Bournemouth university student union claims a shift to drinking culture amongst students is emerging.
The amount of drinks being purchased across student union venues has halved in the last 20 years, and a decrease in attendance to club events.
SUBU’s director of Commercial services, and manager of Dylan’s bar, Alan Dove, believes students are drinking less now than previous years.
He said: “In the nineties, if you went into Dylan’s Bar on a Friday afternoon, it would be rammed with students drinking heavily.”
“Today, the scene is markedly different. Heavy drinking is less pervasive.”
He added: “Data that we’ve seen would suggest that about twenty five percent of full time students don’t regularly drink.”
Drinkaware also released a survey in 2025, revealing UK adults are typically drinking less often in 2025 than they did in previous years, with 14% drinking four or more times per week in 2025 compared to 18% in 2018.
The Cocktail Mocktail society, which is focused on drinking and nightlife, has also noticed a decrease in membership this year.
Society president Rhys Green, reveals the society isn’t running as smooth this year.
He said: “They’re expecting fewer people to come to their events, and less people wanting to go clubbing afterwards.”
He said: “A lot of venues are closing, and drinks prices at clubs and venues are too high, making people less interested in going out”.
Even despite the decrease in student nightlife, the union still recognises the impacts that drinking culture can have.
Bournemouth University’s student voice co-ordinator Ryan Hughes, said: “Nightlife and drinking can definitely affect studies.”
He said: “The balance of going clubbing can easily tip toward not attending uni and affecting your academic performance.”
“A lot of first year students are suddenly hit with all these new responsibilities and decisions — making it difficult to find balance between drinking and university.”
The BU student union introduced the buddy scheme.
This scheme partners third year students with first years, so they can learn from their experiences.
Ryan said: “The buddy scheme could help students find the balance between nightlife and their studies.”
More information about the buddy scheme can be found at : https://www.subu.org.uk/volunteering/buddyscheme/?utm_campaign=BuddyScheme&utm_medium=VanityShortcut
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