Whether you have just joined the Royal Holloway community, or are returning to your studies after the summer break, I would like to welcome you to the start of the academic year 2021/22.
During Welcome Week and throughout the term, there will be lots of opportunities for you to discover everything our campus has to offer. Tomorrow and Tuesday (20 and 21 September), the Students’ Union will be running their Freshers’ Fair, where you’ll be able to find out more about the wide range of sports and societies on offer to you. In addition, our new Volunteering Hub opens tomorrow (20 September) in the Davison Building, and is a great place for you to learn more about volunteering and the different opportunities available.
Throughout your studies, I’d encourage you to discover new interests as well as continue to enjoy existing ones. You can keep up-to-date with what is happening and events that are taking place on the student intranet and through this newsletter which I send every week.
The past 18 months have been different for us all, but I’m hopeful that we can return to some level of normality throughout this academic year. Many of you have been arriving onto campus over the past few days – it’s so lovely to see a busy and vibrant environment again. Although Government restrictions have been lifted, the health and safety of our College community remains a top priority, and so many of the effective measures that we have had in place over the past 18 months will remain, and all students and staff will be expected to play your part to help protect you, and everyone on campus. We will maintain 1m social distancing when our face-to-face teaching is being delivered, as well as strongly encouraging twice weekly lateral flow testing, the wearing of face coverings when moving around indoors and for all students to get fully vaccinated.
We are a close-knit community here at Royal Holloway and I’d like to wish you all success in the goals you set for yourself this academic year. Have a very happy and productive autumn term.
Professor Paul Layzell
Principal