Rugby club 40th anniversary In 2015 more than 150 people attended the Southampton medics rugby club 40th anniversary reunion. Former players are now doctors working in a range of roles, from brain surgery to NHS leadership. The Southampton team has won the national medical school championship three times in recent years – including beating their nemesis, Cardiff, in the 2016 final.
Much student-led activity was orchestrated by the Southampton University Medical Society (later known as MedSoc), which was established by the first intake of students in 1971. The 1976 course brochure gives a flavour of its activities, which included “lectures, theatre visits, film shows and various social events such as the Annual DinnerDance”. At that time, annual membership cost £1 and was open to staff and students alike. By 1982 students were planning an Association of Alumni, the May Ball had become an annual celebration and a group calling itself BOSOMS (Best of Southampton Old Medical Shows) was rehearsing a revue entitled Beyond the Syringe, which it would perform at the Edinburgh Fringe. Student representation Mechanisms were put in place to realise the Dean’s vision of a school that delivers education in partnership with its students. As well as asking for feedback at each stage of the course, students were represented on a Faculty StaffStudent Liaison Committee, made up of equal numbers of staff and students and chaired by the Dean. The student representatives were from each year of the course and were elected by their peers. The committee provided an opportunity to discuss topics of interest or concern at twice-yearly meetings, with direct access to the Faculty Board. Changes in leadership In 1981 the school celebrated its 10th anniversary, and by July 1982, 597 students had graduated. There had also been a change in leadership; Donald Acheson had stepped down as Dean and was succeeded by Jack Howell in 1978. While the establishment of a thriving educational environment continued under Howell’s direction, the late 1970s and 1980s proved financially challenging for the medical school. Like the rest of the University it was affected by government funding cuts, and from 1977/78 its UGC grant was no longer earmarked. Initially it was able to use reserves
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