Parents of Durham freshers 2026

[NellyNoMates]

Thought I would start a new thread for parents of any Durham freshers starting September 2026.

I found the similar thread from last year so helpful in preparation, but don’t want to hijack their thread with our own questions etc.

All welcome

My DD has been allocated John’s college (first choice) and is studying Theology.

Thanks for starting the thread! My DC’s college is Trevs. Very excited for them. We too have booked from Fri-Mon move weekend

Just a heads-up for parents with DC allocated colleges on the Bailey. Moving in day is always Sunday because a one-way system has to be put in place & Prebends bridge opened to traffic.
There was a lovely pompom -waving, pan-bashing atmosphere last year when I moved DS into Cuths

Is anyone else having difficulty accessing the applicant portal to confirm the place?

DS is going to Stephenson College, but can't log in to confirm his place!

Stay hexy! My daughter has loved Trevs, now doing a year out before final year but Durham has been so good for her confidence and we love visiting.

DD is going to Stevo! She's doing Biology. V excited here!

DD has managed to get on and confirm her place and put in accommodation preferences etc, but can’t do the GP student pre-registration because it won’t allow her to put a date of arriving in England which is in the future. Seems a bit odd when it’s a specific link for pre-registration that they are encouraging students to complete as soon as possible, but only works for students already living in England. Think she’s going to contact the GP surgery directly on Monday to ask what she should do.

My son is about to go into his 3rd year at St John’s. He has really loved his time there.

They definitely seem to go all out for freshers arrivals, We missed it live as my son did an early arrivals program, but have seen videos on line. The Freps seem to work so hard.

Please so not worry about IT problems. They seem to happen every year. Try the next day if you have issues as they are often resolved overnight.

I wouldn’t worry too much about GP registration yet. They are probably encouraging early pre-registration to spread their workload - it will be fine if you wait until she is in the UK.

Oh she’s in the UK - we’re in NI, so not international. She’s in the NHS system, just not the English system.

My DD is at St John’s. She (two years ago) had a choice of Saturday or Sunday arrival and booked Sunday morning and we stayed at a hotel Saturday night (seven hour drive). The Freps are helpful, but overwhelmingly loud. Things are planned for the evening and I left her to unpack and sort her room - gave her something to do! Lots to do the first week and tell you YP to be sure to attend subject socials, the fairs and get involved, even if it’s not normally their thing. Don’t be surprised if there’s a big wobble after a couple weeks! They’ll settle in, but please don’t big it up to be the ‘best years of your life’. It may be, but most likely not. True at any uni.

I'm just worried about being late in submitting accommodation preferences, and whether that will make a difference to whether he gets his choice of room

Thanks for setting up the new thread. I’ve been following the other thread too@NellyNoMates DS is heading to Durham. It was his first choice. He’s away this weekend so I’ll get him to check his emails tomorrow. His preliminary college is Jo Butler. What’s the chances of being in different accommodation? I don’t quite understand the college system to be honest.

My daughter missed one of grades but still got her place but went to the bottom of the queue for college allocation. So got a different college. She also shared which turned out well for making a friend before she got there.

Ah good to hear! I’ve never visited Durham so looking forward to dropping him off and exploring the area.

My eldest has a place too - Trevelyan College. We know the university, as my husband and I are Durham graduates though it will have changed enormously since we were there.

Hello parents of this year’s freshers! My DD is a second year at Grey, which was not her first choice (or even her sixth…) but which she has ended up loving. She and her “college wife” will be adopting Grey freshers this autumn, so who knows - maybe I’ll be a college inlaw to one of you for a week this October. 😂

For any parents who don’t have Hotel/B&B booked yet. Do consider: Newcastle, Bishop Auckland, Sedgefield or Darlington - all within about 1/2 hours drive.

When is info out about moving in dates? DS has been sent info about pre-training for rowing which mentions most of September, so I am very confused as to when he will be moving up. We live a good 4-5 hours drive away so he won't be popping back and forth. I have started to panic as all of the hotels in Durham appear to be booked up already!

"I've had the best year of my life"
Stephenson 2025 fresher a few weeks ago

Hope it all goes well for your lot. Such an exciting time for everyone.

My DS was allocated to Collingwood (his first choice). If he has had an email from them since A level results and acceptance of his confirmed place does that mean he won’t be reallocated now or is it still a possibility? Also are all the move-in dates on the Saturday or Sunday! I have booked hotel accommodation for Friday and Saturday nights (end September) so hoping I have got it right. We will be in a but of a mess if he gets a Monday move-in slot as DS needs to be back at school on Monday and we wont have accommodation booked for Sunday night!

*bit of a mess, not but!

Hi 👋🏻
my daughter is doing Natural Sciences and has been allocated Hild Bede 😊

Hi
Stephenson for my son (physics).
He is autistic and knows the whole matriculation event at the cathedral (and before and after) will be too overwhelming for him. Ditto formals and balls. Are there any other parents of students who prefer the quiet life? He doesn't drink, although that isn't too unusual these days.

My son is pretty reserved, he will probably cope with matriculation etc but I'm not sure he will do lots of clubbing and drinking. He only turned 18 a fortnight ago. I think the university does cater well for quieter students too.

Has he applied for the Early Arrival Program? My son found it invaluable, He moved in before the other students and got to meet other ASD students from his college and course. A good chunk of his friendship group are from people he met in those first 2 days.

Fornals and balls are very much non-compulsory. I am sure there will be quieter/non drinking events during freshers week. There were at St John’s and that is a much smaller than Stevo.