Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

Durham University hosts one of the world's largest and most active research groups in the field of extragalactic astronomy. We have been at the forefront of many of the most important advances in the fields of galaxy formation and evolution and this is reflected in both our citation record and our leadership of major studies on the world's foremost ground and space observatories (both STFC-supported and other premier international facilities). Our group also benefits from the strong links and deep-rooted synergies between our research programme and the work within the ICC and the CfAI instrumentation groups at Durham. Our programme addresses three of the central questions highlighted in the STFC Roadmap: ``How do galaxies, stars and planets form and evolve?'', ``What are the laws of physics in extreme conditions?'' and ``What is the Universe made of and how does it evolve?''. In this proposal we present the case for support for our coherent and comprehensive programme to address critical elements in all three of these questions. This 5-year programme builds on our research strengths and exploits the new opportunities available through current and future STFC-funded facilities. In particular we will exploit our leadership in multiwavelength studies of galaxy populations at both moderate and high redshift, studies of the Ly-alpha forest, X-ray surveys and studies of AGN and panoramic QSO and galaxy surveys, to answer open questions which lie at the core of these Roadmap questions. Our proposal is constructed around the seven broad themes, each of which comprises a group of goals and associated projects aimed at answering questions in distinct research areas, within the broader scope of the rolling grant programme. The seven themes are: Theme A, Environment and galaxy evolution at z<0.5; Theme B, The physics of high-redshift galaxies; Theme C, The inter-galactic medium and galaxies; Theme D, Dust and gas in obscured galaxies; Theme E, Demographics and properties of AGN; Theme F, Constraining the mechanics of AGN feedback; Theme G, Survey cosmology. Theme A aims to understand the physical processes responsible for the transformation of galaxies in high-density environments, their effect on the morphologies and star formation histories of the galaxies. Theme B investigates galaxy formation at higher redshift, to understand the star formation process in high-z galaxies, the evolution of their metal content and the formation of their galactic structures. Theme C focuses on studies of the relationship between gas and galaxies at low and high z and the cycle of material between galaxies and their gaseous environments. Theme D studies the most extreme, obscured starburst galaxies at high z , to determine their contribution to the star formation density and to test their role in the evolution of other galactic populations. Theme E uses multi-wavelength surveys to investigate the growth of supermassive black holes, the processes which drive this and the effects of obscuration which limit our knowledge of this population. Theme F focuses on the influence of feedback from AGN on their galactic hosts and surroundings. Theme G seeks to constrain cosmological parameters using panoramic photometric and spectroscopic surveys of galaxies, QSOs and clusters.

Making school choices is an important way for parents to engage in their children's education to promote their learning outcomes. In China, where rural populations are disadvantaged economically, socially and culturally, school choice is treated as a crucial tool to achieve transgenerational social mobility by rural families. Despite this, most of them cannot choose the school they want for their children and even when they do, they usually need to pay considerable school choice fees and even migrate with their children to urban areas, which are unaffordable for low-income families. School choice, therefore, becomes a key issue that can reproduce social inequalities and reinforce social divisions. The rural residents make up 36.11% of the total population of China. However, to date, there is little research focusing on rural parents' school choices, and their voices and concerns are barely audible in public discourse. This research will redress such gaps through a cross-case study that draws on the theoretical tools of Pierre Bourdieu and Stephen Ball. The proposed research will offer valuable insights into the interplay of rural parents' agency and structural factors. It will present the voices of rural families who lack economic wealth and political influence, offering implications for education policymakers and NGOs in designing inclusive interventions that consider the needs of disadvantaged groups. Moreover, these insights on the interrelationship between school choice and social inequalities may serve as a reference for research and decision-making in international contexts.

The Durham observational astronomers are among the most successful at obtaining telescope time at observatories around the world. This grant for travel funds is to ensure that the observers have an administratively simple source of funds to be present at the telescope to execute their observations.