The definitive A to Z guide to the most iconic parts of your Warwick experience

From our random sculptures on campus to our unique pre-Pop! drinking rituals, we can all agree that Warwick Uni is a weird and wonderful place to be. To the unsuspecting fresher, however, all these iconic Warwick items might seem overwhelming. To set the record straight, here’s your handy, alphabetised Warwick experience list – if you don’t feel nostalgic for every one of these by the time you graduate, you’ve done uni wrong.

Starting off at A…

Accommodation

You might think this is a basic entry, but your choice in accommodation defines not only your first year at Warwick but also who you are as a person.

Rootes? You’re probably a sesh-head who never missed a Smack Tuesday. Bluebell? You’re too busy reading the Telegraph and drinking port to go out. Westwood? You’re most likely an ASOS addict – why else would you choose to live in Westwood apart from its proximity to the post room?

Burger Van

The only way to curb those inevitable post-Pop! munchies is with a trip to the Burger Van. This underrated little van holds a place in everyone’s hearts, despite the fact that they manage to run out of fries EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT.

Circling

Nothing is more iconic-ly Warwick than sitting in Bar Fusion with your favourite society, armed with pints and playing Start The Radio or sexy Roman numerals or 20+1 or One Fat Frog or that strange slapping your thighs game that leaves you with bruises…

Dirty Duck Pub Quiz

A hidden gem in the SU’s social calendar, the weekly pub quiz is the perfect place to tear your hair out over a missing Queen lyric or argue with your teammates over which was the best-selling video game of 2010. Though if you’re planning to go, be prepared to lose to Quiz Soc’s team every single week :/

Exec Jumpers

Are you really on the exec of a society if you don’t walk around campus 24/7 in your society sweatshirt telling everyone that you are the social sec of *said society*???

Fessions

Ah, Warwick Fessions – not only is it the perfect place to confess your undying love/hatred anonymously, but it also provides brilliant mid-lecture entertainment.

Geese

Only those who’ve lived in Lakeside or Heronbank can truly appreciate the horrors of the Warwick geese – take it from someone who’s walked around the entire lake just to avoid a goose squad many a time.

Hefty Sports Federation fee

Say goodbye to that student loan.

Internationals at the Learning Grid

Dear freshers, please don’t make the mistake of going to France – sorry the Learning Grid – to work, because this just won’t happen. Yours sincerely, second and third year students who know that you usually can’t hear yourself think in there x

Jokes about Coventry University

All Warwick students have at some point made a joke taking the mick out of our neighbours at Cov Uni. If you say you haven’t, you’re lying. But let’s not be too mean because without Cov, who else would we beat at Varsity for three decades straight?!

Kasbah

The best club around, don’t deny it. It has a huge main floor, a bar with chairs shaped like hands, cheap jaegers, an indie room with a sequin ceiling and a burger van in the really cute, instagramable smoking area – what more could you ask for?!

Lord Bhattacharyya

We all know the name (even if we can’t spell it), but most of us have no clue who this legend was. All we know is he’s important enough to have a building and a road named after him.

To answer your mild curiosity, Lord B was a professor of manufacturing systems and he founded Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG)… so he probably does deserve that fancy building with the gorgeous cafe.

MyWarwick

MyWarwick is that adorable app that reminds you of your Eating at Warwick balance (try not to spend that 30p all at once), when the next bus is due (though you’ll probably miss it anyway) and alerts you as to when your untouched library books are due back (but you’ll still renew them for the umpteenth time). It also has every fresher’s best friend on it – the interactive Campus Map. Though let’s be real, we ALL use it (whether or not we admit it…)

Neon

Arguably the best club in Leam, Neon has it all. Huge claustrophobic main floor? Check. Front room playing pop with questionably clean sofa? Check. Upstairs grime room. Check. Proximity to Viallis? PERFECT!

Overdraft

From giving in and buying your groceries at Rootes to avoid the walk to any other reasonably priced supermarket, to the Ubers and bus tickets you’ll buy escaping campus for a decent night out (sorry Copper Rooms), living at Warwick will certainly help you to max out your overdraft, on top of blowing your whole student loan.

POP!

Pop! is a little bit like marmite – you either love the crazy costumes, the cheesy music and the endless amount of Purple… or you’re insane. No one is too good for Pop! and you know it.

Q jumps

Warwick students are always very grateful for queue jumps: not only are they the only way you’d bother with for Smack Tuesdays, but they provided WBS students with endless opportunities to turn a profit.

Rootes

Why is it the namers of Warwick buildings couldn’t think of anything other than the word Rootes? There’s Rootes accomodation (Old AND New), the Rootes Building (with the Learning Grid), Rootes grocery store (anyone ask for overpriced groceries?)…

Sharking

Let me be the first, young fresh, to warn you about sharking. Horny second and third year students desperate to avoid the long bus ride home from campus will happily hit on any fresher that comes their way. Unless you want to be shark-bait (or as they are sometimes affectionately termed ‘dolphin’), we recommend that you run.

Tabula

There is nothing worse than looking at that long list of assignments you have due on Tabula at the start of the term…or looking at how many monitoring points you missed at the end of the term…or how many seminars you were “ill” for… should probably just avoid looking at Tabula full stop.

U1

Ever seen that wildebeest stampede in the Lion King? That’s what it’s like trying to squeeze onto the last U1 on a Wednesday after Pop!. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Viallis

Not to be too controversial, but if we’re being completely honest, food from Viallis isn’t the best. HOWEVER, after a Friday Neon (or on the rare occasion you brave Assembly) those crusty fries and questionable chicken wings just hit the spot.

Woxbridge

Stop trying to make Woxbridge happen. It’s not going to happen.

12X

On the rare occasion a Warwick student ventures into the deep dark depths of Coventry (probably only for a Kasbah Monday, or a Kasbah Friday if you’re feeling extra), the 12X is the bus for you.

Oh, and if you make the mistake of moving to Cov for your second year. Trust us, the short trip to campus isn’t worth it.

Y did we choose to come here?

You’ll be asking this question often through your university experience. But remember, if you ignore our sharks, geese and questionable social life, Warwick isn’t the worst place in the world – remember, it could be worse – you could be a student at Cov.

Zeeman building

To many a maths student, Zeeman probably has much more significant meaning. But, to the rest of us, it’s that building with the stripy wall! The wall painting is actually a piece of artwork by Ian Davenport, entitled ‘Everything’… so thank you Ian for providing many a Warwick student with the perfect background for their LinkedIn profile, exec icon or SU Sabbatical photo. Using that wall in Ramphal as a backdrop just doesn’t match up.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• The truth from Warwick execs about what it’s REALLY like running a Sports Club at Warwick

• There’s a war going on inside Warwick SU over the sit down POP! being ‘irresponsible’

• We tried the new library experience under Covid restrictions so you don’t have to