St. Andrews is the oldest uni in Scotland, and has a lot of stories and traditions that go with it. The castle and cathedral in town also have their own associated stories and legends.
~ Perfecting Procrastination since 1413! Some of the buildings around town date from the mid-16th century, including St. Salvator's Chapel and St. Mary's College.
~ Our school song is still in Latin, the Gaudeamus.
~ There is set of initials outside of St. Salvator's Chapel, PH, which stand for Patrick Hamilton, the first protestant martyr of the Scottish Reformation who was burned on that spot. Legend has it that if you step on them, you won't get your degree.
~ Students (mostly undergrads) still wear their bright red academic gowns on a fairly regular basis. It's rare, but sometimes you see a graduate or a postgrad in the black gown or a PhD in the lovely blue gown.
~ Every Sunday after chapel services, students (and some faculty!) walk out onto the pier and back in academic dress. It's an old stone pier and the highest bit is also the narrowest and farthest out.
(I have yet to do it...)
~ We have many other strange traditions including Raisin Weekend and the May Morning Dip.
~ John Cleese (from Monty Python, or more recently Nearly Headless Nick from Harry Potter) used to the be the Rector here.
~ And last but not least, Prince William is a student here (4th year).
I could go on and on about St. Andrews, it's great studying here! Cheers!
ShyViolet
University of St. Andrews
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