Stockton pharmacy students forced to move to Newcastle Uni not told until TWO DAYS before their summer exams

Whilst the fate of Stockton Campus is widely known by many, the harsh treatment of their students has been kept quiet.

Durham’s pharmacy students have been given the chop by the uni’s admin, and weren’t told until two days before their summer exams.

While the students and staff were consulted on the decision, the final outcome was made by the senior Durham staff, most of whom are based in the city.

In addition, students who have just been accepted into the Pharmacy course weren’t told about their move to Newcastle until after their UCAS application had been accepted.

This meant they had no opportunity to change their university choice if they didn’t want to go to Newcastle, as opposed to Durham for which they applied.

One student commented: “Everything was kept quiet until the last minute. Luckily I found out about the move before I confirmed my uni place but I know that lots of people didn’t until after they’d already confirmed their place at Durham”.

The news doesn’t seem to be going down any better with the staff. Many, including lecturers and technicians, have already stepped down as a reaction to the relocation.

Although the lack of notice was heavily criticised, some are seeing the positives in the move. One Pharmacy lecturer said: “My view is that it is a positive move for pharmacists and we can really only hope to gain from improved facilities at the Newcastle campus”.

One second year Pharmacy student commented: “Many of them [the students] are to say the least, disgruntled. Our lives are being pretty heavily overlooked while negotiations are underway between the universities”.