College of St Hild and St Bede

A Long History and Bright Future

Hild Bede is special for lots of reasons: our long history and progressive traditions; our character; and, the way that our student and college community is set up and runs. Hild Bede is the second oldest college in Durham. We are particularly proud of the fact that we were the first college in the University to award degrees to women and every year mark the sacrifice made by Bede men who died on the Western Front in World War 1. Our age as a college means that we have a very large and many engaged alumni, spread round the world who support us through gifts and time and provide links and advice to our students. 

People

The thing that makes a college is its people. It is how we treat and look after each other and how we keep in an ongoing conversation about ourselves, each other and the world around us. The Hild Bede 'conversation' is about ideas, concepts and knowledge, about plans, events and visions and views, about times when things are going well and also when they might be going less well. What makes good conversation is excellent people and Hild Bede has very many right through the staff team, our mentors and our SRC, and its elected leadership. 

Our SRC and the student experience

Hild Bede is unique in that our students are not represented by a Junior Common Room but the SRC (Student Representative Council). This elected body represents and serves both under- and post-graduate students of the college. It is strong, energetic, committed and brilliant body that contributes to college life each and every day through the very many events and ‘ents’ that it runs, the welfare support that is provides, the representation and voice it offers in running our college and also into the wider University. It is the SRC Exec that makes Open Days and Freshers’ week possible, and stages our 'formals' and balls and also College Day. It supports the clubs and societies which make up so much of college life and is rooted in traditions of actions and activism to address important social, cultural and political issues. 

The SRC and student representation through voting for a President was founded at Durham in Hild Bede and that idea of representation and voice runs through us such that we aim to ensure that the we support, champion and benefit from the diversity we treasure made up of student members that come from all walks of life and backgrounds: those new to University, from outside the UK, from a wide range of cultures and ethnicities, genders and sexualities. We strive to be an open and inclusive environment where we work hard to challenge inequalities and inequities, take on discrimination and exclusionary practice and be a champion for and celebrate the diversity of our communities and groups. 

Belonging and Becoming

Student Support

Our mission is easily stated: to enable you to feel and to know that you belong to our community, and thereby to help you to achieve the sense of safety, confidence and open-mindedness to develop to your full potential – to become the person you want and can be. We do that through providing excellent pastoral and welfare support. You will find us ready to help with advice on physical and mental health and wellbeing, support you in relation to your studies and relationship with your academic department, to sign-post you to the appropriate services inside the University or the wider community. College is also very fortunate to have a Chaplain for around half a week, a ‘gift’ to College associated with our historic links to the Church of England. The Chaplaincy allows us to offer an Evensong and Holy Communion each week, mindfulness sessions and the very popular ‘Nine lessons and carols’ service at Christmas. The Chaplaincy also connects us to the wider local community and is means for you to explore volunteering and making a contribution to improving the lives and opportunities of people around College.

Community Living

For 2023-24 Hild Bede is offering a choice of self-catered accommodation and catered provision. Students joining college, living in and choosing the catered package will be resident at Hild Bede Riverside and if you choose to be self-catered, the residences are at Ernest Place. 

Residents at both sites are full members of college with access to all our Common Rooms and Bar, gym, and study spaces and music practice room (at Riverside) as well there being some additional amenities at Ernest Place for residents there.

Community dining

Belonging comes about through joining our social events too. While catered student dine in every day, any member of college can come and buy a meal in our dining room at Riverside and everyone is welcome to sign up so attend our 'formals'. 

Hild Bede holds a number of ‘formals’ a year. There are around 2 each term and opportunities to come together as a community and to celebrate and socialise. We mark Christmas and St Patrick’s Day, an evening of awards for our ‘Clubs and Socs’, an evening where we celebrate charity and of course, our freshers formals. Hild Bede’s Winter and Summer Balls are legendary. In 2021 we also established a St Hild's Day formal and held a Spring Ball. And, we started the traditions of College Days at Durham with what remains one of the biggest and best.

Clubs and Societies 

College has around 36 clubs and societies through which you can hone or develop a skill, get fit, keep fit, or enjoy competition, self-expression and also contribute to our local community.  Hild Bede Theatre is well-known not least for its musical productions which secured awards for the best musical in Durham for twelve consecutive years. We have dance and music and Hild Bede Cheer alonside a magnificent College Chapel Choir. Team HildBede provides the umbrella for all our very many sports and games clubs.  Rowing is popular and successful, so too our football, rugby, hockey, basketball, netball and badminton clubs. Many have several teams catering for all ambitions and talents. You can also join our darts, pool team or poker club if you like your pleasures are more sedentary. We also hold regular  quizzes, ‘open mic’ nights, bingo and silent discos in our bar "the Vern'. 

One of the other great assets of Hild Bede, in part associated with our history and traditions, is the extent to which we are gifted and granted the means to support you in what you want to try and to achieve. Our College has a wide range of funds and trusts, many generously set up in memory of students, by alumni and others, which provide, under their various articles and purposes, several thousands of pounds of year to applicants from within College.

Coming 'home' to Hild Bede

College offers a lot but you can also contribute. Hild Bede wants your ideas, energy and engagement. We are looking for students willing to support the SRC and to enhance our place and status in the wider family of colleges and also our local community and communities beyond Durham. If you come to Hild Bede you can expect to be part of our ‘conversation’ and the work to keep turning our power and capabilities to enhance both you and your wider experience of University and also what you can do for others inside and beyond college.

The next chapter in our college story: 'I rise the same again but changed'

We are excited to be embarking on the next chapter in our story as college which will involve the refurbishment of some of our historic buildings and redevelopment of new facilities. The plan is for that work to start to the Autumn of 2024 when we will temporarily move college to a great city centre location will newly built amenities to sit alongside excellent accommodation. 

During this period we have made a commitment that student experience will not be affected. It is also a project in which we invite student engagement to help shape new building and development and create a fabulous refreshed estate for the mighty Hild Bede.