Bristol University

[3catsandadog]

Hi my DD is looking to apply for Vetmed this year at Bristol as one of her choices.

I have just seen on the news about yet another sad suicide here which is apparently the 8th in 2 years.

Does Bristol have a problem different to other unis as I don't remember hearing about any others? Is the pastoral care lacking in some way?

Are there any parents of DC there already who can provide reassurance?

Thank you

Friend’s DD at Bristol out at Langford, started this year. Haven’t see her for a bit but it wasn’t going particularly well when I did. She’d swapped flats which had helped a bit. Was in Halls somewhere by the Centre I think and was a couple of incidents in a shop below which rattled her and there had been a big problem with drugs in her flat and generally which she hadn’t been prepared for. Last I heard she was a bit happier but coming home as much as timetable would allow. When she went to the accommodation place to say she wanted to move because of the drugs they said there had been a few others in saying the same that afternoon.

We were taking to guy today who has lots of parents and students to stay when up for interview and he was saying that there is a certain type that he knows immediately on meeting them won’t hack it at Langford and they usually come out of the interviews a bit shaken up. Read into that what you will.

,I think it's worth making the point because of the suicides at Bristol, which is what's created publicity. I don't think one should compare suicide to any other situation.
Suicides are of course the most tragic outcomes but these extreme situations are the tip of an iceberg of student health and issues rather than a separate category. There are of course always situations where even with the best support network people suffer completely in silence. That is not an excuse however to make it a struggle for those who do seek help.
Needmoresleep even Oxbridge colleges also vary in the quality of pastoral support despite a much better framework for it. Also as soon as a student is picked up as not keeping up academically they have to leave for the year. That is usually the best for them but it does also mean that the colleges avoid having to provide support until the student is deemed well enough to
restart the next academic year.

The BBC has reported stats from the ONS that there were 146 student deaths in the uk in 2016. The idea that this is just a Bristol problem is ludicrous. The stats also say that there are 10.4 deaths per 100,000 student population.

I don’t believe anyone is saying students with MH difficulties should not go to university, but they should consider what support networks they need too. The increase in suicudes everywhere is something all universities and the NHS need to look at, not just Bristol. It would be odd to reject Bristol based on newspaper reports. No-one appears to be reporting on other university suicides, but they do happen.

My DD has left Bristol now. However I think there is some sense in looking for a catered hall. DD was in Wills, but no difficulties when she was there. One girl moved from Durdham to Wills to get a quieter life! You really don’t know who will be in your flat! My DDs flatmate was awake most nights. Working or Skyping home possibly. The was a vet student so heaven knows how she coped with self imposed lack of sleep! She also went to Chinese society and nothing in the hall.

I think friends at university can be quite helpful. Ones you know before you go. My DD also organised get togethers for girls who were freshers from her old school. One Mum of a girl told me how great the evening had been, and how useful. All the former pupils at Bristol turned up. With a bit of effort, others could do this. It’s another support network. Someone you actually know, and have known for years, is only a text away.

The Stoke Bishop halls are probably the best choice and the two catered halls are quite a good bridge between home and university. Goldney is always over subscribed. Obviously students get allocated to it, but other halls are ok too. Wills quad is very old fashioned. You have to accept the shared bathrooms in the old quad. Plenty of students won’t. It has more ex boarding school students for this reason and that’s why they know each other before they turn up. Ditto Churchill. Don’t rule anything out. One of DDs friends in Wills came from a difficult background and was on a reduced tariff to get her medic place but she enjoyed her time in Wills. She had early starts so it couldn’t have been that bad a place to be. Universities perhaps need to be like trains - have quiet carriages - or halls!

Bubbles nobody is saying that this is confined to Bristol but that is not a reason for inertia when there are failings in their support system.

BTW Bristol have 18,000 undergraduate students (just looked number up) so if national yearly average is 1 per 10, 000 then Bristol should have had less than 2 suicides.

sendsummer I think that while the students committing suicide may not be in a separate category from those suffering severe depression etc, and merely the sharpest end of it, the medical profession would distinguish sharply between the combined group and those having to contend with noise nuisance and lack of sleep, while being generally well in themselves.

Wills quad is very old fashioned. You have to accept the shared bathrooms in the old quad.

The horror!
I'm equally bemused by the idea that the poor little things should ease into student life by getting catered Halls because feeding yourself is so difficult.

You are of course right goodbyestranger but health problems may be first signalled by the student making a request for help with a seemingly minor issue. Or health problems develop because of accumulated triggers.
There is therefore even less chance of picking up those students with signficant health issues if requests for help including to move accommodation are dealt with iby a poor and at worse non responsive /obstructive students' support service.

Well obviously I'm not disagreeing with anything which improves student support in general.

senua while self-catered may suit plenty of students very well, catered can at least provide a bit of a life-line in terms of social interaction. Also, there are huge potential problems in shared kitchens for hygiene or general mess problems/ problems with 'borrowing' etc and actually, food shops can often be quite far away from student accommodation so buying in can create a whole extra layer of logistics. I don't see that advising or doing catered for the first year is babying or babyish at all.

I agree there is no reason for inertia.

I was just reporting ideas that might help vulnerable students cope. Sitting in your room and not eating is a signal there is something wrong. In catered halls your fellow students might actually notice a student is not around. It’s not babyish to think that vulnerable students might benefit from this.

Often the most popular halls have en suite bathrooms!!! Modern students don’t like the idea of sharing in a Hall. Also Wills bathrooms are ancient!!

I think the bathrooms in my son's all male block are so ancient only boys (sorry to be sexist) will tolerate them. he has a bath to share (not a shower) on his floor. You could film a 1920s film about universities there pretty easily. The sink in his room is a sight to behold. Anyway he is happy. In fact it's often not the surroundings but what is going on in people's heads which affects things most.

I don't think anyone should be put off Bristol by the suicides but they are certainly so very very sad for those involved. i can't imagine what the parents must be going through.