This year we've been celebrating 130 years since our foundation - this milestone has given us an opportunity to look back on our history and think about the exciting future ahead.

It was on the third of June 1893 that UCL's Council approved the formation of the Men's Union Society for ‘the promotion of social intercourse and of the means of recreation, physical and mental, of the students of the University College, and the financial success of students’ clubs’. This was the first version of a Students' Union at UCL and in September 1893 the first students joined the society, starting a 130-year journey to the students' union you know today. Read more about our early years.

In September this year, a new exhibition opened to chart 200 years of student life in London, including the formation and impact of the Union. To mark both the opening of the exhibition (go and check it out in the Octagon Gallery - it's amazing) and our 130th year, we held a party and launched a new book - Students' Union UCL - A Short History.

Students' Union UCL - A Short History

A special message...

The Chair of UCL Council, Victor Chu CBE, gave a video message wishing us a happy 130th birthday...

What's next?

Earlier this year, we launched a ground-breaking new Student Life Strategy with UCL. This will markedly increase extra-curricular activities, encouraging more students to engage with our sports and arts programmes; promote volunteering opportunities and intercultural engagement; as well as support greater engagement with students and their departmental societies.

Key to our future growth is a bigger and better home for the Union, able to meet the needs of students today and in the future. Our main building was known to be inadequate in the mid-1950s but it still acts as the hub of the Union today. Better facilities for students remain the number one priority for our student leaders as we prepare to play an even more central role in the life of UCL in the coming years.