Dear Students,

I hope you are aware that the Students’ Union has undergone a refurbishment to create what is now the Pear Tree. This is a bar and café combined area to cater for students at the University. As you can see, the new area looks fantastic and is being very well used.

HOWEVER, what you may not know is that the café is not run or even leased by the Students’ Union. This café is actually under the control of the University caterers and leased by the University. In the next few months the University catering contract is up for renewal and as such we have taken the initiative to put forward a proposal to take the café area over to ensure that food outlets in the Union are student led and provide food that students really want. What we proposed was that there would be a Pizza Hut Restaurant in the area that would create fresh food (not just pizza) at a very competitive price, but also allow quicker delivery for those students off campus in the evenings who wish to order pizza.

Recently we have been informed about what is happening in this area and thus it shall remain under the University control – this is NOT in the interests of you, our students. This means that there will continue to be no competition at The University of Worcester for custom and thus prices will continue to increase. This means we have a catering outlet within the Students’ Union building which has no real input from students and will deprive the union of an opportunity to raise some much needed funds which would help us operate independently of the university particularly in areas of volunteering and sport and societies.

The Students’ Union is here to cater for STUDENTS! Within this area, we cannot control the quality of food and the low quality currently on offer damages the Students’ Union reputation. We feel that this area should be student led to cater for the diverse range of students and not just more coffee! This is a battle that must be brought to the forefront of the University and so we will be conducting a petition over the next two weeks to show the University that students don’t just want another café with coffee but a more vibrant and exciting food offer than there is at University currently. You can sign the petition within the Students’ Union at reception or just grab one of the Sabbatical officers.

This is an area designed for students, and students want change.

Sam Lewis,


President