We are delighted to introduce you to our Impact Report 2018/19. Working to improve and enhance the experience of Oxford students has been a privilege for us all this year, and we would like to thank the hard working staff team for their support. In our second year in our new building and branding, much progress has been made.

Our strategy is now firmly in place and has been put in to motion throughout our work. On taking office, the sabbatical team has been keen to focus on making the SU more open and student facing, with engagement being a top priority.Recording the highest election turnout in our history isa testament to success in this. In a tumultuous political context across higher education, we have sought to support and protect students’ interests as best as possible. As Sabbatical Trustees, we put together a set of team priorities for the year, building on years of student lobbying and activism. Representing students and navigating Oxford’s complexity has been a steep learning curve for us all.

This year, Oxford SU has championed access and mental health. Large-scale campaigns and projects such as Mind Your Head have reached students in all departments and divisions, with pop-ups across the Science Area. SabbaticalTrustees have spoken up for students on a huge range of topics, from sport to scholarships to sustainability and beyond. Our successes have been wide-reaching.Oxford signed up to the Stand Alone pledge for estranged students, and a strategy on student mental health is in development. We delivered a student and community festival, Springtide, for thousands of students and local residents.Oxford SU Sabbatical Officers participated in the development of the University’s Strategic Plan, and have fostered many areas of close cooperation, for example. Access has been an area of great student enthusiasm and interest this year, as well as theUniversity’s top strategic priority.

Together with stakeholders across Oxford we have helped shape a collective response, bringing student voices into the debate and making sure access is firmly on the agenda at all levels. Our highlights from the year are the connections we have brought about between students.We continue to believe that students are Oxford’s greatest asset.Working closely with college common rooms, the SU has harnessed the power of the collective student voice on issues students care about most. From research projects on graduate access to new events like Climate Action Week, students have driven theSU’s work this year. Campaigns like the SU LGBTQ+Campaign and Disabilities Campaign have produced pioneering pieces of work including a university wide Trans Report that has already enacted much development and a comprehensive assessment of library accessibility. As a sabbatical team we are proud to leave Oxford SU in a strong position for our successors. We are confident that many future generations of Oxford students will continue to see the benefit of their Student Union.