The collective student body has been a positive drive for social action throughout history. But how has volunteering changed for the student population over the last few decades?

Volunteering England chief executive Justin Davis-Smith said that today's challenge for the volunteering movement "is to ensure that enough meaningful opportunities are created to capture the imagination and enthusiasm of students and that support and guidance is in place to maximise the impact of their contribution".

This challenge is being met, in part, by Student Volunteering Week, taking place this week. Launched by Volunteering England in 2001 it was the first official week of student social action throughout the UK seeing students take to the streets, the offices, the community centres and the gardens in their droves to do something worthwhile for the society which has fostered them.

Anna Aapola's film on the history of student volunteering provides some creative insight on how student volunteers have met the challenges of their time, and how this has influenced the student volunteering movement of today:

Student Volunteering - a short history from Anna Aapola on Vimeo.

Anna Aapola is co-founder of A Different Drum Productions CIC and an arts project volunteer at Toynbee Hall