LevelSubFonds
Ref NoBA/G
Alt Ref NoUA/SW/1
TitleRecords of the Students' Union and its predecessors
Date1906-1966
Extent19 Boxes
Name of CreatorBattersea Polytechnic Day Students' Representative Council
Battersea Polytechnic Evening Students' Representative Council
Battersea Polytechnic Students' Representative Council
Battersea Polytechnic Students' Union
Battersea College of Technology Student's Union
DescriptionComprises records originating with and relating to the Students' Union of Battersea Polytechnic College and Battersea College of Technology, and its predecessor student representative bodies. The records include governing documents, records of meetings, student publications, and material relating to events, sport and social activities.
Administrative HistoryThe Battersea Polytechnic Students' Union (later the Battersea College of Technology Students' Union) was the primary student representative and social organisation of Battersea Polytechnic College, and later the Battersea College of Technology.

The origins of the Students' Union can be directly traced back to the formation of the two Students' Representative Councils in 1907: the Day Students' Representative Council and the Evening Student's Representative Council, reflecting the structure of the student body of the College. Although the Student Representative Councils constituted the first 'official' student representative groups at the College, they do appear to have been the successor to earlier informal efforts at student organisation: an unofficial group known as the Common Room Committee existed in the early days of the College, and a short-lived body called the Battersea Polytechnic Social Union appears to have been established in 1906.

The Evening Students' Representative Council appears to have struggled as an organisation, and by the outbreak of the First World War had largely ceased to operate. The notion of separate organisations for day and evening students did not entirely disappear until 1928 however, when the Day Students' Representative Council was renamed at the Students' Representative Council.

In 1934, the Battersea Polytechnic Students Union was established, with the existing Students' Representative Council incorporated at its governing body. Over the following decades the Union gradually increased its ability to operate autonomously from the Polytechnic authorities, although the exact degree to which it was an independent of the Polytechnic was often a point of contention. During this period, the Union was affiliated to the University of London Union.

With the foundation of the University of Surrey in 1966, the Union was reconstituted as the University of Surrey Students' Union.
LanguageEnglish
Related MaterialFor the records of the University of Surrey Students' Union, see the Student Union archive [Ref No: SU];
Additional items relating to Battersea Polytechnic social events and individual officers of the Battersea Union may be found in our Alumni and Staff Donations collection [Ref No: ASD]. Please enquire for further details.
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