Just like every year, Manchester is getting ready to welcome around 80,000 new and returning students to our city over these next few weeks.
Although, the student experience is set to be a very different one amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
With nightclubs still closed and strict social distancing measures in place in bars – as well as the new rule of six and a 10pm curfew announced by the government – this means that usual bar crawls and club nights are out of the question.
Luckily, there’s still plenty of offers, deals and COVID-safe / virtual events either already happening, or set to take place in and around the city centre which are all intent on helping the iconic student adventure thrive despite the circumstances.
From discounted drinks deals, to virtual bingo events, student shopping weeks and even money-off gym memberships, there’s a lot going on in the rainy city that you won’t want to miss.
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If you’re going to be a student anywhere in 2020, you’ve made a good choice in picking Manchester.
This is your ultimate student guide to the city.
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Student Shopping Week
Trafford Centre
Trafford Centre
intu Trafford Centre’s annual Student Shopping Week is back.
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More than 50 stores, restaurants and leisure venues are getting involved and students will be able to take advantage of some amazing deals and exclusive offers, with up to 50% off some brands.
The popular shopping mall has hosted a huge student night for the past eight years, but in 2020, this will be extended to a full week and it means that students can choose a time to visit that is convenient to them, which will in turn help to manage the number of visitors in the centre and maintain social distancing.
Student Shopping Week is taking place from 28th September – 4th October and you can find out more of what’s on offer here.
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‘Fresh Deals for Freshers’
Printworks
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Printworks
The Printworks is ready to welcome students to the city in the safest way possible.
As Manchester’s number one entertainment complex in the heart of the city centre, the Printworks has a whole host of deals and discounts to suit the needs of every student and help you kick-start freshers in style.
There’s over nineteen venues to splash your student loan on, including food, drink and leisure.
Together with Southern Comfort, Schuh and Unihomes, Bongo’s Bingo is bringing the party from the comfort of your halls or student house this year with Freshers Goes Virtual.
Students will be able to tune in to the crazy three-hour live stream on an unprecedented scale.
Now, Joel Corry joins Clean Bandit – both UK chart No.1 artists debuting brand new mixes for the stream – at what is set to be a wild evening of mayhem and magic, with stream host Jonny Bongo keeping it very much unreal and where fabulous prizes can be won.
Bongo’s Bingo Freshers Goes Virtual is taking place on 1st October 2020 at 8pm.
Ever-popular Wakefield Street hangout Brickhouse Social has already got plenty going on this month.
Students arriving in the city can make the most of free games of pool, 25% off food seven days a week – and 50% off food on Mondays only – £2.50 pints and vodka mixers, £2 shots, £1 coffee, four for £10 jagerbombs and 2-4-1 pizza.
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What more could you want? All you need to do is show your Student ID to be eligible.
Buttermilk Fried Chicken experts Yard & Coop are offering something a little different for students in Manchester this year.
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The Mates Rates card is arriving in the rainy city, meaning those dining in the Manchester restaurant can now get 20% off the entire bill on Sunday-Thursday. Not only that, but they’re also giving away a free pint of Yard Pilsner when you sign up for Mates Rates with no strings attached.
All you have to do fill in the form on the Yard & Coop website and then you’ll receive an email with a voucher.
Weird & Wonderful is bringing its student-focused bottomless brunch to Revolution Deansgate Locks.
With a signature soundtrack of Disco / Party / Hip Hop tunes, an endless selection of drinks – from Aperol Spritz, Pornstar Martinis and Prosecco, to Amstel and Heineken – and a wide array of mouth-watering food options, this is bound to be 90 minutes of bottomless fun.
There’s multiple events going on from 4th October right through to 6th December and you can grab your tickets starting at £25 per person now.
We’re going to make sure we keep updating this list with any more unmissable offers that we see as the weeks go on, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled.
Don’t forget to check back for all the latest.
What's On
A noughties fashion throwback is returning to Manchester and handing out freebies – including tattoos
Danny Jones
Beloved nineties and noughties clothing band Bench is at the beginning of a renaissance, and as they prepare to hand out free samples and even tattoos as part of their ‘Revival Collection’ sale, they’re returning to where it all started: Manchester.
Toasting the Y2K trends that have come back into style, the locally-founded label – started here in our city circa 1989 – is once again looking to make inroads and remind everyone why they were such a cult favourite name to begin with.
Preparing to reinstate its position in the Manc streetwear scene, Bench is set to make its comeback with a massive sample sale right here in Manchester, and there’s plenty of discounted stuff plus complimentary bits up for grabs.
We’re about to dance and dress like it’s 1999.
@bench.official Your first look at our AW25 Revival collection, available exclusively at Bench. Open House at the @Manchester Social this Thursday 6th November 👀 Shop samples old and new (yep, there’s even more available) for exclusive prices at our Manchester city centre sample sale event 💸 #samplesale#manchester♬ original sound – Bench Official
Spread across three whole floors, the ‘Bench Open House’ and Y2K Revival Collection will be on show at The Manchester Social tattoo studio.
Featuring timeless staples like oversized tees, vintage wash and classic turn-of-the-century style denim, big, baggy sweats and low-slung trousers re-designed for a new era.
Promising “extra goodies” from brands like Isovibe and Sunday Rain to the first 50 purchases on the day, you can expect plenty of familiar makes on show.
Being housed at Manchester Social too, the first 25 guests to book in will get a free flash tattoo on the night, courtesy of the studio’s talented fine-line artists; bookings can be made online or over the phone in advance for this directly.
And that’s no way near all there is on offer…
Those coming along can also enjoy retro gaming, nostalgic beats from live DJs supplying ’90s house party vibes, as well as cool photo ops, cocktails from Zubrowka (bison grass vodka brand), Baby Beer shots by Licor 43, plus non-alcoholic rum cocktails from Caleño. Immaculate energy all night long.
We’re personally loving how much late 1990s/early ’00s fashion is doing the rounds again. (Credit: Press shots)
Most importantly of all, the full proceeds from the sale will be donated to the native homeless charity Mustard Tree, which helps support people across the region.
Joanne Reidy, Head of Marketing at Bench’s parent group Apparel Brands, commented: “At Bench, Manchester isn’t just our home, it’s helped shape our identity.
“We’re proud that every sale from the Open House sample sale will go directly to Mustard Tree, supporting their vital work helping people across the city.”
Jack Barton, Head of Communications at the non-profit organisation, added: “We’re incredibly grateful to be the beneficiary of this event. Our mission is to combat poverty and prevent homelessness – it is down to the goodwill of our Greater Manchester partners who make this possible.
The Bench Open House and sample sale event takes place from 6-10pm at Manchester Social (9 South King Street, M2 6DG) this Thursday, 6 November. It’s completely free entry, but those looking to cop one of the selected designs can book in now.
Featured Images — Press shots (supplied via Bench)
What's On
You can get 25% off your bill when eating out at this well-known Italian restaurant with a secret code
Danny Jones
Fancy going out for tea but still trying not to spend too much money at this time of year? Well, Manchester, you can get 25% off your bill at an already affordable British restaurant chain by simply saying a special phrase.
This deal is only available this week, though, so we wouldn’t wait around.
We’ve all been there: you’re fed up of getting home after working and having to cook, so you start trying to justify ‘just one‘ night out, but it can be a real pull between enjoyment and ease versus trying to save those pennies – especially with the festive period looming.
Luckily, well-known Italian restaurant group Carluccio’s, who have a site right here in central Manchester, is offering a significant discount by simply asking for the bill in Italian. Simple as.
As a recognisable name on the UK high street, the authentic Italian eatery dates back nearly three and a half decades, the London-born deli and food shop going on to open its first-ever sit-down venue called Carluccio’s Caffè back in 1999.
In addition to their long-standing Manchester location in Piccadilly Station, the brand was also a shop-window establishment for the Trafford Centre, sitting front and centre as one of the first places to eat as you walked in the Orient entrance.
Now, as for how you access this welcome bit of money off your bill, it’s very straightforward and can be secured as fast as you can say “The bill, please”; well, actually, you need to ask for it in Italian, as it is this phrase that Carluccio’s has dubbed the ‘secret code’.
Following a study by language learning app, Preply, which recently carried out research into menu anxiety and struggling to make a decision when dining out, they’ve teamed up with Carluccio‘s to help push people to feel more confident ordering dishes not in their native tongue.
They found that almost half (49%) have felt embarrassed about not speaking another language, with one fifth of those surveyed lacking the confidence to try and pronounce foreign words, while one in six worried they’d be judged for getting it wrong.
Well, there’s no getting it wrong in this instance, as the Carluccio’s and Preply are giving you the specific keywords not only to ask for the bill in Italian – “Il conto, per favore” – but to unlock the bonus of a quarter off the final sum.
Anna Pyshna, spokesperson at Preply, says: “People may know how to say gnocchi in theory, but when the waiter’s standing there, confidence can vanish. We want to show that getting things wrong is part of learning and sometimes, even worth a discount.
“By turning a simple phrase into a real-world reward, we’re helping people take that first, brave step to speak up. It’s a reminder that the language learning process doesn’t start with perfection, it starts with the willingness to try.”
So, that really is it: dine at any of their restaurants across the country (including here in Manchester) and ask for the bill in Italian to get 25% off your bill; once again, the offer is only on until 9 November. You can find your nearest Carluccio’s location HERE.
The Manc -
23rd September 2020 
