His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset visits Bath Spa University

Bath Spa University was pleased to welcome Mr Mohammed Saddiq, His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset, on 19 October, where he met key staff, toured Locksbrook and Newton Park campuses and participated in a question and answer session with students. 

The Lord Lieutenant is the King’s representative in the county, and promotes and encourages voluntary and charitable organisations, businesses, urban, rural and social life within Somerset.

The visit was coordinated by Bath Spa Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost Professor Georgina Andrews and the Bath Spa Students’ Union to show the Lord Lieutenant and his deputies the University’s campuses, discuss the work Bath Spa is doing around business development, social enterprise and inclusion and to share what the University, the Students’ Union and Bath Spa students do within the local community.

Talking about the visit, Georgina said:

“Volunteering and raising money for Charities such as Mind,Off the Record and Meningitis Now, and paid employment opportunities working with the BSU Student Union as sabbatical officers, interns and student ambassadors helps Bath Spa University students to build their confidence and experience. We are proud of the contribution Bath Spa University makes to our community, which is recognised by our gold Social Enterprise accreditation. We look forward to working more closely with the Lieutenancy in future to maximise our collective impact and reach.”

Jas Raymond-Barker, Bath Spa Students’ Union President, said: 

“The SU arranged for students to meet with the Lord Lieutenant and his deputies over hot drinks, as an opportunity to show the hard work and dedication of our students to their community. Many already do so much without knowing it; running clubs and societies and representing their courses via the SU is voluntary work! It helps to enrich the city as well as our University and Union.” 

During the question and answer session, Students’ Union Sabbatical Officers and students talked about how cost of living is affecting young peoples’ schedules.  

Reflecting further on the discussion, Jas said: 

“Students are often in employment for 20-plus hours a week alongside their education in order to afford essentials like food, rent and travel, meaning they cannot afford to volunteer any time to clubs or academic representation. The Lord Lieutenant and his deputies were keen to recognise the work that students put in to give back to the local community despite the cost. We hope to speak with Mr Mohammed Saddiq, DL. and his deputies more on this in the future. It was a fleeting visit but truly a pleasure.”