Is Sheffield the best LGB student city in the UK? We certainly think so – and it looks like we might be right!
This autumn Stonewall created a guide to Britain’s most gay-friendly universities, assessing all institutions based on a ten crucial criteria – and Sheffield ended up on top. Whilst The University of Sheffield scored a brilliant 9 out of 10, Sheffield Hallam University got full marks!
We sure are biased but we’re hardly surprised to hear these news. Sheffield may not have Canal Street or Soho but we’ve got a vibrant and welcoming community – and of course Yorkshire’s biggest LGBT night out; Climax. On top of this the city’s two universities did extremely well in Stonewall’s survey, which is the basis for this new guide – and this makes us very proud indeed.
Do you agree – is Sheffield the best LGBT student city in the UK? We’d love to hear from you - get involved on Twitter and on Facebook!
Stonewall’s guide was based on the ten following criteria:
The university has…
- A policy that protects lesbian, gay and bisexual students from bullying, with mandatory training for all staff to make sure this will be enforced
- Monitoring that specifically asks students about sexual orientation
- Welfare support, information and resources for lesbian, gay and bisexual students
- Student society for lesbian, gay and bisexual students
- Events for lesbian, gay and bisexual students
- Consultation with lesbian, gay and bisexual students
- Specific career advice for lesbian, gay and bisexual students
- Lesbian, gay and bisexual staff network
- Stonewall Diversity Champion: Is the university a member of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme?
- Engagement with the wider community
The universities found to be the most gay-friendly, scoring 10 out of 10, were Cardiff University, the University of Essex, the University of Glasgow, Liverpool John Moores University, Sheffield Hallam University and York St John University.
11 universities scored nine out of 10, including the University of Sheffield.
You can access Stonewall’s Guide To University here and read more about it here.