Student gatherings

MOST 21 year olds are now at university, thanks to Tony Blair’s education reforms. With the possible exception of Oxford and Cambridge, where you really do have to work hard, being shut up in a hall of residence when you should be out funding every publican in town has been deeply frustrating. ‘It’s more or less back to normal,’ says Edinburgh student Lucas Fraser-taliente, except the new normal is that hosts ask people to take a lateral flow test. ‘It’s not that anyone’s that bothered about catching Covid, they’re just very bored of having to isolate.’

At Bristol University, the Covid-legacy cloud has a silver lining, notes first-year veterinary student Indigo Butcher: ‘We forged closer friendships, as we had to be creative and organise our own flat dinners or parties, with themes or challenges. Even now clubs are open, we balance going with evenings in the company of close friends, perhaps more than we would have done before.’