Go Higher: London & The South East: The fun starts here

Clear your diary - it's time for some serious socialising with your fellow bright young things

If you are at a loose end on Saturday night in London, you can sample a range of student entertainment at the University of London Union (ULU) and at the student club nights at other London colleges and universities.

ULU runs a night called Beano during term-time where you can dance till you drop. Licensed until 2am, it has a resident DJ and charges pounds 2 entry before 11pm and pounds 3 after that time.

Collide-a-scope at Kings College has an indie night on Saturday from 10.30pm to 3am. Costing pounds 4 to NUS members and pounds 8 otherwise, it's an established club with a mix of students from different universities. According to the cognoscenti, it will never win prizes for originality but it's fun, easy entertainment nevertheless.

On Wednesdays, Kings runs a hip-hop night promoted in conjunction with the Asian Society. Expect the wannabe serious hip-hop crowd, with some egos as wide as their trousers. Prices are pounds 3 to Asian Society members and pounds 5 to others. In addition, Kings College puts on a range of cheap fun nights including pub crawls, the regular Friday nighter Phase, and an Austin Powers-themed Seventies disco extravaganza.

At Goldsmiths College in south London the regular nightclub is on Wednesday at Club Sandwich (pounds 3 to NUS members, pounds 5 otherwise, 10am to 2pm). On Friday you can hear anything from jazz to drum'n'bass, hip-hop to Salsa. Salsa highlight recently was Andy Wetherall (he of Sabres of Paradise and Primal Scream fame). Goldsmiths promises upcoming club nights in conjunction with the Ministry of Sound, the famous nightspot by the Elephant and Castle.

The University of East London has three venues - Stratford, Barking and a third opening this autumn at the new Docklands campus. There will be something virtually every night across the three campuses. Students are treated to live music once a week at two of the campuses.

At South Bank University there's a regular Wednesday night disco and various other entertainments during the week including pub quizzes and karaoke. But student nightlife is in a state of flux because the university is intending to put on more entertainment for the black and Asian students who between them make up the majority of its intake.

Outside London there is less choice but the student social scene at most universities in the South-east has expanded and is fairly lively. The University of Kent at Canterbury student club, The Venue, for example, which opened in autumn 1998, has become extremely popular. Prices for events have been kept low. As Allan McKay, commercial services manager, says: "We don't bump up the prices for special nights." The Venue's success is attributed to good music and atmosphere. "It's for students and has a social club feeling," says McKay.

Oxford Brookes University has two venues - one called The Venue, which holds 1,200 people and is thought to be the largest arena of its kind in Oxford, and the other called Morals. The big dance night goes by the name of Crunchy and is held every Friday night at The Venue, and Wednesday is comedy night.

Lucy Hodges and Rohit Sharma