At Durham, each college has a unique heritage and many traditions that follow. One of the most exciting days to celebrate this heritage is College Day. This refers to a certain day in the year on which all members of the college celebrate and take part in various activities depending on which college they are from.
I am a proud member of Hild Bede and have only experienced one college day so far but look forward to taking part this year! Last year, the day was full of fun. I want to walk you through my experience now!
So, first my entire block woke up at 7:30am to take part in a college tradition that must be completed by 8am. After this, we then made our way to the main college grounds where we were greeted with a ‘champagne breakfast’ with croissants, juice, and other drinks. This was a great opportunity to meet with other friends from the college and get excited together.
We then made our way to Durham Cathedral at around 10am where we experienced a service in honour of St Bede (fun fact: Hild Bede is one of the few colleges that can actually visit the Cathedral on their college day as St Bede is buried there!). This was such an amazing experience, especially since it was one of the first times I was able to visit the Cathedral properly due to Covid!!
Next, we made our way back to college and enjoyed various activities and entertainment that the college had organised. There were bouncy castles and other inflatable games; plenty of acts throughout the day such as dance performances, tribute bands and much more; and there were even candyfloss and crepe stands to snack on during the day! In addition to this, I was able to spend time with my college family and say hey to Simon, Hild Bede’s principal, and Rook, his dog (the best ever!!).
I then invited some of my friends from Cuths and Hatfield to join for the rest of the day. A great thing about College Day is that you are able to invite your friends from all over Durham and they can do the same for you. This year I am hoping to go to as many different College Days as possible to experience all of the different traditions that Durham remembers.
The evening was then spent relaxing in the sun, enjoying the music, and just having fun with friends. Since Hild Bede’s day usually takes place after exam season, it feels great to finally chill out and just celebrate.
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