What schools do Durham students come from?

By Josh Eaton

In the data obtained by Palatinateonly three schools among Durham University's top 10 feeder schools are state-funded schools. This happens just a few weeks later The times ranked Durham among the worst universities in the country for social inclusion.

Eton College sends the most students to Durham, with a staggering 230 pupils headed to Durham's lecture halls between 2018 and 2023. The prestigious all-boys boarding school, famous for producing more than 20 British prime ministers, including David Cameron and Boris Johnson, costs around $53,000. one year of tuition fees. The school sends almost a third of its cohort to Oxbridge.

A spokesperson for Durham University said: We encourage applications from students from all backgrounds with aspirations [and] potential for success at Durham University. We have made great progress in diversifying our student body in recent years, so that for the 2023/24 academic year around one in five undergraduates came to us on widened access programs .

Only three public schools made the top ten list. Durham Sixth Form Center is the second largest feeder school, rated outstanding by Ofsted and ranks above the national average in exam results; it sends an average of 36 students per year to Durham University. Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge, an elite state school, sends an average of 35 students a year to Durham.

In response to this, Durham University claimed that we spend around 14 million a year on access and success initiatives for less advantaged students. And as a university with roots in the Northeast, we work hard to recruit students from public schools in our region, which has the nation's lowest baccalaureate graduation rate and progression rate in the lowest higher education among 18-year-olds. That’s why we are expanding our work with state primary and secondary schools, further education colleges and other universities across the North East, to raise aspirations and improve levels of achievement from an early age. We are committed to continuing our progress toward expanding access and participation in higher education in the years to come.

A former student who attended Durham Sixth Form College said Palatinate, [A lot of Durham Sixth Form students come to Durham University] because it was simply displayed very prominently at all future project events, it was always front and center. We also had access to some buildings at Durham University for activities like EPQ, so the idea of ​​going to Durham was always in the back of our minds. It was nice to see people I went to school with, it was always easy to find people to hang out with, so I guess it was like a pre-built social life. In that way, it definitely helped with the transition. On the other hand, there was always the risk of falling back on people you already knew rather than meeting new ones, so I can see how that could be a hindrance. [to some].

While 61 percent of Durham's domestic students graduate from the state, data shows that Durham's student recruitment is much more concentrated at private schools. In the 2021-2022 school year, the average number of students per non-public school reached 4, while this figure was less than 2 for public school equivalents.

A student who attended Wellington School, the third largest non-public secondary school in Durham since 2018, said: Palatinate, [Having many classmates at the same University] it made no difference to me. I had a [friend from school] in Collingwood [with me] so it was a little easier the first day because we were able to do the tour together initially. In the year below us at Collingwood there were about four guys from my year [at school] who had taken gap years and I noticed they were spending a lot of time together – I saw it made a difference, but not for me personally. The Wellington School, a private day and boarding school in Somerset, charges tuition fees of up to 47.7 million per year and sends an average of 23 students to Durham University per year.

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