Durham Colleges with female only flats

[icetomeetyou2]

Hi

Does anyone have any inside knowledge on this? DD has contacted Durham to ask and they've answered with a load of stuff about being fully inclusive and diverse, and that some colleges may offer this if asked.

She understands St Mary's has a female wing, and John Snow say on their webpage that female only can be requested, but it struggling to find any other info. Does anyone happen to know?

(She understands their inclusive statement means that "female only" doesn't mean "no penises" but that hopefully there won't be many.)

Thank you

why does she even want this?

Some like Snow & South all rooms are en suite. Is it a problem if the kitchen is mixed sex? DS is in Stephenson and the only question they asked about accommodation preferences was if you minded sharing with others who drink alcohol. I think you could ask for some things such as ground floor if there is a need.

St Mary's used to be all female!

Dd has applied to st Mary's. She will be extremely disappointed if its all female!

St Mary’s became mixed in 2005.

What a rude question. There are many reasons why a girl might not want to share with males. It's really none of your business.

Thanks RambamThankyouMam - exactly. She has her own perfectly valid reasons for that as a preference which I'm not going to share on a public forum.

Looks like it's just those two that give it as an option then!

Thanks everyone.

Checked with my DD currently at John Snow - she knows of no single sex flats or townhouses for this years first years but obviously doesn’t know everyone. If your daughter needs to be in a single sex environment you will have to contact the heads of the two colleges and they will ask for the reason privately. Wanting an ensuite bathroom for privacy due to a medical issue is very much accommodated especially if your daughter receives DSA for this. If it is for a cultural or relgious reason then I'm hope they would fully support. Please note that at Snow they would be in a flat of 8 or townhouse of 12 so you would need 7 or 11 other girls wanting the same and I think the college would struggle to find that many people. St Mary’s may be a better bet given the accommodation is different and possibly more flexible.

Just be aware that even if it's an all female flat (dd2's was) the residents are free to have male guests over. Didn't both dd but don't be under any illusions that there's any rules forbidding it

Absolutely @gogohmm - you are spot on - kids can have their friends to stay overnight too - be that male or female. If your child needs to be away from all males entirely perhaps a private flat off campus would be best.

@icetomeetyou2 I only knew about John Snow. It seems to offer the most selection ie quiet flats, vegetarian, nut free, alcohol free etc.

It is not a guarantee unless there is an underlying reason and I assume most will be religious.

I would contact them and ask. The accommodation officer we dealt with was incredibly helpful but for a hill different college. JS can be contacted here

[email protected]

If she needs a guaranteed female only space then maybe a studio flat with cooking facilities inside the room might be an option although this would be hard to source and incredibly expensive. There are waiting lists for private halls of residence.

EwwSprouts - really interested in what Stephenson is like? My DD got an offer and doing her ranking and Stepehenson seems not to be v popular but looked really nice…

@Idontknow88 DS picked Stephenson as he wanted self-catering, space at the end of the bed to stretch out as he's over 6ft, to have a room to himself (high ratio) and to be near green space. The rooms are a tiny bit bigger as it was originally all built for post graduates. He says the kitchen area is one of the biggest. We looked at one of the colleges on the Bailey on offer holder day and it felt, for him, a bit dark and poky.

He likes Stephenson a lot. He's not made great friends with his flatmates (just different interests no falling out) but has with the flat below and will be sharing a house with some of them next year. His block has flats of 6. Going by his friends and flatmates it has a very wide demographic which I think is a plus.

Socially, freshers week was very well organised. They have one of the better bars. He's enjoyed a couple of black tie dinners. They don't do gowned which might be a reason for not being the most popular but there are other random organised socials.

DS is sporty so is playing for the college teams and making more friends that way. I think he said they are top of the mixed lacrosse table this week! He'd never played before arriving in Durham and the college provides all the kit. I liked that from a few weeks in he and one of the third year students were meeting for a regular friendly tennis match. So I would say very welcoming. No regrets as far as I know.