Raisin Monday: The University of St Andrews' foam fight in pictures 2023

The Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews was a sea of foam on Monday as students took part in the annual Raisin Monday foam fight.

By Fiona Dobie

Published 16th Oct 2023, 16:25 BST

Updated 16th Oct 2023, 16:27 BST

The annual event saw almost 1000 students gather on Monday to participate in the shaving foam fight.

St Andrews is home to a large number of ‘academic families’ – where older students adopt first years as ‘children’ and help guide them in a system of mentoring. The ‘mentoring’ culminates in Raisin Weekend when children are entertained by their ‘parents’ and encouraged to play pranks and silly games.

The on Raisin Monday, the ‘children’ dress in embarrassing, flamboyant costumes; are given strange objects with a traditional Latin inscription and are let loose on Lower College Lawn for the foam fight.

Historically the event saw students bring their academic parents a special gift, however more recently students have engaged with a more responsible and sustainable Raisin Monday with those taking part this year donating items for the Storehouse Foodbank in St Andrews.