It was a viewpoint echoed years later by his successor, James Barber:

Alumni have also praised a "work hard, play hard ethos" conducive to future success and highlighted a strong sense of identity and community. Nevertheless, student articles have criticised Hatfield for being 'rah', and suggested it is responsible for perpetuating negative views about the wider university. Writing in 1996, college archivist Arthur Moyes admitted that modesty "is not a Hatfield characteristic". These figures also represent a significant reversal over time; during the 1960s the state school intake averaged 63%.

For 2016 entry, under 2% of freshers were from low participation neighbourhoods. To attract a wider range of candidates it has launched an outreach programme working with pupils in local state schools in Gateshead, Hartlepool, and Washington.

Admissions

For the 2015/2016 entry cycle 1,375 applicants selected the college as their preference. This made it the 5th most popular overall, behind University College, Josephine Butler College, Collingwood College, and St Mary's College. Compared to most other colleges, Hatfield received a somewhat higher percentage of gap year applicants, with 7.8% of applicants in the 2015/2016 cycle choosing to defer, against a university average of 3.8%. That year it was the 'most polarizing college', having seen the largest increase in last-place rankings.

List of past masters

  • David Melville (1846–1851)
  • William Henderson (1851–1852)
  • Edward Bradby (Michaelmas Term 1852)
  • James Barmby (1859–1876)
  • Arthur Robinson (1923–1940)
  • Angus Macfarlane-Grieve (1940–1949)
  • Eric Birley (1949–1956)
  • Thomas Whitworth (1957–1979)
  • James Barber (1980–1996)
  • Tim Burt (1996–2017)

Fellows

Hatfield College Council awards honorary fellowships to alumni and people who have a close association with Hatfield. On receipt of the fellowship, the fellow automatically becomes an honorary member of the SCR and receives the same benefits. By 2012, honorary fellows numbered 24 in total, notably including former university chancellor Bill Bryson.

As of 2018, other staff affiliated to the college include eight junior research fellows and 10 Senior Research Fellows. Current senior fellows include, amongst others, the theologian Douglas Davies.

Sports and societies

Hatfield College Boat Club

thumb|left|240px|The [[Oar (sport rowing)|blade colours of Hatfield College Boat Club]]

The boat club was started in 1846, shortly after the founding of the college, making it one of the oldest student clubs in Durham. There is a Novice Development programme for absolute beginners.

Notable former members of the club include Alice Freeman, Louisa Reeve, Angus Groom, and Simon Barr. The boat club's alumni society, The White Lion Club, connects current students with alumni at key events throughout the year such as the Head of the River Race, Durham Regatta and the annual Christmas dinner.

Rugby

Hatfield College has become known for prowess in rugby in particular – so much so that Thomas Whitworth (Master, 1957–79), a known rugby enthusiast, was often accused of bias in the selection and treatment of rugby-playing students. The Durham University team that triumphed in the 1969 University Athletic Union final against Newcastle University was made up mostly of Hatfield players.

Intercollegiate dominance continued into the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, with Hatfield eventually establishing a record of 30 cup wins in 32 years. The 1995 cup final was noteworthy for being an all-Hatfield event, contested by the college's A and B teams.

Will Carling, Will Greenwood, and Marcus Rose are the most notable former undergraduates, all of whom made multiple appearances for England and participated in various editions of the Rugby World Cup.

Alumni

Hatfield Trust

Established in 1987 to get around the financial limitations of being a maintained college, the Hatfield Trust is essentially the college endowment fund. It relies on contributions from alumni and supporters to fund student activities, bursaries, and one-off projects. The value of the trust stood at £500,000 by 1998. As a way to encourage more frequent donations from former students, the 1846 Club enables donors to make pledges of £18.46 annually, quarterly, or monthly.

Societies

Hatfield alumni are active through organisations and events, such as the Hatfield Association, which now has a membership of more than 4,000 graduates.

Notable people

thumb|upright|[[Andrew Strauss]]

There are examples of notable alumni of Hatfield College in various fields, including government, academia, arts, and sport to name just a few.

The sporting alumni of Hatfield College may be the most famous, among them former England rugby union captain Will Carling, 2003 Rugby World Cup winner Will Greenwood, and former England cricket team captain Andrew Strauss. More recently, rower Angus Groom was a silver medallist at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Government figures to have attended Hatfield include Robert Buckland, a former Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor; Edward Timpson, former MP for Eddisbury and Minister of State for Children and Families; and Labour Party life peer Baron Carter of Coles. At least 5 alumni have held ambassadorial level posts in the Foreign Office, most notably Kim Darroch, previously British Ambassador to the United States.

Hatfielders in the military include Lord Dannatt, a former Chief of the General Staff, and one of his successors in the same role – General Mark Carleton-Smith. The late Air Marshall Peter Walker, Rear Admiral Andrew Burns, the current Fleet Commander, and retired Rear Admiral Matt Parr were also Hatfield undergraduates, in addition to Major-General Peter Grant Peterkin, later appointed Serjeant at Arms in the House of Commons.

thumb|upright|left|[[Jonathan Darlington]]

In the media, presenters Jeremy Vine, Mark Durden-Smith, Jonathan Gould, and Mark Pougatch; and David Shukman, Science Editor of BBC News (2012–2021), were all students at the college.

In the arts world, travel writer Alexander Frater was a Hatfield student, as was the poet and memoirist Thomas Blackburn, fashion journalist Colin McDowell, singer-songwriter Jake Thackray, comedian Ed Gamble, and conductor Jonathan Darlington.

Ecclesiastical alumni are numerous: with former Bishop of Derby Peter Dawes, former Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf Clive Handford, and Morris Gelsthorpe, the first Bishop in the Sudan, making up just a small sample.

In academia, names include computer scientist Keith Clark, Professor of Computational Logic at Imperial College London (1987–2009); particle physicist Nigel Glover, a current professor at Durham; Rebecca Goss, Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of St Andrews; and Gordon Cameron, Professor of Land Economy at the University of Cambridge (1980–1990) and Master of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge (1988–1990).

Eden Project founder Tim Smit, BP executive Richard Paniguian, Oliver Bonas founder Oliver Tress, and David Arkless, Chairman of End Human Trafficking Now, are all examples of alumni with a background in business.

<gallery mode="packed">

File:Hatfield College chapel in 2016.jpg|The chapel viewed from outside the college gates

File:Hatfield College, Durham.jpg|Kitchen Block

File:A B and C stairs Hatfield College.jpg|A, B and C Stairs

File:Viewfromhatfieldunderpass.jpg|View of Dunham Court from the underpass

</gallery>

See also

  • List of Hatfield College alumni with articles on Wikipedia
  • History of Durham University

Notes

References

Bibliography

Citations

  • Hatfield College
  • Junior Common Room
  • Middle Common Room
  • Senior Common Room