Egham – Page 7 of 11

Evacuation Confusion Reveals RHUL Emergency Unpreparedness

19Mar

By Jack ChellmanNo Comments

News

Evacuation Confusion Reveals RHUL Emergency Unpreparedness

On Wednesday afternoon, a suspicious package at the George Eliot mailroom prompted Surrey Police and College Security to evacuate nearby buildings on campus. Given the spate of bomb scares across the UK this month, one would hope for a well-coordinated response to a similar threat at Royal Holloway. Unfortunately, the university’s evacuation fell far short of “well-coordinated” and contradicted a spokesperson’s suggestion that “the College spends considerable time and resources on emergency planning.” Interviews with community members and an analysis of evacuation messaging reveal the university’s inability to quickly and clearly articulate emergency protocol. To adequately protect its community members, Royal Holloway must address its emergency unpreparedness and communicate more effectiv...

Through The Lens of a Camera: Comedy Virgins

30Nov

By Lina PavlovaNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Through The Lens of a Camera: Comedy Virgins

On Thursday November 15, Royal Holloway’s very own Comedy Society had their first show of the year, and what a blast it was! Going to a comedy show is always exciting, and a great night full of fun and laughter is almost always guaranteed. But what happens when you’re not just there as an audience member? I attended as a videographer to film the event, and while you might assume the excitement would be pretty much non-existent due to the mere fact that I was there to do my job and be ‘professional’, this was not the case! Just seeing the enthusiastic faces of the people performing on the stage, even if only from behind my camera, was enough to make me happy for days and days to follow. From the name of the performance itself - ‘The Comedy Virgin Show’ - which immediately stirs up cur...

Life at Royal Holloway as a Commuter Student

28Oct

By Amal AbdiNo Comments

Lifestyle

Life at Royal Holloway as a Commuter Student

Student who commute to university from home are growing in number. But, their specific experiences are often ignored in the student narrative. It might be difficult to understand why people choose to commute but for me and many of my friends, growing up in London, the idea of moving out for a university was not even something to contemplate. Of course, commuting is far cheaper than living on campus, especially with the scrapping of the maintenance grant now becoming a loan. The reality is that many students from working-class backgrounds, simply cannot afford for many reasons to leave their family homes and be straddled with so much debt. There are also cultural reasons for commuting, as some children are expected to stay at home throughout university. I commuted to Royal Holloway from W...

12Feb

By Emma HalahanNo Comments

Opinion

Residents Versus Students?

For those that haven’t yet joined Englefield Greenies, the Facebook Group for all residents of Englefield Green, it is the battlefront on which the war between students and residents is being waged. Daily occurrences of noise complaints regarding student houses, upset about lack of parking due to commuting students, and general animosity are rife. But do the Greenies have a point? What once was a traditional Victorian village has been overrun by a good chunk of our 9000 students and according to our 2013-2020 strategy that number is only set to rise. Is their disdain the result of years of poor treatment and a convenient discourse we have spun dismissing them as an intolerant community? Do all Greenies hate students? We spoke to some to get the real story. Time and time again on Engl...

27Jan

By Samantha DavisNo Comments

News

South Western Rail Criticised

South Western Rail has come under fire after allegations that it is refusing to properly staff Egham station. Although the station is frequently busy due to it being the closest rail link to Royal Holloway University and Strodes College, the ticket office has often been forced to close due to a lack of staff to operate it. This disruption caused by the lack of employees has also been exacerbated by the 24 hour strikes that have been affecting this service continually in recent months. Monday January 8, Wednesday January 10 and Friday January 12 saw the station remain unmanned due to a walkout over a long-running dispute over the role of the train guards. One local resident angered by the frequent closing of the ticked office has reported to Get Surrey that “we have enough passengers ...

BREAKING: The Packhorse gets 2/5 in government Food Hygiene Rating Scheme.

27Oct

By Louise JonesNo Comments

News

BREAKING: The Packhorse gets 2/5 in government Food Hygiene Rating Scheme.

The Packhorse which opened to the general public in May of this year, received its first routine inspection on 25 September. The report given to The Packhorse, which Orbital Magazine has seen, detailed that there were ‘poor standards of cleanliness’ and that such standards ‘will not be tolerated’. Using the most recent food hygiene ratings available on the food.gov website, The Packhorse is now within the lowest 7 of the 126 businesses in Egham that are accountable under the scheme. Whilst it is now law for businesses within Wales and Northern Ireland to display their food hygiene ratings, this is yet to become mandatory in England. The Packhorse is currently not showing their rating of 2 (‘needs improvement’). The report from the Senior Environmental Health Officer for Runnyme...

23Sep

By Shannon GrayNo Comments

News

How the Elizabeth Line will Affect You

What is the Elizabeth Line? The Elizabeth Line is London’s newest addition to the TfL rail and tube network, and it is set to stretch a full 60 miles through the London and Greater London area - almost double the current tube-span record holder, the Central Line. The Elizabeth Line will span from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. It is set to service 40 accessible stations, 10 of which are newly built and 30 of which are newly upgraded. The line will launch in December 2018 and is expected to serve around 200 million people per year. How will this affect you? As a Royal Holloway student, you will be a short distance away from Heathrow Airport and therefore the Elizabeth Line may benefit your London-based travels. Servicing stations such as Paddi...

19Sep

By Beth CarrNo Comments

Lifestyle

5 Things to do Before you Graduate

Whether you’re a fresh-faced first year or a weary postgraduate, graduation seems a long way off. However, soon enough, the end of your university career comes around and you wonder where it’s all gone. Here are a few things you MUST do before you disappear into adult life: 1. Walk around the whole of Virginia Water Lake. Within half an hour of campus is Virginia Water Lake, part of Windsor Great Park. Living so close to a great spot of natural beauty, it would be awful to miss out on seeing the whole of the lake - it is 4.5 miles to do the circuit and there’s also a coffee shop where you can reward yourself with a well-earned snack. 2. Try out a society and a sports club. Royal Holloway has over 100 sports and societies, some of which are quite unique. You might hate sports but you ...

Suspected ‘Bomb Scare’ at School in Egham

31Mar

By No Comments

News

Suspected ‘Bomb Scare’ at School in Egham

Zara Gillick reports on the recent suspected 'bomb scare' at Magna Carta School, Egham. Just before 4pm on Friday 27th February 2017, Surrey Police and a bomb disposal team were called to the Magna Carta School in Egham when concerns were raised over an ‘item confiscated from a student’. Staff at the school called the 101 non-emergency number about the object in the afternoon before the police arrived at the school and then contacted the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team, who came shortly after. A message was put out on the School’s Facebook page reassuring parents, students and staff, stating that although it was a 'false alarm', it was dealt with 'in accordance to school emergency procedures'. Angela Jenkins, the school’s business manager, confirmed ‘we went through our ...

30Mar

By No Comments

News

Serious Road Collision in Egham

Anna Robinson reports on the incident from the beginning of March, which required an air ambulance, as driver fled the scene leaving fellow motorist with serious injuries. On March 1, a road collision on Stroude Road, Egham left a motorist with serious injuries. The accident, which happened at around 1.30pm on the Wednesday, involved two vehicles – a Nissan pick-up truck and a Volkswagen caddy. Whilst the motorist in the Volkswagen was left with serious injuries, the other driver was believed to have fled the scene before emergency services arrived. A spokesperson for the ambulance service stated that although there were two patients “only one man was taken as priority St Peter’s Hospital, after suffering serious head injuries”. Peter Amiss from Chertsey fire station, one of th...