Nottingham: Dealing with the transition

Freshers week began on Rosh Hashanah. Then I discovered the university held Saturday exams – "I've never seen this before," said my tutor looking at my religious observance form. From day one, it was apparent Nottingham wasn't set up for Jewish student life.

When I chose Nottingham, I did so in the knowledge, even the relief, it was not one of the "big three". I wasn't to know I'd be arriving amid the first wave of its Jewish student explosion.

To today's freshers the idea that Nottingham was once a niche choice is incomprehensible, but the transition wasn't smooth. With no dedicated chaplain for the first year, Shabbat and festivals were tough. Kosher catering for events was a challenge. I remember looking at Leeds or Manchester, envious of how accessible everything was.

Yet within a year, JSoc's worry was whether there was enough food for Friday night or T-shirts for all the freshers who had signed up for the first bar crawl, and how to respond to the interest from organisations like JLE and Tribe.