Bedlam was unleashed in St Salvator’s quadrangle in St Andrews as more than 1,000 students braved the cold to don fancy dress and take part in the traditional Raisin Week foam fight.
The normally tranquil oasis of academia was transformed as freshers bonded in the fun battle on Monday.
Shops noted a huge spike in the sales of shaving foam as first-year students geared up for the annual frenzy. The annual celebration marks the formation of academic families, where new students (children) are looked after and shown around by more senior students (mothers and fathers).
In years gone by, new students would thank their makeshift parents with a pound of raisins. However, in ways not well understood and perhaps best left uninvestigated, the gift of dried fruit eventually evolved into a bottle of wine and a giant foam fight.
The extravaganza marks the finale of Raisin Weekend, in which the ”children” attend a tea party with their ”mothers” on Raisin Sunday.Click here for our full photo galleryMeanwhile, the ”fathers” are presented with a bottle of wine in return for their assistance in helping the ”children” get to grips with their surroundings.
The tradition also sees academic fathers presenting their temporary offspring with a ”raisin receipt” an often cumbersome item the first year student is expected to carry around with them during the foam fight.
In recent years receipts have included a canoe, a brass bed complete with student reading a book and even a bath.