What a day! Thousands enjoy family fun at first-ever University of Bath Festival
More than 8,000 people enjoyed an action-packed day of family fun when the University of Bath celebrated its 50th anniversary by staging its first-ever community Festival.
There were activities across the Claverton Down campus, including the Active Zone at the £30million Sports Training Village where visitors got to try out 15 different sports and take on a Mini Olympics challenge.
Team Bath Netball Superleague stars Shantal Slater and Vangelee Williams staged a shooting challenge and there were interactive judo demonstrations, while the opportunity to pick up a racquet and play tennis or badminton proved particularly popular.
There was also a climbing wall and bobsleigh taster sessions for the more adventurous visitors, plus jaw-dropping displays of parkour and acrobatics from Team Kinetix.
The centrepiece of the afternoon’s entertainment was a spectacular skydiving display by the Red Devils, The Parachute Regiment’s freefall team, who landed on the athletics in-field with a giant flag commemorating the 50th anniversary.
The largest alumni reunion in the University’s history then took place in the evening, with more than 800 former students returning to their alma mater to reminisce with old photos and cheer on alumni teams in rugby, hockey and netball games against current students.
Professor Bernie Morley, Deputy Vice-Chancellor & Provost, said: “I am delighted that we were joined by approximately 8,000 visitors from the local community, colleagues, students and alumni to be part of our 50th anniversary celebrations.
“It was wonderful to see our campus community make people so welcome, with many colleagues giving interactive demonstrations and talks about their work. I’d like to thank all those staff and students who helped showcase the wide range of activities and research that we are involved in.”
