Ms Pearce was elected the next president of the NUS at the union¡¯s annual conference in Sheffield last week, after securing almost 60 per cent of the 732 valid votes cast.

However, dissatisfaction in the union¡¯s ranks was highlighted by fellow presidential candidate Sam Gaus, who represented an ¡°inanimate carbon rod¡±, and whose conference speech was designed to mock the processes and policies of the NUS.

¡°The inanimate carbon rod will not spend its time fighting for nothing but buzzwords¡­[and] will not make repetitive, generic policy,¡± Mr Gaus said, to cheers and applause.

Ms Pearce acknowledged that elements of the NUS¡¯s membership were critical of its actions, but defended their right to make their voices heard. ??

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¡°There¡¯s a really long history of satire and humour in the student movement, and a lot of that is veiled criticism of different parts of the student movement,¡± she told a Times Higher Education podcast.

¡°We do have to recognise that there is criticism of the NUS, but we have to remember that it is a democratic organisation, and in a democratic organisation you have people who disagree with where you should go.¡±

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Ms Pearce, who studied her A levels at Cornwall College and is the first NUS president not to have attended university, said her background would help her to unite the union.

¡°I do think the election of a further education president of the NUS is hugely significant to our movement ¨C and that¡¯s not because the NUS has suddenly decided that we are going to prioritise further education over higher education. It is about recognising that as a movement, we are connected,¡± she said.

¡°It sends a really strong message not just to the student movement but to the rest of the sector that education can¡¯t just be split between further and higher education, because students face a lot of the same issues whichever sector they are in.¡±

She said it was really important that the union was challenged, encouraged debate, and had a politically diverse body, adding that there were things that the whole of the union body could unite behind, such as ensuring the education system is open and accessible.

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¡°We absolutely need to be united behind the things we agree on, but recognise that we do have to accept criticism.¡±

In her own manifesto, Ms Pearce said she wanted to create an NUS that ¡°stands for something, and isn¡¯t just against something¡±, however she denied this was itself a criticism of how the union has operated in the past.

¡°I think it¡¯s just my politics,¡± she told us. ¡°I can sit around and talk about all the things I don¡¯t like ¨C I could say ¡®I don¡¯t like fees, I don¡¯t like cuts and I don¡¯t like austerity¡¯, but I think most people in the student would agree.

¡°Maybe we need to start talking about what we do want to see; what would perfect education look like, rather than just reacting to what the government does, whether that is in further or higher education.¡±

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chris.parr@tsleducation.com