Stephenson College (formerly George Stephenson College, known colloquially as Stevo) is a

constituent college A collegiate university is a university where functions are divided between a central administration and a number of constituent colleges. Historically, the first collegiate university was the University of Paris and its first college was the Col ...

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

Durham, England Durham ( , locally ) is a cathedral city and civil parish in the county of County Durham, Durham, England. It is the county town and contains the headquarters of Durham County Council, the unitary authority which governs the district of Count ...

. It was founded in 2001 as part the university's Queen's Campus in

Thornaby-on-Tees Thornaby-on-Tees, commonly referred to as Thornaby, is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north of York and south-east of Middlesbrough. On the south bank of the River Tees, Thornaby falls within th ...

. During 2017 to 2019, it relocated to the city of Durham, joining

Josephine Butler College Josephine Butler College is a Colleges of Durham University, constituent college of Durham University. The college was opened in 2006. It is named after Josephine Butler, Josephine Elizabeth Butler, a 19th-century feminist and social reformer w ...

at the Howlands Farm site on Elvet Hill. It is named after

George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was an English civil engineer and Mechanical engineering, mechanical engineer during the Industrial Revolution. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victoria ...

, the 19th-century

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

engineer and pioneer.

History

In Thornaby (1992-2019)

In 1992, University College, Stockton (UCS) was established on a new site in

, in the borough of

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Val ...

, as a joint venture between the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

and the

University of Teesside Teesside University is a public university with its main campus in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire in North East England. It was officially opened as ''Constantine Technical College'' in 1930, before becoming a polytechnic in 1969, and finally g ...

. This was initially a joint venture, granting joint degrees validated by both institutions ( BAs and BScs). However, Teesside, which had only become a university in 1992, had difficulties in taking on its responsibilities for the college and Durham took full control in 1998. A programme of integration with Durham began, leading to the college becoming a college of the University of Durham in 1994 — the only college with teaching responsibilities. Further integration led to the campus being renamed the University of Durham, Stockton Campus (UDSC) in 1998, with teaching responsibilities being separated from the college structure. In 2001 UDSC was split into two colleges: George Stephenson College and

John Snow College John Snow College is a Colleges of Durham University, constituent college of Durham University. The college was founded in 2001 on the university's Queen's Campus, Durham University, Queen's Campus in Stockton-on-Tees, before moving to Durham, ...

. In 2006 the college name was changed to Stephenson College. 2010 saw the opening of Stephenson Central, in the middle of the college, housing a library, games, meeting and TV room with a bar at the centre, as well as the Junior Common Room office.

In Durham (2017-present)

Stephenson College and the other Queen's Campus college,

, relocated to Durham on a phased basis starting in October 2017, completing in 2019. Stephenson College took over buildings formerly occupied by

Ustinov College Ustinov College is a Colleges of Durham University, constituent college of Durham University. Founded in 1965 as the Graduate Society, it achieved full college status in 2003 and adopted its current name from the then-chancellor of the universit ...

on the Howlands Farm site, adjacent to

. The college is a 15 minute walk from the Mountjoy site which contains many departments and large lecture theatres.

Facilities

Accommodation

Stephenson is a self-catered college, with rooms arranged in flats with shared kitchens. All rooms are single-occupancy, and include en-suite rooms as well as those with shared bathrooms. As of 2023, the college has 1304 members, with 433 living in college accommodation.

Communal facilities

Communal facilities in the college include "Platform 1", the college's café and bar; "Platform 2", a performance venue and social space with two dart boards and a pool table;"Platform 3", a study space and library; a shop, two gyms, further study spaces and a music room. The college also shares use of a multi-use space, Howlands Hall, with

, which is used for sporting activities as well as formal meals.

Dining

Stephenson is a self-catered college and has no dining hall. However, optional formal and informal communal meals are held, with around six of each during the year.

Sports and Societies

The undergraduate student body (Junior Common Room or JCR) is governed by an elected Executive Committee headed by the President and supported by several other officers. Regular JCR meetings are held to discuss and vote on important issues. The JCR also supports many societies run exclusively for college students. The most popular societies include Stephenson College Boat Club (SCBC), Football, Rugby and Badminton.

References

External links

Stephenson College
official website
George Stephenson College JCR
undergraduate student organisation {{Authority control Colleges of Durham University Educational institutions established in 2001 2001 establishments in England