News

International Swimmer Graduates

(22 June 2004)

Nearly 500 students from the University's Queen's Campus, Stockton pick up their final year results on Wednesday 23 June. Among them is Caroline Saxby, top international swimmer from Stockton who has successfully managed to juggle full-time study with her demanding sporting commitments.

Caroline has had an exhausting schedule over the past three years which included full-time study for a degree in Applied Psychology, which involved studying at both Stockton and Durham City campuses She completed her dissertation which researched eye-witness testimony alongside completing ten swimming sessions a week at Bishop Auckland swimming pool and land training and gym sessions at the University's sports facilities at Maiden Castle.

In her first year at University, Caroline represented England at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, where she was a finalist in the 800m freestyle and 400m freestyle. During her three years as a student at Queen's Campus, Caroline represented the University at the British University Swimming Championships, where she achieved three gold, four silver and two bronze medals.

Caroline said: "I'm really grateful to the University for the tremendous support everyone has given me over the past three years. It's challenging combining studies with a sport, it's almost like having two full-time jobs!"

In recognition of her success, Caroline was named Sports Woman of the Year, during her first year at the University and at a recent Palatinate dinner to acknowledge Durham's sports stars and sporting achievements, she was presented with Honorary Life Membership of Team Durham, in recognition of her accomplishments representing the University.

She said: "To be honoured in this way by such a prestigious institution, that has a long sporting history, is very humbling. I'm delighted to be part of that history."

Caroline missed out on selection for the 2004 Olympic team earlier this year after suffering a shoulder injury. She now hopes to concentrate on swimming full-time to improve her previous achievements which included one gold and two silver medals at last year's Amateur Swimming Association National Championships.

Steve Muncer, Applied Psychology Course Leader said:"Caroline has managed a demanding training programme alongside her studies over the last three years. She has performed very creditably and deserves sincere congratulations. We wish her all the best for her future career."

Photo Opportunity on Wednesday 23 June 12.00 noon
Caroline Saxby will be available for interviews and photographs at the Holliday Building, University of Durham, Queen's Campus, Stockton when she picks up her results and registers for next week's congregation ceremony at Durham Cathedral.

For further information contact Jan Cawood, Public Relations Officer, University of Durham, Tel: 0191 334 0018

Notes to Editors

The University of Durham confers degrees on nearly 3,000 graduates at Durham Cathedral next week.

The City's most prominent building is staging 12 ceremonies over three days. There will be four ceremonies, called Congregations, each day over 30 June to 2 July, but they will be timetabled around Cathedral services and allow time in between so that visitors can still look round.

The number of graduations has almost doubled over the past 10 years, as degree programmes have expanded both in Durham and on the University's Queen's Campus, Stockton.

At some ceremonies the University also confers honorary degrees. This year's recipients include:-

DCL Bill Bryson
Friday 2 July 11.15 a.m. ceremony
One of the world's most beloved and bestselling writers
Born in Iowa in 1951, a backpacking expedition brought him to England in 1973 where he met his wife and decided to settle. He wrote for The Times and The Independent for many years, writing travel articles to supplement his income. The Lost Continent, Bill Bryson's hilarious first travel book, chronicles a trip in his mother's Chevy around small town America. Since then, he has written several bestsellers about the UK and the US. His latest book, A Short History of Nearly Everything, takes his ultimate journey-into the most intriguing and consequential questions that science seeks to answer from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization

DSc Professor Sir Harry Kroto
Friday 2 July 2 p.m. ceremony
Nobel laureate for Chemistry and an ambassador for science
Internationally acknowledged and honoured for his achievements in chemistry research, Sir Harry Kroto excels also as a champion for the appreciation and understanding of science. He has been based at the University of Sussex since 1967 where he is a Royal Society Research Professor. His pioneering work has uncovered extensive new knowledge about chemical structures. He gained a Nobel Prize in 1996, and was knighted the same year, for his revolutionary and fundamental discoveries in carbon-based materials, notably the C60 molecule Buckminsterfullerene. He is also a tireless broadcaster and communicator of science.