Pub Awards: Best Student finalist - The Swan, Lincoln

The Swan is very good quality students’ union that delivers on the elements that it wants to bring together: live entertainment and music; good quality food and drink; societies and clubs; and community relations.

The venue, run by manager and deputy David Andrew and Danielle Marsden, could have featured in ‘best turnaround’ – from the sounds of it the former venue was very low value, struggling, and in dire need of a new lease of life.

Despite being a student union, the Swan hasn’t simply put together a good, solid offer for students and left it at that. They management team have definitely gone above and beyond what would normally be expected from such a venue, and the attention to detail across the site is impressive.

Innovation

The vulnerable students’ accommodation, the dedication to getting in some craft keg lines – which will be turned – and also having a good cocktail offer and locally-sourced food shows that the typical ‘stack ’em high, sell ’em cheap’ model associated with university bars has been completely disregarded.

It is the process of management and innovation which sets this apart – it is the determination to make this the best student offer available and present it in a safe, well-run environment that makes the Swan a great place for University of Lincoln students to relax, come together, and enjoy themselves.