Goodbye Student Loan

As the annual Student Lock In clan arrived at Intu Eldon Square last night, hundreds of students flocked towards the discount signs in the hope of making their student loans stretch that little bit further.

It was of course the usual madness with out-of-control queues that made any attempt at reaching most of the clothes rails impossible, the constant tackle for sizes and leaving each shop with stuff that you didn’t want and didn’t need- only to return it all a week later. Still us students can’t resist a bargain; we are in debt after all and there’s plenty of time to cry into the bank balance later.

Some of the high street favourites, including Topshop, Office and New Look were of course rammed packed, while everyone also jumped onto normal student discount avoider River Island’s 20% discount too.

Intu Eldon Square really exceeded themselves in luring in Northumbria and Newcastle students (and their wallets), with samples available from food and drink stalls and the standard PR stunts from the Newcastle club scene trying to attract the punters, there was enough for the typical student though not as many freebies as last year’s event.

endless queues even in Ann Summers

However you do have to appreciate the effort put in by all the staff that organised the event and those especially who had the long tiresome shift running frantically around after all the students and in the raging heat.

Inevitably most purchases will be returned, purely bought on impulse after realising that actually you’d don’t get as much student loan as you had first though, but you can’t help but embrace the shoving and the sheer heat of hundreds of students crammed into one place just to save the pennies.