At NUS Scotland¡¯s national conference, serving women¡¯s officer Vonnie Sandlan was elected to succeed outgoing president Gordon Maloney ahead of Robert Foster, the current vice-president (education).

Ms Sandlan, a graduate of the University of West Scotland, is the first woman to lead the NUS north of the border for a decade.

In her manifesto, she described how she had lived in a homeless hostel after leaving school at 16 and was an unemployed single parent by the age of 19, but had had her life changed by the ¡°transformative power of education¡±.

Speaking after her election, Ms Sandlan said student issues had to be ¡°at the top of every party¡¯s agenda¡± in Scotland.

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¡°When access to education still too often depends on your background rather than potential, when student support still doesn¡¯t give the financial assurances it should, when education is still inflexible to the needs of students, it¡¯s clear we still have a long way to go,¡± she said.

In Northern Ireland, Fergal McFerran, a final-year student at Queen¡¯s University Belfast, was elected to lead the NUS-USI [Union of Students in Ireland].

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He said he would ¡°strongly oppose¡± cuts to higher education funding that have triggered job cuts and warnings of course closures.

¡°So many young people may have felt the need to move away to gain work or study opportunities and we need urgent investment to turn this devastating situation around,¡± he said.

At the annual conference of NUS Wales, serving president Beth Button was re-elected for a second term in office.

UK-wide NUS positions will be filled at the organisation¡¯s national conference between 21 and 23 April.

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chris.havergal@tesglobal.com