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Biography
Toni Pearce (born 13 April 1990) was the President of the National Union of Students in the United Kingdom, a position she held until July 2015. Pearce was elected at the 2013 NUS National Conference in April 2013 and re-elected by a large majority in April 2014.
From 2011 to 2013, Pearce held the position of NUS Vice President (Further Education). Before that, she was President at the Students' Union of Cornwall College, an institution of Further Education. Pearce is the first ever NUS President not to have attended university.
Early life
Pearce attended Cornwall College from the age of 16, however she was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Type III, which meant that she missed a large number of lessons whilst in hospital recovering from operations. As such, Pearce failed two of her AS levels at the first attempt.
Political affiliation
During the elections for NUS President (2013, 2014) Toni Pearce stood as a candidate with no official affiliation to a political party. However, Toni has been a member of the Labour Party since 2010, joining after the 2010 General Election where she had voted for the Liberal Democrats. Despite being a member of the Labour Party, her involvement is small and has described herself as "one of the least active members".