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

Great to see the excitement on this thread. Huge congratulations to you and your YPs - Durham is a fab uni and even those students who have been allocated a college a long way down their list (like mine - wanted Bailey & catered; got Hill & self-catering) all seem to end up loving where they land. I'm trespassing from the Durham Freshers 2025 thread which was set up and has been maintained by @MillicentFaucet who's done a fab job. Great to see her, @RayonSunrise and @MollyButton on this thread, too. @NellyNoMates - love that you started this thread so as not to clog up ours and we're all popping on for a look at yours!

@lynntbio - my DD is autistic. She attended the matriculation event but avoided the photo. I didn't know any of this until afterwards when I asked where I could find her in the photo; was selfishly a bit disappointed, but it worked best for her. I have seen somewhere else (perhaps Durham Uni parents' facebook page) that other autistic students did similar.

Seconding also the suggestion of staying outside Durham for college drop-off. We stayed at a hotel in Newcastle. Durham hotel prices unsurprisingly shot up for the drop-off weekend and Newcastle was much cheaper plus it also meant that we were near at hand in case of need.

Daughter given cuths!

@Dery you’re all very welcome - I definitely appreciate your knowledge and insight!

Ha, I was reading this just as my DS wandered in wearing his Cuths fresher 2025 t-shirt!
He loved his time living above the Bailey Bar🍺

Congratulations. Same combo as DS four years ago. Stevo is great, she will find her tribe and have a blast.