[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA]Durham City, laced by the River Wear, lies in the heart of the Geordie-speaking North East, near the Northumbrian moors, 10 miles from the North Sea and 52 south of the Scottish border.  The University is planted in the middle of the ancient, small city, and [ITAL]on weekdays during term time, students dominate it socially as much as the cathedral and castle do physically[EITAL].  The Castle is one of the University's colleges, which are spread out in 3 main groups [ITAL]giving the advantages of a collegiate, a civic and a campus university. [EITAL][HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]As England's 3rd oldest university, there's something of the Oxbridge about Durham, with its traditions, its formal dinners and balls (the black-tie variety).  One major difference though is the strength of its central SU.  Although the weather's chilly, the hearts are warm.  The college system and the size of the city certainly create a communal atmosphere that some find claustrophobic, especially as relations with the locals aren't the warmest.  [EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]THE COLLEGES:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL]Much of a student's social life is centred around the college where they eat, sleep and drink.[EITAL]  However, unlike Oxbridge, teaching is not college-based.  The colleges are grouped into 3 areas[ITAL] and each group has a flavour of its own.  It is important to pick the right college - they vary.[EITAL]  Student numbers in brackets:[PARA]The oldest colleges are on 'the Peninsula' and [ITAL]they appeal particularly to those who admire their architecture and tradition, if not their facilities: [EITAL][PARA][BOLD]University College[EBOLD] or 'Castle' (456):[ITAL] predominantly public school students sacrifice a few creature comforts to live in a castle in their 3rd year. [EITAL] The Castle (founded in 1072) is the oldest building used for student accommodation in the country.[PARA][BOLD]Hatfield[EBOLD] (555): all male until 1988,[ITAL] rugby and beer.  [EITAL][PARA][BOLD]St Chads[EBOLD] (225):- all male until 1988,[ITAL] croquet and Pimms.  [EITAL][PARA][BOLD]St John's[EBOLD] (278): [ITAL]church links, largely Christian.  [EITAL][PARA][BOLD]St Cuthbert's Society[EBOLD] (731): 75% live out of college, many mature students .[PARA]'The Hill Colleges', near the science departments, were mostly built in the 60s[ITAL] and tend to be more progressive:  [EITAL][PARA][BOLD]St Aidan's[EBOLD] (464): [ITAL]motivated and progressive students; they have to be to climb that hill.  [EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Van Mildert[EBOLD] (542): [ITAL]like Aidan's, but perhaps less motivated and not on a hill.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Trevelyan [EBOLD](471): all female until 1990,[ITAL] honeycomb maze architecture.  [EITAL][PARA][BOLD]St Mary's[EBOLD] (396): still all female,[ITAL] knitting and nighties.  [EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Grey [EBOLD](468): [ITAL]slightly more character than its name suggests.  [EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Collingwood [EBOLD](469): no-one had to share rooms until recently, [ITAL]but still a good level of facilities and quite a cool atmosphere.  [EITAL][PARA]The 3rd area is the hilly north bank of the Wear where [BOLD]Hild/Bede[EBOLD] (858) stands alone -[ITAL] [EITAL]the largest college[ITAL], a mixture of all sorts, accused variously of being too insular or too dominant.[EITAL][PARA]There are also [BOLD]The Graduate Society[EBOLD] (588) for postgrads and [BOLD]Ushaw College[EBOLD] (88), a Catholic seminary 4 miles outside the city.[PARA]The 15th college, [BOLD]University College, Stockton [EBOLD](450), [ITAL]is completely unlike the main site, in terms of atmosphere, history and geography[EITAL].  It's a joint initiative with the [ULNE]University of Teesside[EULNE], although UCAS applications are still to Durham, and it only accepted its first intake in 1992.  It has 450 undergraduates, many from the local area, and over 40% mature.  Stockton is about 21 miles south of Durham, and 3 miles from Middlesbrough, [ITAL]and looks a bit like a building site[EITAL].  [ITAL]Facilities are a bit rudimentary at the moment[EITAL], but students are entitled to use those at the parent institutions.[HDNG]THE CITY:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Population: 85,000 [BULL] London: 240miles [BULL] Newcastle: 15miles[ESTAT][PARA]Durham used to be the epicentre of the north-east's mining tradition.  There was a time when the annual Durham Miners' Gala (pronounced GAY-ler) was the country's largest Labour meeting - recently though, it has only attracted 5,000 people and no Labour leaders.  [ITAL]Nowadays (as far as it seems to students at any rate), there's not much in Durham that isn't connected to the University or the Cathedral:[EITAL] a shopping mall, lots of quaint shoppes, DLI arts museum, open air and covered markets, but no shopping after 10pm.  [ITAL]The fun-seekers and money-spenders take themselves to Newcastle.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][BOLD]Stockton:  [EBOLD]Stockton is part of the Teesside conurbation, and was the birthplace of commercial passenger railways in 1825.  It's now an area of bigtime urban renewal, with a couple of shopping malls, and easy access to Middlesbrough (see [ULNE]University of Teesside[EULNE]).[HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains: [EBOLD]Main-line connections to London King's X (3hrs, 1/hr), Newcastle (15mins, 1/hr), Bristol, Edinburgh and elsewhere.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] National Express and Blue Line services to many destinations: London (£17.50, 4:45hrs, 4/day), Edinburgh (£13, 4:30hrs, 1/day), Manchester (£11.50, 4:40hrs, 2/day).[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] 5 mins off the A1.[PARA][BOLD]Air:[EBOLD] Newcastle Airport on the A691 - flights to London,  Northern Ireland and Europe.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Good grooving from the A1.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Local:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Good [EITAL]buses around town and surrounds which lazy students use to get to the hill colleges (most walk).  Fares from 25p.  No trains around the city but a [ITAL]useful[EITAL] service into Newcastle.[PARA][BOLD]Taxis:[EBOLD] Some of Britain's cheapest taxis (minimum fare £1; only £15 to Newcastle, making it a worthwhile share).[PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD] [ITAL]A bit hilly for bikes.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]NOS and REQUIREMENTS:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Arts[EBOLD]  1,572  25pts[BOLD][PARA]Science[EBOLD]  2,193  25pts[BOLD][PARA]Soc Sci[EBOLD]  2,634  25pts[BOLD][HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][EBOLD][PARA][BOLD][STAT][BULL] Books: 790,000 [BULL] Periodicals: 3,465 [BULL] Study places: 1,000 [BULL] Computer workstations: 613[ESTAT][EBOLD][PARA]In addition to the University's main library with 540,000 books, there are 3 other libraries (education, ecclesiastical texts and special collections).  Each college has its own library as do many departments providing at least another 50,000 volumes.  There are 6 classrooms of computers around the University, computer rooms in most colleges as well as a computer centre and it's all networked.  All students can do an optional computer literacy course.[HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 7full/3part [BULL] Unemployed after 6mths (1992): 8%[ESTAT][HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]Durham terms are only 9 weeks.[PARA][BULL]A new £30 million, 17-acre science park is on the cards, and a new college is being built at Howlands Farm.[PARA][BULL]A Japanese university has a campus in Durham for the purpose of forging cultural links with British students.[PARA][BULL]1994 sees the launch of the UK's first degree course in classical ballet, in conjunction with the Royal Academy of Dancing.[PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA]George Alagiah (BBC reporter); Paul Allott (England cricketer); Biddy Baxter (ex-producer of 'Blue Peter'); Will Carling (England Rugby player, known to his team-mates as 'Bumface'); the Crane brothers (climbers); Jack Cunningham MP (Lab); Hunter Davies (journalist); Harold Evans (ex-Sunday Times editor); Graham Fowler (another England cricketer); Judith Hann (Tomorrow's World presenter); Nasser Hussein (yet another England cricketer); Cmdr Tim Lawrence (Princess Anne's hubby); Edward Leigh MP (Con); Mo Mowlem MP (Lab); Marcus Rose (another England rugby player); John Stephenson (yet another England cricketer); Robert Swan (arctic explorer and UN Ambassador for Youth and the Environment); Jeremy Vine (BBC reporter); James Wilby (actor).[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads, postgrads and adult students.  Alternative Prospectus from SU (£2.50).[PARA][PARA]