Jo-ann Hodgson steps off campus for York's student nights.

AS WE enter week six of the university term, there is not much campus-based activity worthy of a student's glad rags.

The excitement of beginning of a new year at university has past as work deadlines loom while the Christmas festivities are still quite a way off. Those in need of a weekly fix of late-night misdemeanors, however, are making the most of what city nightlife has to offer.

All four of York's night clubs - city-based Ziggys, Toffs and The Gallery, and out-of-town Ikon & Diva - put aside one night a week where students can drink, flirt and dance without having to ring up their parents for more money.

Monday night sees dolled-up excitement seekers shivering at the university bus stop as they wait for their carriage to whisk them away to the far-off land of Ikon & Diva.

The bus is free and the entrance fee to York's largest club is minimal with an NUS card. Various drinks offers keep the students in pocket and their energy levels high as the two large dance floors fill up to the sounds of the Sixties and alternative music in Diva and more commercial beats in Ikon.

Tuesday is Toffs night and the newly refurbished club lays on a large helping of cheese in the main room, while the second room plays host to indie and rock lovers.

The upstairs chill-out area allows dancers to take a breather, prospective couples to get closer and those who have worked up an appetite to refill at the take-away bar. An NUS card also holds much power here and drinks are as cheap as a pound.

Ziggys, a converted Victorian house on Micklegate, lets students in for free on Wednesday, after many have taken advantage of the 'triples for singles' offer next door at the Nags Head.

Students do not take the over-sized house party too seriously and give in to the lighthearted pop music of times past. Its incredibly cramped and dark nature also makes the club a perfect venue for students to get closer to that person they spotted around campus.

The week ends on a chilled-out note at The Gallery. York's classier club puts on an R&B night for students and closes early to let the night owls rest before their week of studying, or more importantly to some, partying, begins again.

Updated: 09:22 Friday, November 19, 2004