Greggs picnics, pub crawls, and history quizzes: How northern societies are helping students find each other

It's a place where a conversation about big coat weather is acceptable, Greggs picnics are a staple and big lights are off.

And for university students being proud of your roots and connecting with others as part of Northern Societies helps to create a "home away from home".

It's not just about education - it's about deep rooted connection and celebration. We take a look at what is a northern society and why they matter so much.

“It's a home away from home.” That’s how Ella, an MA student in Architectural Conservation describes the Edinburgh University Northern Society.

The student from Newcastle first joined the club three years ago and is now society president. She claimed it completely “transformed” her experience at university. But what exactly is a northern society and why do they matter?

A northern society is a space for university students from the North of England to connect and participate in fun events. For Ella, it was a northern-themed pub quiz that led to her discovering what Edinburgh’s Northern Society had to offer. She found it “refreshing” to meet and bond with other people from the region.

Ella said: “Before I moved away for uni, I'd never lived anywhere but Newcastle. I was constantly used to my surroundings being very Geordie so I’d had quite a jarring year of having to adapt to new environments.

“Sitting in a room full of people who sounded like me and have a similar background and went to similar schools was comforting and lovely.”

But Edinburgh isn’t the only university with one; in fact, 50 per cent of Russell Group universities have an active northern society. All focus on creating spaces to celebrate northern identity.

Lucy, an English Language and Linguistics student from Burnley, is President of the University of York Northern Society. Even though she’s at a university based in the North, Lucy said that starting studying was a “culture shock” as it was difficult to find fellow northerners with similar accents and cultural experiences.

Unable to find the community she craved, Lucy decided to create it herself alongside some friends by reviving the University of York Northern Society, a student society originally founded in 2022. By bringing back the society that had faded into obscurity, she wanted to make an inclusive environment for northern students to regularly hang out with each other.

Lucy said: “I think people don’t realise how much the North has to offer until they see it.

“This is a space where you can come together and bond about being northern in a safe place - it’s a really big community which is so important for people’s mental health.”

Their event highlight of the year so far has been a northern-themed pub crawl where students were invited to dress up as their favourite northern icon. Costumes included Wallace and Gromit, Philomena Cunk, and several Liam Gallaghers while Lucy herself chose to dress up as a Pendle witch as an ode to her hometown.

Quirky themes are also common at Edinburgh’s Northern Society events which have so far included a Greggs picnic and a bingo night where one of the top prizes for 250 bags of Yorkshire Tea.

Kelham, an Engineering student from Hull, who is the Secretary of the Cambridge University Northern Society, said that he hopes sixth form students are able to find the society on social media and discover that students from their background can fit in here.

He said: “It would be great if we could use a society not only to help people feel more at home while they're here, but to feel as though they belong before they come to Cambridge.

“If they can see the Northern Society, they might feel a bit more like they belong or feel like they can apply to these sort of institutions which these populations are underrepresented in.”

James, president of the Oxford University Northern Society, has a similar aim. The History and Politics student, who grew up in Blackburn and Bolton, sees the existence of the society as a way to erode imposter syndrome for current students and act as a visible welcoming place for future cohorts.

He said: “There’s a mysticism about Oxbridge in particular where there’s a specific notion that northern people don’t fit in that kind of institution which I think is nonsense really.

“I think it's important that you can see there is a community of northerners. It’s a nice framework for students to come together as opposed to being on their own.”

Where exactly the north starts is a point of contention amidst various northern societies. York’s Northern Society made the debate into a game at their Fresher’s Yorkshire Tea Party where they found most students count anything above Doncaster as northern.

However, the societies all refuse to be exclusive, welcoming all northern students and northern “allies”. Edinburgh’s Northern Society has even had members from Scotland, Ireland, and North America join to be part of the fun.

Kelham said: “The only real requirement is an identity of feeling northern, that's what really matters. We'd be lying if we didn't say that we all had an idea in our heads, but we don't force it on anyone - if you feel northern, you're more than welcome.”

It seems northern identity is not so much defined by physical place but rather culture. The societies spotlight friendliness, chattiness, and a dry sense of humour, as key northern traits, and they exist to unite people who share these.

Berry, an English student from Leeds who is Treasurer of the Cambridge University Northern Society, hopes that by joining a northern society, students can find a “nice little microcosm of being at home”. Whether home is defined by place or personality is up to them.

Berry said: “You have people here who say, "I've never met a single northerner at Cambridge yet” and sometimes it's pretty dire for people.

“The society is a way to find fellow northerners that you can actually talk to about things.

“Obviously not every northerner is going to get on with every northerner, but I think it's a really good way of just kind of finding people who probably have the same experiences.”

Northern societies exist to introduce students to people who may live close to home but they have never met. Ella prides herself on her mental catalogue of Edinburgh’s Northern Society membership and claims she can matchmake any new member to someone else who lives nearby.

Meanwhile at Oxford’s Northern Society, James found a member who lives in Oswaldtwistle, the same small village as his grandparents, and York’s Northern Society, Lucy found two members who discovered they grew up just streets apart from each other.

Cambridge’s Northern Society is one of the largest with 315 members but they also pay attention to intimate bonds through their “Northern families” initiative where freshers are connected to older year groups who act as a source of support and advice. According to Berry, the benefit of this is offering an “automatic familiar face” for any new northern student who signs up.

While northern societies have grown in popularity over the past few years, a southern society equivalent is non-existent. For James, he feels this is because students from the South already feel represented at university.

James said: “I wondered at first why there isn't a southern society but I don’t think they feel out of place. They don’t feel like it’s not somewhere that they belong.

“There are a lot of nation societies and people see clearly that they want a society because they’re far away from home. But I think for a lot of us northerners, we feel like we’re far away from home too.”

Some seek out northern societies to meet new people while others bring their friends along for an entertaining escape from their studies. What they find is an environment where northern identity is embraced. It’s a remedy for homesickness, a fun night out, an unconventional adventure, and a place they feel welcomed. Northern societies are home comforts brought to life.