Royal Holloway Students’ Union has made the decision to not reopen Medicine as a late-night venue from September 2025. This decision was not taken lightly, but due to several factors, it has become unsustainable to operate the venue in its current form
Royal Holloway Students’ Union has made the decision to not reopen Medicine as a late-night venue from September 2025.
This decision was not taken lightly, but due to several factors, it has become unsustainable to operate the venue in its current form. This reflects a wider trend across universities in the UK towards less use of commercial services on campuses, and particularly late-night venues.
We know that the provision of inclusive activity and spaces is key to ensuring students have a great experience with us, and forms a key aim for our strategic plan. We are absolutely committed to working with the University across 2025-26 to increase accessible space for student group activity, as well as investment into making the Medicine space even better for our communities and their events.
How was this decision made?
At the start of the 2024-25 academic year, RHSU and the University jointly commissioned a commercial review which included survey data from over 1,200 students. The review concluded that maintaining three late night venues, including The Packhorse Pub and SU Venue, was no longer sustainable and that Medicine should be repurposed as a space to serve wider student needs. In June, the RHSU Board of Trustees meeting approved the closure of Medicine as a bar.
Next steps
RHSU management team are working with the University on future plans, aiming to continue to offer space for student-led activity in the evenings, with greater flexibility for different groups. The University is also exploring the possibility of using the space for teaching during the day.
Thank you
We know this will be sad news for some and we want to thank the loyal followers who have enjoyed Medicine over the many years. We look forward to working with student groups who want to hold late night events to provide alternative spaces and will build a full calendar of RHSU and student led activities across the University campus.