More than 1,000 gay students are expected to descend on Oxford Brookes University for the second annual National Student Pride event later this month.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Society at Brookes launched the event last year after realising that students would miss out on the city's annual Oxford Pride festival during their summer break.

More than 300 students from 15 universities took part last year, and this year organisers are expecting up to 1,200 students from universities across the UK.

After firmly establishing the event at Brookes, National Student Pride will go on the road in future, travelling to a different university each year.

The event, backed by the National Union of Students, aims to bring students together for cultural, political and religious discussions, as well as live music and entertainment.

Organisations including the Metropolitan Police, Terrence Higgins Trust and Lesbian Gay Christian Movement will have stalls and there will be a panel discussion about civil partnerships and adoption.

Big name DJs are expected for the evening club night, with lesbian singer and rapper Mz Fontaine and Norwegian trio Lorraine performing live.

Edd Nunn, secretary of Oxford Brookes LGBT society, said: "This is only the second ever National Student Pride, building on the phenomenal success of the first one in 2005.

"Although there are many LGBT students who are comfortable with who they are, there are also a lot of students who are struggling to come to terms with their sexuality, so it's important to have a presence, not only for them, but also for the rest of our universities' communities."

Student Pride is at the Headington Hill campus on Saturday, May 13. The free afternoon event starts at 3pm. The club night (tickets £5) will run from 9pm to 2am. For details and tickets, see www.studentpride.co.uk