Updated 28 May 2024

• Unauthorised access to the Whitworth Hall complex by small group of student protestors
• Well-established exam contingency plan enacted
• No police action taken to remove occupiers

Over the weekend, a group of students from our University gained unauthorised access to the Whitworth Hall complex.

Various entrances and access points have been unlawfully barricaded, and occupiers have broken onto a balcony, which poses significant health and safety risks to occupiers and others. We are in discussions with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service about these risks, which go well beyond those we have seen in previous occupations.  

We have written to the individuals occupying the Whitworth Hall complex, requesting that they vacate the premises to allow your exams to proceed as planned. Unfortunately, they have refused.

As a result, we are now activating our well-established exam contingency plans, but it is deeply disappointing that their actions are directly impacting on what is already, for all those undertaking assessments at present, one of the most intense periods in the academic year. 

If you are scheduled to take an exam in the Whitworth Hall please instead go to the ground floor of University Place at least 20 minutes before the scheduled start of your exam. Marshals will be present to direct you to your new exam location. The start time of your exam will be delayed to account for this disruption, but the duration of your exam will remain unchanged and we will continue to do everything we can to ensure that the action of this small group does not impact you further.

Furthermore, on the evening of Monday 27 May 2024, a large demonstration occurred on campus, which included members of the public, as well as some of our students. Greater Manchester Police were in attendance, as is standard procedure for large protests.

Despite claims made on social media, no action has been taken to remove those occupying Whitworth Hall, by either our Campus Support and Security staff or Greater Manchester Police.

As the University has been clear in the formal notice delivered to them today and in previous formal notices issued to occupiers, the University firmly support students’ rights to freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and peaceful protest. These are fundamental rights that allow for a healthy exchange of ideas.

However, disrupting exams violates the standards of behaviour and conduct we expect from students, as outlined in our Student Charter and student disciplinary regulations.  

Background to the current protests 

• We have previously published our position on the issues behind the current protests.