England is entering another month-long phase of Covid-19 restrictions from Thursday 5th November, because of this some of our activities and services will be changing. Whilst we, as a Students’ Union, recognise that steps need to be taken to suppress the virus, we also acknowledge these are difficult and worrying times for students, and are likely to cause distress and anxiety. We will continue to be here to support all our students. Where possible we have tried to keep our activities and services open in a covid-safe way and in-line with the latest government guidance. Please read on to find out which of our spaces are staying open.
Please also keep an eye out for our Be Kind campaign next week. You can also read our previous Be Kind to Your Mind guide here. It contains lots of tips on how to look after your physical and mental health during the coming weeks. Our Advice & Support website also offers helpful guidance here.
Our events team are also working hard to provide you with a great line-up of online activities and events. Clubs and Societies are also continuing to provide opportunities that help you to meet other students at Queen Mary. You can view all the events on our website here.
Please remember like everything in life right now plans might have to change depending on how the ongoing situation develops, but we’ll keep you all updated via your student email, social media and on our website.
If you have any feedback about what the University and Students’ Union are doing, please do get in touch with us. We would love to hear from you.
What’s closing?
Qmotion Sport and Fitness Centre
Due to government restrictions, Qmotion will close at 10pm on Wednesday 4th November, until at least Wednesday 2nd December. All fixed duration memberships will be paused during this closure period, and will be automatically re-started when we re-open. If you have any queries, please contact su-qmotion.reception@qmul.ac.uk.
Union Shop
The Union Shop will be closed until Wednesday 2nd December. The Village Shop on the Mile End campus will remain open throughout the lockdown period, and you can also buy Queen Mary clothing and merchandise on our online shop.
Drapers Bar & Kitchen
In a change to our previous announcement, Drapers Bar & Kitchen will now be closed until Wednesday 2nd December. The Griff Inn at Whitechapel will remain open if you still want to get your burger fix!
Multi-Faith Centre (Students’ Union Hub)
The Multi-Faith Centre will remain closed until we can ensure individual prayer can be facilitated safely within the space. Due to the new government restrictions, Friday Prayer will not take place in The Nest or Multi-Faith Centre.
Sport – Club Sport, Get Active & Social Leagues
We are awaiting further clarifications from the government and University regarding sport. We anticipate that we will need to suspend Get Active, Social Leagues and Club Sport training sessions. Further updates will be posted here shortly.
Shield Café and Fitness to Practice (Charterhouse Square)
The Shield Café and Fitness to Practice will close until 2021. We have been provided with funding to refurbish these spaces by the Medical College of Saint Bartholomew’s Hospital Trust, and will be bringing forward plans to carry out these improvement works.
What’s staying open?
Village Shop
The Village Shop will remain open every day stocking a wide range of essentials, toiletries, household goods, stationery, frozen foods, international ranges and official Queen Mary clothing and merchandise. There is a one-way system in operation so please enter via the temporary side entrance.
The Village Shop is currently operating reduced opening hours of 8am-8pm Monday to Friday and 10am-8pm on weekends.
Ground Café
Ground Café will remain open Monday to Friday 8am-5pm serving our delicious range of hot and cold drinks, pastries, sandwiches and paninis. The space will be open for takeaways and will continue to offer individual study and work space for students and staff.
Students’ Union Hub & Reception
From Monday 23rd November the Students' Union Hub is operating revised opening hours of 12pm-5pm, Monday to Friday. Individual study and relaxation space can be found on the ground floor in the Blomeley Rooms. Due to government restrictions, group socialising and group study is not permitted. Our helpful and friendly Reception team will also be available to help you with anything you need.
The Multi-Faith Centre will remain closed until we can ensure individual prayer can be facilitated safely within the space. Due to the new government restrictions, Friday Prayer will not take place in The Nest or Multi-Faith Centre.
BLSA Building (Whitechapel)
Open Monday to Friday 11am-6pm. The Recovery Room, Study Room and Multi-Faith Rooms will be open for individual study, relaxation and prayer only. Due to government restrictions, group socialising and group study is not permitted.
The BLSA Shop will remain open, and our helpful and friendly Reception team will also be available to help you with anything you need.
The Games Room, Dance Studio and Fitness Suite will remain closed. Group Prayer is not permitted in the Multi-Faith Rooms, this also means Friday Prayer will not take place.
We are currently reviewing the usage of this space and our opening hours may be changed. Please check back for further updates.
The Griff Inn (Whitechapel)
The Griff Inn will be open for takeaway Monday to Friday 10am-3pm, so you can continue to enjoy our famous specials, new hot boxes and breakfast pots, burgers, wraps and more. We’ll also be offering a free BL face covering with every breakfast pot to help you all stay safe.
Online Shop
Stocking a great range of official Queen Mary branded clothing, gifts and merchandise with UK and international delivery available. Open 24/7 here.
Some deliveries may take longer than normal due to Royal Mail currently experiencing a backlog.
Club Sport, Societies, Volunteering, Student Media, RAG & Sustainability Support
Our teams remain available to support all of our amazing student groups! Student groups will be contacted separately about how the new government restrictions impact their activities. Contact details can be found on our website here.
Student Voice, Representation and Welfare Support
Our teams will be continuing to support our student representatives, Student Council and Course Reps so that they can continue representing and supporting you all as students. Contact details can be found on our website here. We also have a brand new advice and support section on our website that can be viewed here.
Academic Advice Service
The service will be operating an online service for all students. Further information about the service can be found here.
Events
We are working hard to adapt our events so we can continue to provide a great line-up of online activities and events. We’ll also be working on new opportunities to give you the opportunity to meet other students. You can view all the events on our website here.
Welfare & Support
The current Covid-19 pandemic is understandably making many of you feel very anxious and concerned. The Advice and Support section of our website contains lots of helpful support resources and details of other external organisations who can provide support.
Your Education
We continue to meet regularly with your schools and the Senior Management team of the wider University. We are continuing to challenge them and are raising all of your feedback to ensure the quality of your education and wider student experience is maintained as best as possible in the circumstances. Keep an eye out for our survey that will be launching soon. We want to hear from you about how the year has been so far to understand more about what’s working well and what needs improving.
Things we’re doing to keep you safe
The safety and wellbeing of all students and staff remains our number one priority. We’ve put together a handy video to let you know what we’ll be doing in our spaces to keep you safe. You can watch it here.
We’ve worked hard to make sure you can continue to use many of our on-campus spaces safely. Please do look out for our Covid-19 rules and ensure you;
- Maintain social distancing at all times, including when seated or in queue lines.
- Wear a face covering at all times, except when seated for individual study.
- Scan the QR codes at our entrance points as part of legal test and trace requirements. You must scan these as you enter and sign-in. If you’re having trouble scanning the QR code there is an alternative web link you can use, or please ask a member of staff for help.
- Follow staff and signage instructions. You can always ask for help if confused.
You’ll also find the following measures in each of our spaces;
- Hand sanitiser stations throughout our spaces – please use these when you enter and exit our spaces.
- Helpful and clear signage that explains how our spaces are operating and any rules you must follow when using them.
- Social distancing floor markings to remind us to keep our distance from each other.
- Some areas are operating one-way systems, with amended entrance and exit points, please follow our helpful signage.
- Enhanced cleaning, with additional cleaning of our spaces taking place throughout the day, with deep cleaning taking place prior to opening and after closing each day.
- Contactless payments preferred across all our spaces.
Please be kind to each other whilst using our spaces and be mindful of respecting each other and how all of us are dealing with individual situations during this pandemic.
If you have any ideas or feedback about our Covid-19 measures, please get in touch with us at su-qmsu.reception@qmul.ac.uk.
We look forward to seeing you again soon.