About KCLSU
KCLSU (King's College London Students' Union) is an independent charity that exists to support the 23,000 students of King's College London, providing advice and support; representation and personal development opportunities to our membership. We are primarily funded through a core grant from King's College London, which is supplemented by income from our commercial operations and fundraising activity leading to a combined turnover of almost £5m per year.
One of the oldest students' unions in the UK, our heritage spans more than 100 years during which time we have evolved into a modern, forward thinking and multi-faceted organisation that serves an increasingly diverse student body. In recent years we have been nationally recognised by Third Sector magazine for improvements in our governance structures and we recently became one of the first students' unions to register with the Charity Commission.
KCLSU has offices on three of King's College London's five campuses; at London Bridge, Strand and Waterloo. Our premises include three student centres; a fitness and well-being centre, two bars, a nightclub and a memorabilia shop. Our staff team comprises 38 full-time employees supported by around 200 part-time student staff, the majority of whom are in the Service Development Directorate.
Find out more about our Strategic Plan, priorities and vision here. And our latest reports here:
Some Successes
Some recent achievements include:
- KCLSU was one of the first students' unions in the country to register with the Charity Commission
- Increased student participation in extracurricular activities by 20%
- Launched a student skills development and certification programme
- Supported students in contributing more than 50,000 hours of volunteering
- In a declining competitive market, maintained turnover of our commercial operations at £1.5M whilst increasing profitability by £60K, through doubling food sales and increasing retail sales by 25%
- Held more than 60 club nights and 30 live gigs in our nightclub Tutu's, including a high profile five night residency by Hansen
- Campaigned against a rise in tuition fees through a high profile media campaign featuring in the Evening Standard, The Observer and Channel 4 News and mobilising 450 students for a national demonstration
- We have developed "Kinetic" - our fitness club, which provides facilities for health and fitness, as well as new work and meeting space.
- We have invested £0.5 million in employing students as staff members annually, providing them with opportunities to work in mixed teams, work with business systems and improve their understanding of organisational and customer needs.
- We have launched a reward and recognition strategy that focuses on contribution and personal development. We found 100% of the staff team would recommend KCLSU as an employer.