British universities

Henry Robinson is 22 and he is in his final year at Cambridge. Liz Robinson is 20 and is at a red brick University in a northern industrial city. Patricia, who is 19, has just started one of the universities.

Patricia's University, like several of the other new universities, is on the edge of an ancient cathedral city, about two miles from the centre. It is planned on the American "campus" system, that is to say, students live in halls of residence grouped around the main University buildings.

"I like it because we're a real community," said Patricia. "We've got comfortable rooms and bars. We arrange dances and parties. We've got clubs, theatre groups, choirs, and so on. And we've got an orchestra. I play the drums in it."

"We've got bars and common rooms and clubs, too," said Liz. "But I hate to live in the sort of closed community you live in, Pat."

Liz and two other girls rent a house in the middle of the city, about ten minutes' walk from the University. The house is falling to pieces. It is damp, and there is no proper heating. The district is poor and could almost be classed as a slum.

"I couldn't work in a place like yours," said Henry.

"Nor could I," said Patricia.

"You're a couple of snobs," said Liz. "We live among real people, who treat us as real people. We could try to get into one of the halls of residence, but we prefer to be independent. It's nice to belong to the city and to do things outside the University."

"What sort of things do you do outside the University?"

"Well, there's a group of us who go and help in a home for handicapped children. And I sing in the city Bach Choir. We get on well with the local people - not like Henry and the people in Cambridge?"

"Oh, most of us get on very well with the local people," said Henry, "Cambridge isn't a big place."

"So you're sorry you chose Cambridge?"

"No, I'm reading chemistry and Cambridge is one of the best universities for any science subject. Besides, Cambridge, like Oxford, has got a special atmosphere."

Patricia chose her University because of its progressive ideas on education and its broader and more varied courses. Many of the new universities are experimenting with new subjects.

"I'm doing comparative literature," she said. "At the moment I'm comparing English, French and Russian novels. We write papers on our work, and then about ten of us meet with our professors and read and discuss them." This "seminar" system is common in the new universities.

"It works, because we get on well with the professors and lecturers," said Patricia. "Some of them are not much older than us and they don't mind at all if we disagree with them."

"You're lucky," said Liz. "We have classes, but we hardly ever ask questions. The profs don't seem to be able to do anything but lectures. Besides, the course itself is out of date. It hasn't changed for twenty years."

Henry, like Liz, is critical of his professors and lecturers, some of whom are more interested in their own research than in helping him in his studies. However, he attends lectures given by some of the most brilliant scholars in the country. Henry goes to classes as well as to lectures, but the most important person in his academic life is his tutor. Henry enjoys his weekly tutorials.

Both Henry and Patricia think that friendly relations with the teaching staff are especially good at British universities.

(From Great Britain Today)