Prospective Students

What is St Andrews like for an LGBT person?

The Rankings

St Andrews does well in university league tables but how does it compare to other universites in terms of its LGBT policy?  In 2008, EUGayNews reported that St Andrews was 2nd in Europe for LGBT people.  More recently, Stonewall has reviewed St Andrews in its ‘gay by degree’ university review.  You can find their review here.  St Andrews ticked 7/10 of Stonewall’s checklist, which puts it alongside Edinburgh University for its gay friendly policy.

University Life

Much of St Andrews student life is organised by the university’s societies and subcommittees.  Asides from LGBT Soc, there are many gay friendly societies and events.  Mermaids (the university’s theatre subcommittee) has a brilliant history of putting on queer theatre.  Similarly, Left Soc, St Andrews Feminists and the student Amnesty International group have all been involved in pro-LGBT political campaigning.  There are many other gay friendly subcommittees, societies and sports groups.  Many of the academic departments in the university also conduct research into queer theory and there is compulsory staff training on LGB issues.  Beyond the university, the Byre theatre has welcomed many queer plays whilst Stanza (the Byre’s poetry festival) has been host to LGBT heroes, such as Carol Ann Duffy and Patience Agbabi.  LGBT Youth Scotland is also active in Fife, running the LGBT Fife Forum in Kirkcaldy to discuss how life can be improved for LGBT people living here.

Going Out

St Andrews is a small town and, as such, doesn’t have any exclusively ‘gay’ venues.  However, LGBT Soc is a very active society.  We meet every Monday evening and often on weekends too!  We run clubbing trips to Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow on a monthly basis and even host a reading week trip to Madrid’s Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.  During these trips, we often meet up with members of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee LGBTs.

If your pockets don’t stretch to clubbing trips, St Andrews itself has a large number of bars and pubs.  The Westport, The Vic, The Byre and Ma Bells have all been used to host LGBT meetings in the past and their staff and management were very supportive.  The Union also has a stringent anti-homophobia policy and we take great pride in hosting a Rainbow Bop every year during LGBT History Month.  LGBT Soc also sends a competitor to the annual Mr St Andrews event during RAG week.

LGBT History Month - Rainbow flag flies over Sallies Quad