Warwick Students' Union is celebrating after its societies picked up several accolades at the RBS Enterprising Student Society Accreditation (ESSA) Awards and at the NUS Awards.

The Warwick Finance Society was awarded the Gold Award, and £18,000 in prize money, at the RBS ESSA Awards, while Warwick Economics Society was named Society of the Year by the NUS.

There were further reasons for cheer at ESSA as the Finance Society took home a further £2,000 for Best Series of Events and the Warwick Economics Society won the £1,000 runners-up prize in the Best Series of Events category. Warwick Rowing were also recognised at the awards, receiving a £2,000 runners-up prize in the most viewed promotion video category.

James Armstrong, Chairman of Warwick Finance Societies, said:

The prize means a lot to us. We've put in a lot of hard work this year and it's always nice to see your efforts recognised. It's particularly rewarding to be named the UK's most enterprising society.

We have plenty of plans for next year and how to best spend the prize money towards the benefit of our members.

The International Venture will be running again next year but this time our members will have the opportunity to fly to Mumbai, where they will enjoy a mixture of cultural, charity and finance based activities. We've also begun the process of setting up a modest student-run investment fund for educational purpose.”

At the NUS Awards, the Economics Society was recognised for the numerous charity events it organises as well as for success in increasing its membership to 1,100. An improved online presence was also highlighted, as well as comments on the society's 'innovation and keen interest on long term development'.

More about the Awards

The RBS ESSA, run by Find Invest Grow and sponsored by the RBS Group and LinkedIn, is an accreditation scheme launched to recognise the enterprising activities of the UK’s university societies. Following accreditation, societies were invited to enter the awards in the Bronze, Silver and Gold categories, depending on their level of enterprise. While Warwick Finance Societies scooped the top prize, 15 other student societies received a share of the £55,000 prize fund given out on the day.

Pictured at the NUS awards ceremony: Warwick Economics Society President Asim Khalid and Hitesh Pankhania with the Awards presenters.