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In universities in the United Kingdom students' unions are constituted under Section 2 of the Education Act 1994. The ultimate purpose of students' unions is to democratically represent the interests of their members. Students who resign their membership may still use Union social facilities provided (often the main or only such facilities available) since they are for the benefit of the students of the institution, not just Union members. The vast majority of UK students' unions are affiliated with the National Union of Students (NUS).

The oldest students' union in Britain is Edinburgh University Students' Association, founded in 1884. The oldest in England is believed to be the Liverpool Guild of Students, founded in 1889. Britain's oldest students' union building, which is also the world's oldest students' union building, is the purpose-built Teviot Row House at the University of Edinburgh, built in 1889. The oldest in England is believed to be the Imperial College Union building in Beit Quad built between 1910 and 1911 and designed by Sir Aston Webb. The two largest students' union buildings in the United Kingdom are at the University of Bristol and the University of Sheffield.

Although "students' union" is by far the most common name adopted by these organisations in the UK, seven (including Exeter, Aston, Liverpool and Birmingham) are named 'guilds' of students while the term 'students' association' is also used at some institutions, particularly in Scotland, where the ancient universities used to have a pair of segregated student unions for men and women and/or had separate "unions" for social activities and "students' representative councils" for representational matters (an arrangement that still exists at the University of Glasgow). When these were amalgamated the term 'students' association' was introduced.

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