Foam parties and a People's Vote rally: Edinburgh universities welcome thousands of new students

The universities of Edinburgh are preparing to welcome tens of thousands of new students to the city, many of whom will arrive this weekend.

Volunteers at the Scottish Universities welcome desk greet new students at Edinburgh Airport. Picture: The University of Edinburgh.

The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier, Heriot-Watt, and Queen Margaret University will run events through the week to welcome new students, including a People’s Vote rally organised by the University of Edinburgh students’ union, foam parties, extreme trampolining, bar crawls, a Harry Potter walking tour, and a closing party featuring Swedish DJ BassHunter for Napier Students.

Edinburgh Napier will welcome over 12,000 new full- and part-time students across its three city campuses, around half of whom will be attending the university for the first time. Heriot-Watt expects 2,000 students to attend Freshers’ week, while around 7,000 students will cross the threshold of the University of Edinburgh.

Napier will also open its doors to Scottish actress Honor Swinton Byrne, daughter of actress Tilda Swinton and playwright John Byrne. The 21-year-old will begin her studies in forensic psychology just weeks after her latest film, The Souvenir, opened. A sequel, The Souvenir: Part II is due in 2020.

Volunteers at the Scottish Universities welcome desk greet new students at Edinburgh Airport. Picture: The University of Edinburgh.

Edinburgh universities have joined with others in the area, including the University of Stirling and University of Dundee, to set up a welcome desk in Edinburgh airport to greet international students arriving to the country for the first time. “We can’t wait to welcome all of our new students,” the University of Edinburgh wrote on social media.