School’s out! Cambridge students celebrate the end of their exams with fireworks, a five-course feast and champagne reception at £345-a-ticket May Ball
- Some of the country’s brightest thinkers and leaders of tomorrow let down their hair for the all-night May Ball
- Still clad in dinner jackets and floor-length dresses, Cambridge students celebrated on the streets of the city
- After enjoying a five-course meal at the Great Hall, many headed for the River Cam to continue the festivities
- The occasion gives young revellers a chance to frolic in the streets as they celebrated the end of their exams
By Alexander Robertson For Mailonline
Published: 04:17 EDT, 18 June 2019 | Updated: 06:09 EDT, 18 June 2019
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Well-heeled students donned their finery as they stumbled through Cambridge in sparkling gowns, towering heels and formal tuxedos as they celebrated the end of their exams with the university’s famous May Ball.
Guests, who paid at least £345 for a sought-after double ticket to Monday’s event, had the option of a lavish five-course feast with wine pairings or a champagne reception.
They enjoyed a stunning fireworks display followed by a night of entertainment ranging from comedians to classical and jazz music.
Some relaxed on punts on the River Cam after the music stopped, while others made their way home as the sun rose.
In years gone by, some of Britain’s brightest students have engaged in hedonistic behaviour, stripping off and jumping in the river, but this year more sipped from bottles of water than alcoholic drinks as they left the college.
Students from Cambridge University make their way home along Trinity Lane after celebrating the end of the academic year at a May Ball in Trinity College
Three friends pose for the camera after an evening of fun in Cambridge, which was brought to a spectacular close with a fireworks display above the River Cam
Cambridge University students share a kiss as they take a punt ride along the River Cam after festivities continue after the music stopped playing
Punts fill the River Cam in Cambridge after a firework display at the May Ball at Trinity College. The May Ball events are some of the most lavish events on the university’s calendar
Fireworks light up the sky above the River Cam as students enjoyed the historic May Ball, which marks the end of the academic year and signals a chance for them to let their hair down after a year of hard studies
Three friends donning their best finery pose for a photograph together as they make their way home through the streets of Cambridge in the early hours of this morning
Some of the country’s brightest thinkers and leaders of tomorrow give their fellow students a helping hand home after they let down their hair for one night as they celebrated the end of their exams during Cambridge University’s famous May Ball
The beautiful River Cam was awash with revellers in the early hours of the morning as merry students made their way home after a big night out
One young lady hitches a ride home on the back of her friend, complete with a bunch of flowers in her hand, while a high-heel shoes can be seen ditched the road behind them
The historic streets of Cambridge were brimming with students in the early hours of this morning as they were captured in what is traditionally known as the ‘survivor photos’
A trio of dapper chaps can’t take the smile off their faces after unbuttoning their shirts and undoing their bow ties during the walk home this morning
A pair of students take a break from the action as they sat down on the empty streets of Cambridge this morning following a big night out
Cambridge University students are pictured in high spirits after the 2019 May Ball as they donned their finest clothes for the big social event of the year
A long night of partying and dancing obviously left its mark on the feet of these two ladies, as they were seen ditching the high heels in favour of bare feet during the walk home
The lavish black tie ball is the biggest event of the Cambridge student social calendar and marks the end of their exams and allows stressed-out youngsters to let off some steam.
The occasion is well-known for giving the young revellers a chance to frolic in the streets as they celebrate the end of their exams.
Many of the ladies ditched their heels to clamber home and shielded their eyes from the morning sun, while young men undone their bow ties and unbuttoned their shirts.
The revellers decked in black tie and ball gowns posed for the time-honoured ‘survivor photo’ after seeing the festivities through to dawn.
Last night was the turn of students from the university’s Trinity and Jesus Colleges to hold their May Balls.
While some posed for perfectly choreographed photos outside the iconic Trinity College in the heart of the city, others fooled around as they bundled each other on Cambridge’s narrow streets.
The May Ball events are some of the most lavish events on the university’s calendar.
Budgets typically run into the hundreds of thousands of pounds, and their extravagance can stretch as far as balloon rides and artificial canals for punting.
Still clad in dinner jackets, top hats and glamorous floor-length dresses, hordes of students teetered home arm-in-arm following the lavish event and prepared to carry on the celebrations with punt rides on the River Cam
Two young ladies cannot hide their delight as they ditch their footwear and take it easy during a early morning punt down the River Cam following a night of drinking and dancing
One young woman cannot hide her delight as she is lofted onto the shoulders of a friend as the rest of her well-heeled colleagues make their way through the historic city of Cambridge
A chivalrous young man sweeps his date off her feet (shown left) following last night’s festivities, as another pair hold hands during an early morning walk through the city
Three glamorous young ladies cling onto flowers during their early morning stroll through Cambridge, with one of them savvy enough to don trainers for the occasion
Young men undone their bow ties and unbuttoned their shirts, while many of the ladies ditched their heels to clamber home and shielded their eyes from the morning sun
Youngsters take a break from a night of partying, which has become an age-old ritual at Cambridge and there are even special drinking societies that organise debauched events
The May Ball celebrations follow similar events held on ‘Suicide Sunday’, which saw university students strip off and wrestle on the banks of the River Cam
One student gets quite the scare as a protective swan aggressively confronts him after he dived into the water on Sunday during boozy celebrations
Some of the students struggled to get out of the water and had to be pulled ashore and others were spotted wrestling in their underwear on the riverbank on Sunday
One student fell head-first into the river (shown) and another had to be rescued after he was attacked by two swans protecting their young
Parents and tourists watched on as students at the prestigious university let down their hair in spectacular fashion during celebrations on Sunday
What and when are the biggest parties in the Cambridge University social calendar?
Students quaff champagne at a Cambridge May Ball
Partying has become an age-old ritual at Cambridge and there are even special drinking societies that organise debauched events such as:
Caesarean Sunday is seen as the birth of the drinking parties for the summer term. It historically included members of Girton and Jesus colleges’ drinking society takes place at a park in Cambridge’s city centre, on the first bank holiday of the summer term.
Suicide Sunday: The party at Cambridge University is a traditional event in which hundreds of students celebrated finishing their exams. In recent years, the Suicide Sunday garden party, organised by the Wyverns, an all-male Magdalene College drinking society, has been held in a new location for the first time in 80 years after officials banned students from holding the event on university.
VT valley rally: Its winter equivalent, the VT valley rally, occurs during the annual Varsity ski trip, is quickly catching up to Suicide Sunday’s levels of debauchery. Previously female students stripped to their underwear in front of hundreds of onlookers, while both men and women simulated sex acts with each other.
The Wyverns drinking society has a reputation for its hard partying and excessive drinking. Its initiation ceremony involves eating a 15-course meal with delicacies such as a pig’s snout with wasabi sauce and a pint of water with a goldfish swimming inside.
The Ferret drinking society: The Ferretz, an inter-collegiate drinking society, must consume 80 units on their initiation. They usually start with a bottle of gin and finish off with a bottle of port – consumed through a condom. Girls are also encouraged to kiss strangers.
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