Looking back at 2021

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Looking back at 2021

Last year was another challenging year but this hasn’t held our Bath Spa community back. We’re proud of what our students, staff and alumni achieved in 2021. From making a difference through impactful research, supporting the local community and minimising our environmental impact, we’re Bath Spa proud to share some of our 2021 highlights.

Our Bath Spa community

Our students and staff are at the heart of what we do. We’ve continued to support their wellbeing to ensure that everyone can reach their full potential. In the last year, we’ve joined a new Mental Health Charter Programme developed by Student Minds, signed the Care Leaver Covenant and trained 65 staff as Mental Health First Aiders.

Some of our top news stories from the year include one of our Film and TV graduates working on a new Marvel film, a Creative Writing student winning the Sustainability First People's Choice Art Prize and a PhD student recreating music that hasn’t been heard in millennia. Over the year we’ve seen our staff recognised by the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme, publish new research on the SENCO workforce and celebrated both our students and staff with our annual Vice-Chancellor's Awards. You can read more about what our staff and students have been up to on our Bath Spa stories page.

We’ve also celebrated the achievements of our teaching alumni by offering those who completed a Certificate of Education pre-1982 at one of our predecessor colleges an Honorary BA Education Degree. This is in recognition of the academic rigour demanded by the Certificate of Education and for subsequent services to education. Our alums have shared some wonderful memories with us - one of them being David and Pat Moon’s story. We’ve had over 580 applications and are looking forward to celebrating with our alums later this year.

Making a campus that cares

It doesn’t stop with the people – we care for our environment too. We’re now a recognised Hedgehog Friendly Campus having been awarded a Bronze Accreditation by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. We're now working towards the Silver Accreditation. We’ve also joined the fight against food waste with Too Good To Go. Magic bags of surplus, unsold food can be purchased from The Refectory - at a great price - so it gets eaten instead of wasted.

In 2010, we embarked on our ten-year carbon and energy reduction plan. The plan was completed in full in just eight years and has so far led to the avoidance of over 14,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Last year we published our new Carbon Reduction Management Plan describing our journey to date and setting out our plans for our target of net zero emissions by 2030.

Supporting the community

We’ve recognised the need for accessible opportunities for adults impacted by the pandemic to upskill and reskill. Last year, working alongside other education providers and partners, we launched three skills bootcamps providing sought after digital and employability skills. With four cohorts on each bootcamp subject, we’ve supported almost 200 students to embark on new careers with some already securing employment.

We’ve also supported local creative businesses through The Studio Recovery Fund. The Studio is our award-winning city centre home for enterprise and innovation. Grants were awarded to six applicants for creative technology projects that aim to promote renewal and support the region’s post-pandemic recovery efforts.

We’ve continued to work with our cultural partners throughout the year as well as building new partnerships. Youth Connect South West is one of our newest partnerships aiming to benefit both our students and the communities that Youth Connect support. We’re excited to see this partnership grow over the coming year.

We’re looking forward to building on these achievements in 2022 and sharing our progress throughout the year.