Students cover each other with foam and give mentors a pound of raisins - in bizarre tradition

Students at Scotland’s oldest university covered each other with foam and gave their mentors a pound of raisins today - in a bizarre tradition.

The University of St. Andrews has a long-standing tradition of ‘academic parents’ – older students who have ‘children’ to look after and mentor throughout their first year.

Raisin Weekend is traditionally a time for ‘parents and children’ to bond, meet new people and have some quirky fun.

Raisin Monday, held this year on 16 October, involved 'parents' dressing up their academic children and having a foam fight across the historic lower college lawn.

A statement from the University of St. Andrews student union said, “Raisin Weekend is one of the biggest traditions in St Andrews, so called because children traditionally gave their academic parents a pound of raisins as a thank you for welcoming them to the town.

“The St Andrews academic family is unique, as it has always been passed organically from student to student.

“Raisin is about celebrating new lifelong friends, and taking part in a tradition that makes St Andrews different. It's not all about drinking, it’s about having fun and making new friends.

“On Raisin Monday, academic children typically meet at their parents’ home in the morning, where they will be dressed up in costumes and given a ‘Raisin receipt’ to carry with them on their way to Lower College Lawn.

“There, hundreds of academic children will flood onto the grass where they will be showered with foam from foam cannons and can mess around covering their academic siblings and friends in foam, while their parents watch and take pictures from the sidelines.”