The "Ask a Durham Student" Thread :)

Are there any ID checks walking into lectures? I think I might fancy checking out some modules for second year, if I'm allowed in

(Obviously I'd wait until around when it's starting and make sure there was plenty of room, to make sure I don't cause a fuss with overcrowding.)

For the catered colleges do you get a set amount of food or can you have as much as you like?

Normally you can only get 1 portion of the 'main thing' (meat or whatever) and then unlimited Veg and Carbs (so so many carbs) however if you go towards the end and they have loads left you can try and blag more than one main portion.

Do you have a to bring your A level certificates with you? I only have my GCSE certificates and my AS ones, but not my the full A level ones because my school doesn't give them to students until December.

My school did the same. I think most do actually as if I recall correctly results aren't actually confirmed until then as there can still be remarks and things going on. I was never asked for any certificates and you certainly won't need ones that haven't even been handed out yet. But I guess you could take your results sheet up if you're worried about it - you shouldn't need it though.

Do you have a to bring your A level certificates with you? I only have my GCSE certificates and my AS ones, but not my the full A level ones because my school doesn't give them to students until December.

Thanks! I also noticed that you study Combined Honours in Arts, which is what I'm going to study so I have a few questions Which Spanish modules did you pick in your first year and how were they? Also, what is the Perspectives on Human Nature module like in Combined Honours?

Hello,
Which is the best network around Hild Bede? I'm currently on 3 but from what I've read its pretty rubbish around Durham.

I think most other networks are alright. 02 is generally regarded to be one of the strongest ones. Don't know about Hild Bede specifically, but it shouldn't make much of a difference.

Hi!
The Spanish modules I took were 'Spanish 1A' and 'Conflict and Violence in the Spanish-Speaking World'.
For 1A I had two classes per week taught by native Spanish speakers, one for grammar and one that alternated between oral and aural. There were about 10 people in each class and it was nice getting the chance to speak a lot in the language and have more time actually speaking to the teachers than in other modules. However, this is a lot less contact time than you would have had at A level so I still found it important to try and immerse myself in the language outside of the classes as otherwise your language ability might even begin to slip as you get out of practice.
I wasn't a big fan of C&V as to me it seemed to lack direction. The topics chosen seemed to be almost randomly thrown together under a very broad umbrella and because it was the first year that the course was run we had no access to past papers and very little guidance in the run up to the exam. This was also true of the summative essay that we had to submit with a deadline far too early in the year, in my opinion, as we hadn't even had the chance to submit a formative. Each sub-topic had a different lecturer and they seemed to vary quite massively in how much help they gave us and how engaging their lectures were. However, with this one you do have to take into account that it was the first year that the module had run so it was never going to be as smooth as others. These sorts of things should have been highlighted in people's feedback questionnaires and I can only hope that changes have been made for the next cohort.
'Perspectives on Human Nature' is a slightly odd one as it seems to be a bit marmite. It starts off kind of like philosophy and goes through a number of different philosophers, looking at different movements every week and how they defined the human and separated our existence from that of other things. In second term it retains the same theme and a certain philosophical feel but seems to get a little more like sociology in the different thinkers that it looks at. The lecturers are both really engaging and enthusiastic which makes the lectures very interesting, but I sometimes struggled to remain as enthused when forcing my way through some quite dense texts for my own reading. The essays also sometimes seemed a bit hard to get to grips with as the titles seemed to be far more open and vague than I was used to and dealt with quite complex topics and we didn't seem to be given a great deal of guidance, but the mark schemes did appear to reflect this.
Just PM me if you have any more questions!

Thanks I will PM you if I have any more questions

Does anyone here belong to the Durham Union Society? I wondering if I should join or not...

Me again...
What do you want to know?

Hahaha Generally what is it like? I never really talked much in classes and when I did I really didn't talk well so would I be able to survive in the Durham Union Society? Is it for shy people? I'm interested in improving my debating skills, but I'm worried that I'll just make a fool of myself.

Hahaha Generally what is it like? I never really talked much in classes and when I did I really didn't talk well so would I be able to survive in the Durham Union Society? Is it for shy people? I'm interested in improving my debating skills, but I'm worried that I'll just make a fool of myself.

I'm a member of the DUS but don't actually debate myself. I know there are workshops for all levels from Beginners to Advanced debaters which you'd be welcome to join and there's a debate on every week which can be on anything really, which members can just turn up to watch and then go to the bar afterwards.

There's also the Mooting Society, and although that's got law strongly in mind, it might be more up your street for improving skills.

I'm a member of the DUS but don't actually debate myself. I know there are workshops for all levels from Beginners to Advanced debaters which you'd be welcome to join and there's a debate on every week which can be on anything really, which members can just turn up to watch and then go to the bar afterwards.