If you have a great idea for a new activity, society, or club, we’d love to hear from you!

At LSESU we pride ourselves on having a diverse range of student-led clubs and societies.

To ensure we can continue to have a positive impact on the student experience as things change and develop, we support students who identify gaps in our range to set up, create and deliver new student groups. This page will take you through everything you need to consider if you have an idea for a new group as well as the steps you need to take to get it created. 

There are two different types of groups you can set up:

  • Club – a physical activity with the potential to compete or a recognised sport by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
  • Society – any other interest group or activity you may want to set up

At LSESU, student activists can also sent up a campaign group, however there are specific steps to do this which you can find outlined on the campaigns hub. If you are not sure whether your idea is a campaign or society, check in with us for support.

We will be running a dedicated drop-in session for anyone with questions about starting a new group, on Wednesday 8th January, between 2-3pm in the SU Hall Carpenter Room. No need to sign up, just come along!

submit a new group application

Why Start a New Group?

Creating and leading a new group can be one of the most rewarding things you do throughout your student journey, not only because it can help you in lots of ways, but it can also help others. Here are only a few of the many reasons as to why it is good to take on this challenge: 

  • You will gain invaluable skills that employers are looking for
  • You will meet like minded individuals who can become your friends
  • You support others to build a community and find a sense of belonging
  • The activities you deliver will support students to advance their academic development

How to get started

Start by asking yourself these questions

  • Who is going to help me run my club or society?
  • Is there already a club or society organising the kinds of events that I want?
  • Who is going to join my club or society?

What you will need to start your own club or society

  • An idea for a club or society that does not already exist
  • Your idea will need to be within our new group criteria
  • You need 3 founders (including yourself) who will lead the new group for the rest of the academic year
  • 17 other students who will register their interest in this new group being formed

Important dates

Each term, applications will open for one month. Once applications close, the panel will assess all applications. You'll then be informed of the outcome of your application within 2 weeks.

APPLICATIONS FOR WINTER TERM ARE NOW OPEN!

Please submit your application here.

Applications will close on Sunday 12th January, and all applications will be assessed the following week.

Process for starting your new group

Starting a new club or society can be a daunting process for some, however we think it can also be one of the most positive experiences of student life at LSE! Here are the steps to take to get your group reviewed and approved.

Step 1: Check your idea

We advise you take the following steps to check your idea so that it doesn't get rejected when it gets to the committee.

  • Check it against the criteria for starting a new group
  • If it is similar to other societies or clubs, contact them and discuss your idea. You may have to slightly mould what you do so you can be different. We expect you to have spoken to other groups and to tell who you have spoken to specifically, in your application!
  • Are you better off being a society or a campaign group? Check out the Campaigns Hub to see if your aims would be more suited towards a campaign group.
  • If you are linked to an external organisation you will need to show how you are independent of them. You are not allowed to be governed by them as you are an LSESU society. You also cannot just market on their behalf your society must have activities that provide opportunities for students.

Step 2: Recruit your help and rally interest

Who is going to run the committee with you?

You may already have some friends who are keen to support you in setting up your new group. They may have even come up with the idea with you. The next step is to assign roles. The three founders need to be put in to the following roles:

  • President
  • Treasurer
  • Secretary

You can have other committee roles too but you will need to recruit these later down the line once the group is approved.

Getting 17 student to sign up for interest or recruiting other committee members
For the application you need 3 founders and 17 students who register their interest in this group being created. If you don’t already have other LSE students who are interested, there are ways in which you can connect with students to get them to support you. You will need their student ID’s.
  • You can try asking others on your course
  • You can reach out to other similar societies and ask them to promote this for you
  • You can put a post out on our various facebook groups
  • If none of these work, you can contact us and we can arrange some promotion for you. (but we will want to see proof that the other avenues haven't worked)

All you need are the students' names and ID so do not collect any other sensitive information. We advise you to keep these records yourself.

Step 3: Develop your idea and activities

You now need to think about the operations and delivery of your new group. Here are a list of things to think about:

  • What regular activity will we offer our members?
  • What events do we want to offer?
  • How much will all of these ideas cost?
  • Are there any potential sponsors we can reach out to?
  • How can we make this financially sustainable?
  • What spaces or equipment will we need to do these activities?
  • Are there any legal or health and safety implications to do this activity?

Top Tips To Help you Out

Starting a new club or society can be a daunting process for some, however we think it can also be one of the most positive experiences of student life at LSE! Here are some tips we feel could be helpful when starting a new group.

  • If you are not sure what regular activities or events you could put on within your group, then have a look around at other student's Unions websites as there will most likely be the same or a similar society at another institution. Or look at similar community based organisations!
  • Worried about finding a facility for your new sport? Speak to local clubs all over London, the same club at another London University or the Sports Development Coordinator. There will most likely be somewhere for your activity to happen
  • Not sure how you are going to fund your activity? Lots of groups are funded by sponsors, look at similar groups pages and contact the same sponsors.

Step 4: Documentation

To start a new student group there are a number of legal documents that have to be completed to ensure the activity you plan is governed properly, delivered safely and primarily is of a high quality for students.

Please look at the information below, complete the attached templates and attach them to your group application form. If you are not sure, please follow the support links provided for training or contact the Student Activities Team on su.societies@lse.ac.uk or su.sport@lse.ac.uk

  1. Create a draft constitution. This will need to be uploaded to your application form. You can find templates on the student documentation page.
  2. Complete a Development Plan  
  3. All groups should financially plan their activities for approximately the first year. You should consider all aspects of running a group such as membership, finance, events, facilities and much more. Please provide a brief breakdown of this in your application form.

Step 5: Submit your application

Once you have taken the starting steps along your journey to creating your new group, it is time to submit an application form. Your application will be taken to the next Activities Committee, after applications close.

The link to the application form will be shown further up this page, once applications open for Spring Term 2024.

Once they have reviewed your application, a member of staff will get back to you regarding whether your application was approved or rejected with reasoning.

If approved, you will be assigned a member of staff within the team to support your development process.

Unfortunately, if your application was rejected there is no appeals process. If there is a similar group to yours, we would advise talking to them about whether your idea could be a potential sub-committee or venture for them.

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