Volunteers from the University of Essex Students’ Union are circulating the Southend campus this month to provide support to students during the current exam and revision period. Known as Study Angels, these volunteers are making unannounced visits to various areas of the campus to offer free tea, coffee, and snacks.
The initiative is intended to boost student wellbeing during a stressful time of year. Organisers have opted for a random approach, ensuring that these small moments of support appear unexpectedly throughout the day.
This support effort arrives as students at the Southend campus face significant changes. The university has confirmed the campus will close at the end of August 2026 due to financial challenges caused by a decline in international student numbers. The closure, which will affect approximately 800 students, has led to a wider dispute regarding the future of the university’s presence in the town.
In response to the closure, the university has established a Southend Student Compensation Scheme, which offers a £600 payment to affected students, alongside support options for those who choose to transfer to the Colchester campus to complete their studies.
The campus first opened in 2008 and has since served as a significant educational hub for the area, with more than 52 per cent of its health and social care students residing locally. Recent months have seen intensified debate regarding the university’s management decisions, culminating in a vote of no confidence in the university’s leadership in mid-April 2026, which saw 97 per cent of voting community members oppose current administration plans.
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