The ultimate guide on how to spot a Durham student outside the university bubble

Attending Durham University is an experience incomparable to other UK unis. Although “technically” a city, it’s really a small bubble filled with the best and brightest Oxbridge rejects around. Since we’ve got such a concentrated student population, it sometimes seems like there’s a Durham student uniform.

Ask a person to conjure up an image of the archetypal Durham undergrad and that image will be crystal clear (and will probably ask you which private school you went to).

So, for those who are brave enough, here’s all the ways to spot one of us in the wild.

College stash

This one is obviously one of the most common ways you’ll identify a Durham Uni student. Everyone has fallen victim to the college stash drop at some point in their college careers. No matter if you love your college, or you’re from Hatfield, we know you own a puffer jacket with a college shield and your initials stitched on for all to see. Despite Durham’s small student population, I can’t count how many times I’ve been minding my business in the holidays and been jump-scared by one of these. Even happens abroad. No matter where we go, a piece of Durham stash will always be lurking round the next corner.

They’re wearing a quarter-zip or a Schoffel

In the rare occasion where a Durham student isn’t wearing their college stash, they will probably be wearing a quarter-zip. Durham students have a reputation of coming from upper class backgrounds, hence it’s no surprise the prospect of a zip longer than a quarter of the length of their jacket is too much manual labour for some.

Bonus points if they’re wearing chinos.

Their coat is so long it reaches their ankles

You can’t wear a puffer jacket or a quarter-zip to a college ball, it’s illegal in Durham. So the Durham student needs an alternative form of outerwear for formals and for their trips to the Billy B. This is personally one of my favourite features of the Durham uniform because it looks cool and it must be so fun to swish it behind you like you’re teaching a “defence against the dark arts” class.

They live in London

A Durham student from the north? Rarer than a salad order from Urban Oven. If you’re in search of a Durham student outside Durham, the prime spot to search will be somewhere in London. Maybe it’s because that’s where most people in the UK are from, maybe it’s because LNER has a great direct service between the two cities. Either way, it’s home for most of us.

They love the races

A chance to day-drink and a chance to see horses – the Durham student is first in line.

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They love fashion shows

There’s nothing a Durham student loves more than a chance to get dressed up and go for a night out. The Durham fashion shows are one of the better things our university is famous for and nothing brings a tear to the eye more effectively than watching students put so much effort into the fundraising. I know I’ve seen egg-throwing, darts, bake sales to name a few. The things we’ll do for charities and fashion.

They scoff at drink prices in other cities

When cheese costs £6.80 and the average cost of a pint is now £5.17, Durham is a student alcoholic’s paradise. Our college bars remain a sanctuary where all students can get drunk without having to dip into their trust fund. But venturing outside this sanctuary? Dangerous. We live in the Durham bubble 30 weeks of the year and it protects us from the harsh realities of how much drinking actually costs in the real world. So when we do venture outside our safe space? Devastation – both mentally and financially.

They’re having brunch

Five-a-day for a Durham student consists of: Flat White, Riverview Café, Leonard’s Coffee House, Treats Café and Vennels. No other food groups exist to the Durham student.

They refer to Klute as if it’s widely known

“What do you mean you haven’t heard of Klute?”, “Don’t you know it’s the worst nightclub in Europe?”. Here, we all know John Klute is a celebrity, and Klute is one of the most important heritage sites in the North East. But people outside of Durham aren’t always as up to speed on these facts, which will never cease to shock the Durham student.

They can’t survive a club night later than 2am

Durham is a smaller city with lots of heritage, so all clubs close at 2am. When the Durham student hears Angels or That’s Amore, they know instinctively it’s time to. You’ll find them at Urban Oven, at an afters, or in bed. The brave few that make the journey to Newcastle know they have to survive until the 4am train back, and they talk about it like they’re shipping off to ‘Nam.

While students from unis like Leeds or Manchester would easily carry on until sunrise, the Durham student is trapped in routine of comparatively early bed-times.

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