So you think you are good at sport?

Sep 2 2008 by Neil Mckay, The Journal

DURHAM University yesterday threw down the gauntlet to potential under-graduates to follow in the footsteps of international sports stars.

England rugby captains Will Carling and Will Greenwood, triple jumper and Olympic gold medallist Jonathan Edwards and England cricket captains Nasser Hussain and Andrew Strauss all studied there.

And now the university has announced 25 new spots for excellence. The competitive scholarships, worth £3,000 per year, will reward students who can shine in sport, music or the performing arts.

The Vice-Chancellors’ Scholarships for Sport, Music and the Performing Arts are the first of their kind at Durham and some of the most generous in the country.

The scholarships are part-funded by contributions from Durham alumni.

Scholarship students will able to use the awards to pay for sporting equipment, travel, lessons and other expenses associated with developing their activities at a national and international level.

The students, who can study in any academic department, will also have to meet Durham’s high academic standards to gain a place on their course of choice, and will be expected to represent the university in their respective fields. Vice-Chancellor Professor Christopher Higgins said: “Our students are already amongst the most active in the country in sport, music and performing arts.

“The purpose of these awards is to help the most talented men and women to come to Durham University by providing public recognition of their excellence above and beyond their academic abilities, and providing an important financial contribution to continuing these activities at national and international level.”

The university was ranked fourth of 153 universities in the British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) in the 2007-8 season and has been the leading university in rowing for the past four years. Four Durham graduates competed in this year’s Olympic rowing finals in Beijing. One, Steve Rowbotham, won a bronze medal. Durham Student Theatre has over 700 active members spread across 40 theatre companies, and the university hosts more than 60 student theatrical production companies.

The university also has a strong music department, and leading British composers James McMillan and Anthony Payne have Durham degrees.

Students wishing to apply for the scholarships should visit the university website http://www.dur.ac.uk/undergraduate/finance/vc_scholarships/ .

The deadline for applications is November 10. The scholarships will be awarded by a panel headed by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Learning and Teaching, Professor Anthony Forster, and final decisions are expected in December this year.

The purpose of these scholarships is to help the most talented men and women to come to Durham University