A history of Freshers’ Week at Newcastle University
Next week, a new wave of students will arrive on campus from all around the world ready to start their time at Newcastle University. Even before they’ve stepped foot in a lecture theatre, lifelong experiences and connections can be made during Freshers’ Week. And with this year being 60 years since the first Freshers arrived at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, we thought it apt to delve deeper into the history of this student tradition.
7 September 2023
Next week, a new wave of students will arrive on campus from all around the world ready to start their time at Newcastle University.
Even before they’ve stepped foot in a lecture theatre, lifelong experiences and connections can be made during Freshers’ Week. And with this year being 60 years since the first Freshers arrived at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, we thought it apt to delve deeper into the history of this student tradition.
Freshers' Week, previously known as First Year Conference, is a welcome period for new arrivals to Newcastle University to introduce them to the campus, the city and each other! Taking place in September each year, Freshers Week at Newcastle has, in the past, included: performances from big names like The Kinks, Fatman Scoop and Dannii Minogue; trips to Wet ‘n’ Wild, Bamburgh Castle and even the heady heights of Fenham Bowling Club; and of course, a taste of Newcastle’s famous nightlife.
In this blog, we look back at Freshers' Week from the 1960s to the present day. Use the links below to skip to the decade of your study or read on to discover how Freshers was for your fellow alumni from different generations!
Freshers Conference in the 1960s
Our journey through the history of Freshers begins in 1963 when King’s College (formerly part of the University of Durham) officially became the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
To mark this new period in our history, student newspaper The Courier launched with an emphatic welcome to its first cohort of new students.
“Welcome to Newcastle, intellectual mecca of the frozen North-East. You are the new intelligentsia, the revitalising life blood transfusion of this rotting morass which every day slips further into the coaly Tyne. We need you. Please stay.”
A warm welcome indeed…
But stay they did. In 1963, students joined the newly-formed Newcastle University and had their first taste of student life (quite literally) with a meal in the recently opened New Refectory. Following a matriculation ceremony in King’s Hall, 1963 Freshers were entertained by a performance of Harold Pinter’s ‘The Dumb Waiter’ by the Dramatic Society, invited to Freshers Teas by various student societies and, in what became an annual tradition, joined a Freshers Debate in the debating chamber. Motions discussed through the 60s included ‘this House regards University as a Paid Holiday’ and ‘this House believes that long hair is the sign of the immature man’. And later in the decade, excursions like a boat trip on the River Tyne were added to the itinerary.
Dances and nights out were also a big part of a Freshers’ social calendar in the 1960s, with ‘hops’, ‘balls’ and ‘raves’ being held in the Union, often with a big-name performer featuring. For example, in 1964, The Black Cat Bones and the Mal Armstrong Five took the stage. The Hootenanny also gave new arrivals to the region a taste of folk culture in the North East. And off campus, students had countless options, from The Tatler just a stone’s throw away from campus to Club Agogo – home of The Animals!
A rite of passage for most Freshers is living away from home and in Halls. The Freshers of the 1960s were housed in accommodations around the city, with some as far away as Whitley Bay. And in 1965, Newcastle’s first mixed-gender Halls of Residence opened: Rutherford College on Lovaine Crescent.
Freshers Conference in the 1970s
The Freshers Conference offer continued to grow in the 1970s, with more student societies being created and competing for the attention of first-year students. Societies were wide-ranging in their interest area, from the charitable ‘Third World First’, sporting ‘Canoeing Club’ and ‘Aikodo Club’ to the slightly concerning ‘The Pistol Club’!
Speaking of clubs, evening entertainment for the 1970s Fresher included folk evenings, being wowed by The Kinks (which was rumoured to be delayed as ‘the group refused to appear until a crate of beer was provided’), closing parties at Close House, drinks in a renovated Men’s Bar which now boasted 18 beer pumps, DJ sets by John Peel, and a slightly soggy visit to The Mayfair to see Climax Blues Bands perform – heavy rain on the day of the concert led to the dancefloor being submerged with several inches of water.
“In September 1975, I was 19 and very excited to be packing to start studying Medicine at Newcastle. In memory, it was a golden September, full of promise. Now I am reaching the end of my career and I wish I was one of the "Freshers" once again.”
2,100 new students arrived on campus in 1978 and were given a proper Geordie welcome at ‘Geordie Night’ (after a more formal induction to university life by the Sabbatical Officers and Vice-Chancellor at Haymarket’s ABC cinema). The same year, Newcastle University graduate Wilko Johnson entertained students at the Freshers Ball, which was hit with complaints over the price of beer – an extortionate 50p a pint.
While this controversy was in jest, the decade wasn’t without mishap. The university’s Housing Office often struggled to find accommodation for newly-arrived students and in 1975, a Freshers Conference excursion to Northumberland ended in near disaster as one of the coaches came off the road.
On a lighter note, the annual Freshers Debate continued to cover all matter of topics, from penal reform to ‘This House believes that London is the root of all evil whereas Newcastle is a flower of culture.’
First Year Conference in the 1980s
An expansion of the Union building opened on 30 September 1980, just in time for the first Freshers Week of the decade. This expansion introduced the Long Bar, wine bar and real ale bar to Level 2 for first years to enjoy. It was in this decade that Freshers Conference was rebranded to ‘First Years Conference’, as the term ‘Freshers’ was considered demeaning and derogatory. No matter what you called them though, new students enjoyed the changes to the Union!
New students had the opportunity to meet over 70 student societies during their welcome week, and left armed with a Midland Bank grey plastic bag full of freebies – such as a Filofax!
Activities to get to know the local area included a trip to watch Sunderland FC play, brewery tours and ‘mystery trips’ to the wilderness of Northumberland. Students could also try out canoeing or fell walking, or get to know Newcastle’s nightlife: Stage Door was ‘the place to be’, but venues like Trent House, Rockshots, Tuxedo Junction and Tuxedo Princess were also extremely popular.
In the 1980s, the annual Newcastle Festival in the city often took place during or just after Freshers Week, bringing musicians and comedians to the region. And students could also soak up some culture with film screenings in the Curtis Auditorium.
By 1987, Newcastle University was welcoming 1600 new students each year, with the 1987 cohort being entertained by hypnotist Cliff Leslie, reggae group Basil Gabbidon’s Bass Band, Zoot and the Root and headliner Edwin Starr at their Fresher’s Ball in the Mayfair.
“My husband and I met in Fresher’s Week in 1989. We met for our first date under the Arches and still like to go there to reminisce when we are back in the Toon.”
First Year Conference in the 1990s
In the 90s, the number of new students arriving on campus hit new heights, with over 2,500 Freshers a year by the end of the decade. Our new arrivals were treated to performances from the likes of Tennessee Daniels, the Bootleg Beatles and Boy George – but not Dannii Minogue, who had to cancel last minute in 1994 because of flu.
It wasn’t just musicians who were entertaining our Freshers. A hypnotist show at the 1991 Becks’ Final Fling literally brought the ceiling down on Level 6 in the SU! More drama came in 1993when 5,000 beer glasses were misplaced by the SU just before Friday’s Big Night In. In the first edition of The Courier for the academic year, the editorial team thanked Sunderland and Northumbria Universities for last-minute replacements to ensure Freshers could be kept well-hydrated!
During the day, trips to the Metro Centre, Bamburgh Castle and even Wet ‘n’ Wild introduced first-year students to their new home. Plus, treasure hunts, bowling in Fenham and laser quest provided opportunities for making new friends without the need for a Newcastle Brown Ale in hand. That being said, evenings very often ended at the infamous Boat docked on the River Tyne!
In 1997, the campus welcomed Radio 1’s Breakfast Show during Fresher’s Week. Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley broadcast from the comfort of a clapped-out double-decker bus! That same year, the Global Café replaced Spiny Norman’s in the SU, featuring club nights and comedy shows for Freshers and the rest of our student community.
Freshers' Week in the 2000s
The new millennium saw more students than ever before enrol at Newcastle University, with upwards of 5,000 Freshers arriving in the Toon each year. These new students were soon inducted to all things Newcastle with Fresher’s Week providing a grand tour of Ikon’s sticky carpet, Baja’s giant shark and The Boat’s revolving dancefloor!
Attendees at FYC2K were treated to a headline performance from Irish girl group B*Witched on their Monday night, followed by big laughs from Peter Kay and Adam Bloom starring at the comedy night. Other big names to grace the Fresher’s stage over the decade include Judge Jules, Goldie Lookin’ Chain, The Hoosiers and Bombay Bicycle Club.
And there were plenty of opportunities to make pals during the day too, with scheduled activities including go-karting, cocktail classes at Revolution and trips to Ikea and the Blue Reef Aquarium. Or students could just catch up in the TV rooms of their Halls, watching Dawson’s Creek and Ally McBeal together!
The 2000s saw Freshers Week organisers go big on the theme nights. Over the years, students were treated to a Beach Party in Bassment, Heaven and Hell fancy dress night, a glow-stick rave at the Metro Arena, School Disco, Casino Royale night and more. Students were then ferried into the city centre by stewards to have their first taste of Newcastle’s growing nightclub scene, visiting Tiger Tiger, Tup Tup Palace, Powerhouse, Sam Jacks, Digital and more.
Alternative night-time activities were organised too, with ‘Grub Crawls’ to rival the usual pub crawls, introducing students to the phenomenal food scene in Newcastle, a Carnival of the Bizarre with cabaret-style shows featuring scorpions and tarantulas, and even a Ghost Walk around Castle Keep!
The debating chamber which had been home to the traditional Freshers Debate of yesteryear was knocked down in 2003, but that didn’t stop The Guardian naming Newcastle’s Freshers Week offering the best in the country.
The noughties ended with the crowning of a new Mr Bean in our student community (move over, Rowan Atkinson!): 2009 Freshers were challenged to take a dip in a bathful of beans on campus to win a year’s worth of free meals at Taybarns restaurants.
Freshers’ Week in the 2010s and now
The popular themed nights of the 2000s continued into the 2010s, with new arrivals being welcomed into a world of pure imagination at a Willy Wonka-themed night, taken back to high school with an Inbetweeners disco and foam party, and transported to the beaches of Thailand with a Full Moon Party.
Halls of residence were also pitted against each other in the annual Battle of the Halls night, with each accommodation having a different fancy dress costume to don.
Freshers got a flavour of the North East cultural scene with visits to see the Royal Shakespeare Company perform at Northern Stage, tours of St. James Park football stadium, watching the sunset at the coast with a chippy tea, and even going to the dog racing! There were also lots of opportunities for them to learn the valuable life skills they’d need to survive university, such as cookery classes.
Entertainment in the noughties came from the likes of Kaiser Chiefs, Rudimental and Lethal Bizzle, and Irish pop group B*Witched also made a triumphant return to Newcastle Freshers in 2012. Evening events took place at the SU as well as across the town, with Freshers taking over The Gate complex.
As well as the usual Freshers’ Fair to introduce new students to all the societies and sports clubs on offer (now totalling over 200!), the SU also welcomed local businesses to exhibit to first-years, with lots of freebies on offer!
The Freshers’ Week experience was very different in 2020, with lockdowns and social distancing measures in place across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both in-person and virtual activities were organised for new arrivals, including a virtual Bongo’s Bingo featuring Joel Corry and Clean Bandit. And while clubs weren’t able to open, there were plenty of bars and restaurants to enjoy with outdoor seating areas, including the newly-opened Market Shaker on the Bigg Market.
In 2021 and 2022, new students were able to have the full Freshers experience once more, including visits to alumni-owned cat cafés, kayaking in the North Sea and a DJ set by Bastille!
Share your memories from Freshers' Week
We’d love to hear about your experience of your first few days at Newcastle University. Email us at advancement@ncl.ac.uk with your memories and photos for your chance to be featured in a future Throwback Thursday on social media!