St Andrews students have fun in traditional Raisin Monday shaving foam fight

Students in St Andrews have thrown shaving foam at each other in an annual tradition “for the memories” on Monday at the Fife university.

Hundreds of first-year students took to St Salvator’s Quad to take part in the messy ceremony for Raisin Monday.

Students Daisy, Lilliana, Bee, and Charlotte said they took part in the foam fight “for the memories”.

“It’s so much fun. It’s a huge tradition here. We didn’t want to miss out,” the group said.

The foam fight takes place on St Salvator’s Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews (Jane Barlow/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Jane Barlow

Raisin Monday is a tradition where older students adopt first-year students as “children” and help guide them through mentoring.

The tradition is intended to help freshers meet new people and settle in.

The mentoring originally started in Raisin Weekend, when “children” were entertained by their “parents” and are encouraged to play pranks and silly games.

On Raisin Monday, the “children” dressed in flamboyant costumes and were traditionally given “raisin receipts” by their “parents”, usually consisting of strange objects with a traditional Latin inscription.

However, over time, this tradition has evolved and students are encouraged to donate items for the local food bank instead, before being let loose on Lower College lawn for an enormous, shaving foam fight.

The unusual tradition is believed to date back to the university’s founding in 1413.

On Monday, third-year students lined the foaming arena to cheer on their “children”, often dressed up the same to signify their “family” ties.

Students donned costumes from smurfs, to minions, and pigs, and were kept stocked up on shaving foam.