Student removals across Sussex universities — Brighton, Sussex, Chichester, Surrey. Fixed-price quotes, scaled to a single room or a four-bed share, with the same pad-wrap care we use on family moves.
If you’re a student moving in or out of halls at the University of Sussex, the University of Brighton, the University of Chichester or any of the Sussex colleges, our student removals service is built around the realities of your timetable: short notice, tight budgets, narrow stairwells in halls and a moving day that doubles as exam-finish day. We offer fixed-price small-load moves between halls, halls and home, or to and from storage — with a uniformed two-person crew, proper packing materials and a single price quoted up front.
We move undergraduates, postgraduates and international students between any combination of:
Typical loads range from a single room (one car-load equivalent) up to a four-person shared house. We bring all the materials — cartons, bubble wrap, tape, blankets — and you only pay for what you use.
The three most common student moves we handle:
Honest prices for student-sized loads:
We quote a fixed price up front. No mileage surcharges, no end-of-day “the lorry overran” charges, no £25 stair fees. The price you’re quoted is the price you pay.
Our two busiest weeks of the year are the second week of September (start of term) and the third week of June (end of term). Diaries fill 6–8 weeks ahead in those windows. If you know your move date, get in touch as soon as you do — we’ll hold a slot and confirm details closer to the date.
Mid-term moves (e.g. moving rooms in March, or moving into a new flatshare for the second year) we can usually accommodate at a few days’ notice.
We regularly run student moves to and from:
For international students, we run a combined storage + onward shipping service: store your gear with us over the summer, then we pack, document and ship anything that’s going home with you when you graduate. We’re BAR Overseas members and ship regularly to most of Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, India, China and South-East Asia. Email office@markratcliffemoving.co.uk with your final destination and approximate volume and we’ll come back with a shipping quote.
Three patterns make up most of the student moves we handle. The biggest is the end-of-tenancy summer-term clear-out — June to early September, halls or shared houses, students heading home or to a new property. The second is the September move-in surge — parents driving students to Brighton, Sussex Uni, or Eastbourne for the first time and finding the car can’t physically hold everything. The third is the inter-year shift — January or April, moving between rental properties as housemates change. We adapt the crew and vehicle to each.
If you’re not taking everything home for the summer, our Lower Dicker depot stores student volumes by the box or by the room, and the room sizes are fixed. A single student’s belongings sit comfortably inside our smallest room, 30 sq ft, at £18 a week including VAT — £72 per 4 weeks — and two of you can share that one room between you. We’ll happily deliver back to a new term-time address come September. Parents often prefer this to lugging everything home and back across the M25 twice.
| Room size | Typical student load | Per week including VAT | Per 4 weeks including VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 sq ft | One student’s room — or two of you sharing one room | £18 | £72 |
| 50 sq ft | Three housemates’ loads on a single collection | £27 | £108 |
| 75 sq ft | Four housemates plus the shared kitchen and lounge kit | £36 | £144 |
Every figure above includes VAT and includes £5,000 of cover. Collection or delivery is charged separately, each way, and starts at £240 in Sussex for the smallest room. First 4 weeks half price when we collect for you.
Full room sizes, packed volumes and the collection dates that matter in June are set out on our student storage in Sussex page.
Lithium-battery items (laptops, e-scooters) travel with you, not in the lorry — transit insurance specifically excludes them. Plants, paint, fuel and pressurised containers are similarly off-limits. Anything truly fragile (instruments, framed art) is fine but mention it at booking so we bring the right protective materials. For student moves we also ask about anything left behind for housemates to collect later — we’ll happily run a second visit at a small flat fee rather than try to wedge everything into one over-loaded run.
Email office@markratcliffemoving.co.uk with your collection and delivery addresses, your move date and a rough idea of what’s coming (one room? full shared house?). We’ll reply with a fixed quote the same working day. For September and June we recommend booking at least 6 weeks ahead.
Often yes outside the September and June peak weeks. Call rather than email if you need it that quickly: 01323 848 008.
No. Most student customers pack themselves to save money, but if you’d rather we packed for you, fragile-only or full packing is an add-on. Tell us when you book.
We collect from your halls or flat, drive everything back to our secure depot at Lower Dicker, store it on a per-week basis from £18 a week including VAT for our smallest 30 sq ft room, and re-deliver to wherever you need it. £5,000 of cover is included, and the first 4 weeks are half price when we collect for you.
Yes. Card payment over the phone or bank transfer. Some students pay half on booking and half on delivery — we’re happy with that.
Of course. We routinely invoice parents, family members, employers (for postgrad relocations) and university accommodation offices. Just give us the billing address when you book.
From the blog
Halls close each summer. What student storage costs against driving it home, the halls check-out, and the move into a second-year house.
Read article →
Student move tips for parents — term-start and end-of-year trips. What to pack, what to ship, what to leave at home, plus halls logistics.
Read article →
Why paying for a professional packing service is often worth it. Save time, reduce stress, and protect your belongings.
Read article →Call us today for a free, no-obligation quote — or use our online form. Whether it's a one-room move or a full international relocation, we've handled it before.
If the contents need somewhere to sit between academic years rather than travelling home, we also run student storage across Sussex and Brighton, with collection from halls before the move-out deadline.