A HUNDRED balloons will be released at the weekend to mark the centenary of a small university college with strong links to the Church.
St Chad's College, near Durham Cathedral, came to the city from a site near Doncaster in 1904, originally training men for ordained ministry in the Church of England.
With 330 undergraduates and 50 postgraduates, St Chad's is the smallest of Durham University's colleges, but is among the most popular for religious and non religious subjects.
It boasts bishops, military leaders, explorers and journalists among its distinguished alumni.
About 100 will return to join tomorrow's centenary celebrations. There will be a service of celebration at the cathedral tomorrow when representatives of all the college's sports teams, clubs and societies will enter in procession, carrying rugby balls, rowing oars, cricket bats, library books, musical instruments and play scripts, signifying the everyday life of the college.
The Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, a fellow of St Chad's, will preach, and after the service will be joined by the Mayor of Durham, Councillor Ray Gibbon, to release 300 balloons, one for each term in the college's history, on nearby Palace Green.
Weekend celebrations end with a firework display in the college grounds on Sunday evening.
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