There is – or rather was – another side to Durham University not mentioned in Zoe Williams’ article, in which she mentioned its lack of a medical school (From rent strikes to free-speech walkouts – how did Durham University become a frontline of the UK’s culture wars?, 27 August). Between 1992 and 2017, the university had a campus located at Stockton-on-Tees – Queen’s still exists, but is largely mothballed.
It represented an experimental venture for Durham University, which sadly came to an abrupt end because the university’s leaders did not see it fitting the elitist image of Durham centred on its castle and cathedral. The Queen’s campus was modern and outward-facing, engaged with the deprived communities on Teesside blighted by deindustrialisation. It was levelling up before the term became fashionable.
