Durham University

I've often heard that a true Oxbridge experience is now only available in Durham, but that really holds true. A love of tradition merges with an appreciation for the future here, and the students mostly replicate this. The staff on my course are devoted to their subject, and my department is always there to help.

Attending Durham university has allowed me to develop my socialising while balancing work and money well.

Really great encironment. Everone Is so lovely and I am having a great experience. The lecturers really take care of you and make you feel heard. Not a great night life but it is so easy to pop over to Newcastle and have a good time.

Durham University was an amazing place for me and I wouldn't change my time there for the world. The teaching is almost always brilliant and they offer lots of support. I can't fault the support in either the theology department where I undertook my Bachelor's degree nor the Modern Languages and Cultures department where I did my Masters. However, I feel that the university 'higher-ups' don't listen too, nor care about the experiences of the students. Since centralising the management of the colleges they have lost their individuality and people are losing their passion for college, which I think is a huge shame as that is a big selling point of Durham.

Overall, I have really enjoyed Durham this year.
I love the collegiate aspect to it, as it feels so much less intimidating coming into a new city. My room is modern and recently refurbished in an ideal location to town and my lectures.
My course is interesting and my professors are knowledgeable and approachable. There is a varied teaching programme, with some in person modules, asynchronous modules and also smaller tutorial based groups.
There is a range of sports facilities available at Maiden Castle, the sports facility. There is a full size athletics track, rowing gym, state of the art regular gym, multiple courts for racket sports and sports pitches. There are so many sports on offer for people to try or continue with at a low or competitive level.
There are also a range of music, art, drama and extra curricular activities to get involved in, so there really is something for everyone.
The social life is great, especially if you join clubs and societies, as most will hold regular socials. There are also many clubs, bars and restaurants to go to with friends in the evening, so life is never dull!

Great. Freshers week was conducted within your college - so all activities and events were organised by older years in the same college, and it was a good way to form close bonds with people who lived in the same accommodation as you. On the other hand, there was only 2 other people studying the same subject as me within my college, so I didn't get to meet anyone from my course until lectures started. Durham Accommodation is amazing. Due to the collegiate system, everyone spends their first year living in a College (either catered or self-catered). It was a great way to form close friendships with people from your College, because you spent most mealtimes with them, eating in a big dining hall - often meeting new people every day. Each college has their own library, gym, music rooms, sports teams and student groups. This means that everything feels more accessible. Because sports can be played at both a collegiate level and a university level (playing for the university team and using the Team Durham facilities), more people are able to participate. There is access to both collegiate facilities and University facilities. So, you can either use your college's library or use the Bill Bryson or Palace Green libraries. Similarly, you can be involved with University-wide groups such as the DSU societies, or Durham Union. The course I did had a lot of flexibility with module choices. I could tailor my degree so that I only took certain types of modules (for example, not taking maths-based modules). Lectures were low-key, they were never overwhelming. Emphasis was placed on independent study and learning - which is much better for me. Durham is a very small city. It can feel claustrophobic at times. Its hard to walk down the street and not see someone you at least vaguely know - this can also be a positive, though. There are lots of cafes, and cheap clubs. And if it does start to feel too small, Newcastle is only a 10 minute train-ride away.

Fresher's is fantastic! The university were great in sending out information about what to expect and a schedule of events. There was plenty to do: club nights, themed quizzes, formal meals and societies to join as well as opportunities to meet friends on similar and different courses. College accomodation was fantastic, surrounded by parkland and the riverside, there was lots of places to sit outside, run and exercise on the doorstep. The city was only a five minute walk away. My room was spacious, with a lovely view and shared bathrooms and kitchen at the end of the corridor. The facilities are really good. The library is well stocked with books, plenty of study spaces and the online library supplements the actual books well. The SU is warm and welcoming, with cafes and pool tables, cinema rooms and classrooms so it is a very sociable space. The sports complex is state of the art and has particularly good running facilities with multiple tracks and an on-site cafe. My course has quite a small cohort so it instantly feels like a family you join. It also meant the lecturers knew you by name very quickly so I felt like a valued and appreciated course member. The content of lectures is interesting, often delivered by lecturers who are world leaders in their area of study and the content also supports our placements in school. Durham is a compact city so easy to navigate but still with plenty to do. The city is well connected by buses and there are plenty of things to do. My favourite thing is the riverside cafes, where I meet friends or go for runs around the city.

Freshers was good fun, socialising within the course was easy and other students were more lively than I had imagined. Overall I really enjoyed the first few weeks, though the workload is certainly tough when a 2 week conference runs 9-6 every day. Durham University has great college accomodation with a wide range of rooms from sharing to single rooms and contains ensuite and shared bathrooms. Overall it's a nice accomodation. I stayed in a house and lived out, which was far from the university but good if you want to bring a car. The rent is not cheap via private rent or college rent, and this is the biggest issue so far. Facilities are amazing here. Sports facilities are bookable, or owned by colleges. Libraries are in every college and the big library is a great set of resources. The SU is great too, as there are regular events and a welcoming atmosphere. The course was good because it was a hands on learning environment, and we were really thrown into teaching practice, the support during the course was also fantastic. I felt supported throughout and felt the facilities provided were exactly what we needed for the course. The city is great fun, and has a vast number of pubs in the vicinity. It is a welcoming city and there is little 'gown Vs town' between students and local members of the community. The night life is vibrant, though it ends at 2AM, and overall it is a safe, well contained, well supplied area.

The best word to describe my Freshers week is Comprehensive. I had a lot of engaging and fun activities planned by both my College and my academic department. I was introduced to all my lecturers and coursemates in advance of starting the course, which allowed me to hit the ground running after Freshers week. My Accommodation was really nice. I was in St Mary's College, Williamson building and the building was quite new with decent sized rooms. Plenty of under bed storage too which was very useful. The facilities were really great! In our college we had 2 Common rooms, a bar, 2 Library/Study Spaces, a gym and plenty of sports facilities. It didn't feel very limited at all, which is a good thing. My course was very well structured and each module was well planned and informative. I learnt a lot and while not every lecture was the most exhilarating hour of my life, they were all necessary and I am grateful for the work the lecturers put in for them Durham is a very small place, and unless you're ready for that it can feel quite claustrophobic at times. However it is really nice to be a short walk away from everywhere and it is one of the most picturesque cities in the UK!

It was amazing, did not expect it could be so good. During that time I met a lots friends and have unforgettable memories. The college system is one of the best type I have ever heard. Each college has its own community of students and enable students brilliant facilities like gym, catering, bar, leisure spaces. Durham has amazing facilities. There is amassive library, classroom are fully equipped and the sports areas are adapted to every sport. There is a good balance between classroom learning and own pace learning. What's more we've got world class lectures from each module so the academic level is amazing. There is no better place for student life that Durham is. The unique atmosphere comes from the fact that it is typical student town and everywhere around the city you can find your friends and have a quick chat during way to lectures.