The University has an extensive welfare support system.  Details can be found here: http://www.york.ac.uk/colleges/vanbrugh/welfare/

If you are not sure where to start, do contact the College Office and the Administrator will be able to point you in the right direction.

http://www.york.ac.uk/colleges/vanbrugh/contact/

Whilst we strongly understand the desire for parents and guardians to be involved in their child's life at University, at 18 years old students have achieved the legal status of adulthood and as such are responsible for their contracts with the University and actions taken.  Our dealings must therefore be primarily with the student, not with their parent or guardian.  

We are happy to discuss any situation with a student's family members providing we have the permission of the student in question.  Unless we have permission, no information will  be given out about a student or their situation, even to family members. 

Should you need to get in touch with your family member you are welcome to contact the College Office and we will attempt to pass along a message.

General advice

A common mistake made when packing for university is assuming that prospective students should bring everything they could possibly need with them for the first day. York is a city well equipped with shops where you can purchase additional items of kitchenware, cleaning materials, stationery and so forth. It is often better to give your child some extra money so that they might purchase anything extra they might need rather than to send them off with items that they might not need.

Kitchen items

Sharing kitchen facilities with lots of other people is a new experience for most. The majority of flats end up sharing kitchen equipment so you would be best advised to bring the minimum required. One set of crockery, cutlery and a pan should do it. Anything else they might need can be borrowed or bought cheaply here.  Students are not advised to bring expensive or valued items with them. 

Many students shop at the same places so it can get confusing as to whose food belongs to whom. We advise students to bring tupperware or plastic storage boxes in which to store their fridge items, and which can be labelled with the student's name. A couple of marker pens are a useful addition to the packing. 

Electrical equipment

The use of microwaves, toasters, grilling machines, fridges, kettles and any other electrical kitchen equipment is NOT allowed in study bedrooms, and any electrical item you have brought with you must be safe and comply with electrical safety regulations and standards applicable in the UK. If you have any doubts about this, please speak with the Facilities Manager, who can arrange for testing of electrical equipment.

Ironing board and iron

Suggestions have been made in the past that it is better to purchase clothes that do not need ironing, than to drag bulky items up to University with you.  Some of the porters do have ironing boards to lend out, and someone in your corridor is bound to bring an iron and ironing board which they will surely lend to you.  A cheap iron and ironing board can be purchased for under £20 from any of our local supermarkets if you find you simply cannot live without one.

Laundry items

To prevent study-bedrooms getting damp, it would be advisable to only bring clothing that can be tumble-dried in our laundrettes. Please do not bring washing line with you. You will be asked to take it down as it can be a hazard when trying to vacate a room in an emergency. If you do need to bring something to dry hand-washing on, we suggest a small airer. 

It is advisable to bring a laundry basket that can be easily carried up and down stairs to the laundry rooms, rather than a free-standing laundry basket.

Food

The first week is always fairly riotous and it is important that you eat well. Plan for 3 days of meals when you are buying your provisions. 

Students often go shopping together in the first few days to buy basic cupboard stocks that they will then share. Unless there is something you are particularly partial to that can only be bought from home, it is worth waiting until you get here to go shopping. We have a lot of supermarkets in York and a small Costcutter on campus where you can purchase fresh fruit, vegetables and a variety of items. Please remember, with a lot of new residents arriving at once, fridge space it always at a premium for the first few days. It is advisable to bring only what you think you will need for those first few days whilst you are finding your feet. 

Perhaps you could bring something that can be shared with your new flat-mates? A home-made cake, some biscuits, or ingredients to contribute to a fry-up. Bonding with your flatmates is always best done over a shared meal so you may want to think about what you could contribute towards a large meal rather than simply cooking for yourself. For those arriving on the Saturday, when the weather is good, the JCR often hold a barbecue, so some items to contribute towards this might be ideal.

If you have decided to join the MAD scheme then don't worry. You can always bring your meals over to your kitchen to join your housemates. Just remember to return the trays and crockery afterwards!

Clothes

There are events where you will be expected to dress smartly, however University of York events tend to be costume and fancy-dress events rather than formal tuxedo and ball dress events. Rather than splashing out on an expensive suit or ballgown, some smart formal clothes and a fun costume will be far more useful.

A laundry, containing two washers and two dryers, is located on the ground floor entrance to C Block, Le Page Court, next to the computer room. Non-residents can ask for an access keycard at Reception. For residents at Donald Barron and Barbara Scott Courts the laundrette is located next to the Warren Services Building. Access can be obtained with resident’s keycards.

We recommend that residents bring a large laundry bag with them, which can be used to transport clothes to and from the laundry rooms, rather than a laundry basket for your bedroom.  Not all the bedrooms have free-standing radiator, instead fan heaters are incoporated into the design of the room.  It is therefore advisable to bring clothes than can be tumble-dried as drying clothes the bedroom can lead to damp walls and condensation around the windows, which encourages mould.  Clothes lines are not permitted in the rooms as these can prevent swift egress from the room during a fire-alert.

Residents' Mail:

Vanbrugh College has a central mail room where all mail sent directly to Vanbrugh College is placed in alphabetical pigeon holes.

Any mail sent by registered post or recorded delivery, parcels or items that appear to hold money or bank cards, will be held at Reception for collection.  If you wish to ensure that the mail will be held for collection please put 'C/O Reception' (care-of).

The postal address for Vanbrugh College is:

Full Name of Resident
Room Number, Name of Court
Vanbrugh College
University of York
Heslington
York
North Yorkshire
YO10 5DD
UK

For residents of Donald Barron and Barbara Scott Courts, Royal Mail will make deliveries to the post-boxes allocated to each flat and found on the ground floor of each house. The addresses of these properties are:

For residents of Le Page and Eric Milner White Courts, Royal Mail will make deliveries to Vanbrugh Reception and porters will sort letters into pigeon holes in the Vanbrugh mail room.

For residents of Fairfax House, Royal Mail will make deliveries to the Fairfax House Reception where post will be sorted into the foyer pigeon holes.

The postal address for Fairfax House is:

Full name of Resident
Fairfax House
99, Heslington Road
York
North Yorkshire
YO10 5BJ
UK

For residents of the Fulford Road properties, Royal Mail will deliver directly to the flats.

The postal address for the Fulford Road properties is:

Other Reception Services:

Vanbrugh Porters also lend out trolleys for the transport of luggage, and is the collection place for residence keys. Pigeon holes are kept in the lodge for Vanbrugh College staff should you need to pass on any papers.

Additional Mail Room Services can be found here.