Young Brits hoping to study or train abroad this academic year got £22m less from the UK’s new Brexit-era ‘Turing Scheme’ than was given out by the EU Erasmus programme it replaced. Figures for the 2022/23 academic year show £106m was given out by the UK government, compared with €144m (£128m) under the UK’s last grant from the EU-funded Erasmus+ scheme in 2020. The Turing Scheme figure is £7m up from its 2021/22 launch year, but the amount given specifically to higher education (rather than f

Nine Russell Group universities offered students cash and other incentives amounting to almost £9 million to defer their places last year, research has found. Thousands of students were asked to delay studying at elite universities after A-Level grade inflation meant some of the most competitive courses were unexpectedly oversubscribed. The scale of the incentives offered by universities left scrambling to find space for students has been revealed by Freedom of Information requests. Birmingham,

Students have described a culture of bullying, bigotry and elitism within a Team Durham club. Players and student exec members claim that an institutional lack of accountability and transparency within both the club and the wider Team Durham structure has facilitated harmful practices. Current and former members of the club told Palatinate that they felt they had “no avenue for complaint” regarding incidents of discriminatory behaviour and potential misconduct involving senior members of staff.

Proposals to change college porter working arrangements, recently tabled by the University, have sparked concern among the workforce. Intended changes include putting all porters on flexible contracts, the creation of a worker pool who can cover shifts at short notice, and the end of ‘rotating’ shifts. Currently, many porters work on a ‘rotating’ rota: switching every week between day, afternoon and night shifts. This pattern operates in the colleges of St Mary’s, St Hild and St Bede, St Aidan’

The introduction of online learning has significantly widened the attainment gap between Durham’s most and least privileged, data obtained by Palatinate shows. Since 2020 Durham’s most privileged students have experienced 10 times the increase in first-class grades compared to the most deprived. The gap widened further in 2021 after the end of the ‘no detriment’ policy. 30.5% of those from England’s most deprived areas – rated a 1 on the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) – achieved a first-c

Durham's record-setting benefactor has suspended all donations to the university over strict Covid regulations for current students. Mark Hillery, an alumnus of Collingwood College, Durham, had donated more than £7.5 million to the northern university between 2015 and 2021. He said told Durham student newspaper Palatinate that he had been in contact with the university several times about their restrictions which were stricter than the government guidelines. Hillery said that his decision was

Only 54 students followed the University’s guidance to use a University testing site twice weekly throughout Easter term — making up 0.56% of the 9,621 students who participated in the testing programme last academic year. A Freedom of Information request by Palatinate revealed that despite consistent University messaging for twice-weekly test, an average week in Easter term would see just 401 students tested twice: 4% of the total number students who participated in the testing programme in th

As part of its ten-year strategy, the University plans to increase Durham’s student population from 15,000 to 21,500 by 2027. This plan is already in motion. John Snow College’s relocation from Stockton to Durham and South College’s opening for the 2020/21 academic year provided accommodation for 1,000 more students. Durham’s student numbers have accordingly risen from 15,479 in the 2016/17 academic year to 20,268 in last year. The existing pressure on the Durham rental market is well-known.