DISPATCHING AS NORMAL. POTENTIAL FOR COURIER DELAYS, PLEASE ALLOW 1-3 WORKING DAYS FOR DELIVERY. SEE DELIVERY INFO HERE.

Blog

We Release Freshers Friendly Moving Boxes, And Reveal The UK Universities Most Likely To Face The Rainiest Freshers’ Week

by

As thousands of students prepare to move into university halls this September, the team at Schott Packaging completed an in-depth analysis of Met Office rainfall data (2014-2024), to reveal which campuses are most likely to face a soggy Freshers’ Week, and which can expect a drier start to student life.

To do this, we compared the average September rainfall (mm) over the last decade at weather stations close to major universities.

Our research found the following:

The Wettest Freshers’ Weeks:

  1. University of Aberdeen (Braemar weather station – 137.8mm)
  2. Ulster University (Ballypatrick Forest weather station – 112.4mm)
  3. Cardiff University (Cardiff weather station – 104.5mm)
  4. University of Exeter (Camborne weather station, Cornwall – 99.6mm)
  5. University of Plymouth (Chivenor weather station, Devon – 86.4mm)

The Driest Freshers’ Weeks

  1. University of Cambridge (Cambridge weather station – 49.1mm)
  2. University of Bath / Bath Spa (Yeovilton weather station – 56.1mm)
  3. Durham University (Durham weather station – 60.1mm)
  4. University of Suffolk / UEA (Lowestoft weather station – 63.2mm)
  5. University of Sheffield / Sheffield Hallam (Sheffield weatherstation – 67.3mm)

Additional Statistics:

  • Scotland & Northern Ireland are the rainiest locations, while East Anglia & the South East are the driest.
  • Cardiff is the UK’s wettest mainland university city, averaging 104.5mm each September.
  • Aberdeen students face almost 3x more rain than Cambridge freshers.
  • Across the UK, a west-east rainfall divide is clear: western campuses face nearly double the rain of eastern campuses.
  • Cardiff freshers get rained on on an average of 17 days each September, nearly every other day.
  • Bath and Cambridge are sheltered spots, with less than half the rain of Exeter, Plymouth or Cardiff.
  • Despite being a northern city, Durham ranks as 3rd driest.

Schott’s New Student Moving Kit

To help students protect their belongings during what could be a wet and chaotic move-in week, we’ve launched a special Student Moving Kit – available now on our website.

The kit has been designed to make moving into halls easier, safer, and rain ready. Unlike standard moving packs, they include pallet wrap and a dispenser to allow students to quickly make boxes more weather-resistant, slowing water ingress during the move-in process.

Tom Schott, at Schott Packaging, said:

“Freshers’ Week is stressful enough without your belongings getting ruined by the rain. That’s why we’ve put together a kit with everything students need to move securely, including sturdy double wall boxes and pallet wrap to keep the boxes as dry as possible, even in the wettest uni cities.”