all-nighters during the run up to exams, everyone will pass through those revolving doors at some point or other. We spoke to Rachel Redrup, Marketing Co-ordinator and the Liaison Librarian for Education, and asked her a few of the questions that, as Freshers, you may well be thinking.» >

It is a week after A Level results and you have probably started thinking about what to bring to university. Well don’t panic because the lovely student officers in RUSU have put together a brilliant guide for you here – rusu.co.uk/freshers/what_to_bring/

But here at Spark* we thought we could add to it a bit! There are always those random things you never think of until you arrive, so here is our guide: “What they don’t tell you to bring”

Toilet roll

Bring loads.» >