List of social activities at Durham University

This is a list of social activities at Durham University, including details of clubs, societies and other common leisure activities associated with Durham University.

Approximately 130 student clubs and organizations run on Durham's campus.^[1]

Sports

General

• College Varsity, a sporting competition between college teams from Durham University and the University of York held alternately at York and Durham in the Lent term since 2014.^[2]
• Doxbridge Tournament, an unofficial sporting competition held annually since 1999 at the start of the Easter holiday between college teams from Durham University, the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and (since 2011) the University of York.^[3][4]
• Durham University Athletic Union, a student-run organisation responsible for sport at Durham University. In 2006, the Athletic Union was rebranded "Team Durham" to signify a more modern approach to sport at Durham. In contrast to most British universities, it is a separate organisation with the status of a students' union, rather than a part of Durham Students' Union, the primary student representative body at Durham University.
• Palatinate, Durham's equivalent of the University Sporting Blue. Famous recipients of a Full Palatinate include cricketer Nasser Hussain, triple jumper Jonathan Edwards and rugby player Phil de Glanville.^[5]
• There are many college sports teams which allow for participation in sport at a less intense level than the university sports teams. There are leagues or tournaments between colleges in most major sports, with many colleges having multiple teams covering a wide range of ability levels. This is a contributing factor to the high participation in sport at the university.

Clubs

• Association football:
  • DUAFC
• Rugby union:
  • Durham University Rugby Union Football Club, previous members have included England captains Phil de Glanville and Will Carling.
• Quidditch:
  • Durhamstrang^[6]

Rowing

• Durham University Boat Club
• Boat Race of the North
• Durham Regatta
• Novice Cup^[7] This was known as the Hatfield cup until 2003 when Durham College Rowing took over the organising of the event.^[8]
• Senate Cup^[9]
• Pennant Series^[10]
• Admirals Regatta^[11]

College boat clubs

Blade	Club
	Collingwood College Boat Club
	Grey College Boat Club
	Hatfield College Boat Club
	Hild Bede Boat Club
	Josephine Butler College Boat Club
	St Aidan's College Boat Club
	St Chad's College Boat Club
	St Cuthbert's Society Boat Club
	St John's College Boat Club
	St Mary's College Boat Club
	Trevelyan College Boat Club
	University College Boat Club
	Ustinov Boat Club
	Van Mildert Boat Club
	George Stephenson College Boat Club
	John Snow College Boat Club

Student Unions

Durham has a central students's Union as well as junior common rooms (or equivalent) in each college.

• Durham Students' Union, the Durham-wide federal union

Durham Union Society

Durham Union Society

Free Speech Since 1842
Established	1842
Institution	Durham University
Location	Palace Green, Durham, England 54°46′27″N 1°34′32″W / 54.77404°N 1.57543°W / 54.77404; -1.57543 (Durham Union Society)
President	George Jackson
Type	Student Debating Union
Homepage	Union homepage

The Durham Union Society is a debating society founded in 1842 by the students of the Durham University. Commonly referred to as the "DUS" or "The Durham Union", it is the university's largest society with over 3,000 members in residence. Until 1899, when the Durham Students' Union's ancestor (DSU) was founded, the society acted as the university students' union.

History

The Union was founded in 1842.^[12][13] The purpose of the Union was, and remains, a counterbalance to the collegiate system, allowing students from the University's different colleges to meet both to debate and socialise more informally. The first debates were held in the reading rooms of Hatfield Hall and University College. In 1872 the Society moved to what is now the Palace Green library, where the University’s first purpose-built debating chamber was established.^[12] The Union Society acted, at this time, as the central social unit for the students of Durham University. The Durham Students' Union's ancestor was developed in 1899 to take on this role, though the DUS has retained its social side.

To this end, the society bought the old site of St Aidan's College at 24 North Bailey to create a social club (naming it the 'North Bailey Club' or, more informally '24').^[12] This contains a bar which is open to all DUS members; a snooker room; a reading room that the DUS uses for functions, such as post debate entertaining, and an en-suite guest room that can be hired out by members. Student members also have the opportunity to rent large bedrooms as student accommodation.^[14] 24 North Bailey is also the setting for the vast majority of the Union regular social events.

By 1977, debates were so well attended that the original debating chamber was no longer adequately large enough. It moved across Palace Green to the Pemberton Building, which sits in the shadow of the Cathedral.^[12] The Union Society has been housed there ever since. The building and debating chamber are also used by the university for lectures and examinations.

The Union today

The Union Society's offices on Palace Green are shown in the centre of the image. To the right is the Department of Theology and Durham Cathedral

The Union Society still maintains its offices and debating chamber on the Palace Green World Heritage Site, as well as 24 North Bailey. It hosts weekly debates featuring prominent external speakers, as well as inviting address speakers and holding social events. Recent speakers include the actress Imelda Staunton; BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine; radio and television personality Nicholas Parsons; Channel Four newsreader Jon Snow; Met Chief Sir Ian Blair; London Mayor Boris Johnson; film critic Barry Norman; 'Rocky Horror' writer and Crystal Maze presenter Richard O'Brien; director and food critic Michael Winner; Oscar nominated actor Patrick Stewart; the Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Shirley Williams; the former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern; politician, journalist, and economic consultant Lord Howell; Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow; and ex-UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom.^[15]

The Society also excels at competitive debating, having won the European Universities Debating Championship in 2005, and more recently having teams reaching the final of the European Championship, Oxford IV, Cambridge IV and John Smith Memorial Mace and the quarter-final of the World Universities Debating Championship. It also hosts the prestigious Durham Intervarsity competition, the Durham Open and Durham Schools; the world's largest residential school's debating competition.

The social highlight of the year is the annual Ball held in Michaelmas term. The programme for the evening varies, but usually consists of a champagne reception, dinner, music, and after dinner dancing.

Reciprocal relations

The Union's members enjoy reciprocal relations with, and use of facilities at, the Oxford Union, Cambridge Union, Edinburgh Union, The Hist & The Phil, both of Trinity College Dublin.^[16]

Notable members

• Mo Mowlam MP (Past Secretary, Labour Minister of State, most famous for her work on the Good Friday Agreement)
• Crispin Blunt MP (Past President, Conservative MP for Reigate & Minister of State)^[17]
• General Sir Richard Dannatt (Past President, former Chief of the General Staff).^[18]
• Mark Elliott (Past President, author of several books on Azerbaijan and travel in Asia)
• Edward Leigh MP (Past President, Conservative MP for Gainsborough and former Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee)^[19]
• Gabby Logan (Past Assistant Sponsorship Secretary, BBC sports presenter & contestant on BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing 2007)
• Giles Ramsay (Past President, Founding Artistic Director of the Trident Theatre)^[20]
• Dianne Hayter (Past Member, Former General Secretary of the Fabian Society)
• The Rt Revd Richard Blackburn (Former President; currently Bishop of Warrington in the Church of England)^[21]
• Robert Buckland (Past President, Conservative MP for Swindon South & Solicitor General for England and Wales)

Academic societies

• Durham University Economics Society
• Durham University Law Society
• Durham University Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) Society
• Durham University Medical Society
• Durham University Chemical Society^[22]

Drama societies

Durham Student Theatre

Durham Student Theatre (DST, formerly Durham University Student Theatre, DUST) is a student-run organisation responsible for theatre at Durham University. In contrast to most British universities it is a separate organisation within the status of a students' union, rather than a part of Durham Students' Union, the primary student representative body at Durham University.

DST acts as an umbrella organisation for the many theatre companies affiliated to it, bur also acts as a union for 800 members: students who love the performing arts. Being not only one of the active theatre societies in the UK, with around 60 shows performed in venues across Durham each year, DST is also one of the few with their own student-run theatre, The Assembly Rooms Theatre, Durham. Shows are performed all over Durham, from the iconic Durham Cathedral to the Indoor Market. Durham theatre companies regularly head up to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, as well as locations across the UK. DST also celebrates and encourages new pieces of writing at its own yearly Durham Drama Festival, a week-long drama festival attracting talent and original writing from Durham University and national UK universities.

It also includes:

• DULOG, Durham University Light Opera Group

The Durham Revue

The Durham Revue is an established sketch comedy group. Although comedy revues have been in existence at Durham University since the early 1950s, a society dedicated solely to producing sketch comedy wasn't established until 1973. In 1973, four students founded 'DUST' (Durham University Sensible Thespians), which initially produced comedy revue shows exclusively for Durham student audiences. However, in 1977, under the presidency of Arthur Bostrom, DUST took their first show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This inaugural Fringe show included John Inge (Bishop of Worcester) and Jennie Campbell (former BBC comedy producer). The group have continued to take a show to the Fringe every year, changing its name to the 'Durham Revue' in 1988.

The Durham Revue produce a series of shows each year, performing at the college balls of Durham University, The Assembly Rooms and Gala Theatre (Durham), Cambridge Arts Theatre (Cambridge), Oxford Playhouse (Oxford) and touring across the UK.

Each year, the Durham Revue invite Cambridge University's Footlights and Oxford University's The Oxford Revue to join them at Durham City's Gala Theatre for a national student comedy showcase. The event has become a tradition at Durham University and a highlight of the social calendar. Both the Footlights and The Oxford Revue hold similar events at their respective universities, to which The Durham Revue is also invited.

The Durham Revue membership generally consists of six writers and performers. Membership is based upon audition and interview, and these take place just once a year during Michaelmas Term.

Past members have gone on to become award-winning writers, actors, producers, and comedians, including BBC's Jeremy Vine.

Miscellaneous societies

• Purple Radio, the student radio station
• Palatinate, Durham's independent student run fortnightly newspaper, has been continually published since 1948
• Mostly Harmless, student satirical publication
• The Grove, student literary publication
• Durham Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, the university's most prominent student Christian organisation, founded in 1931

Leisure activities

• Formal Hall, a formal dinner in a college

References

External links

• Durham University Students Union
• Durham Union Society

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