Hundreds of thousands of students will soon return to university and thoughts may well be turning to matters such as finance and accommodation, not to mention organising a social life. A trawl through the Guardian’s archive reveals there is nothing new about this.
February 1849: Cambridge University students take their partying seriously.
Photograph: Network Photographers/Alamy
June 1929: Mr Lloyd George pays a visit to the London School of Economics (LSE) - at least the students thought so for some time.
July 1935: Students can’t think for themselves, say lecturers. Pupils only learn facts and express views which are likely to get them through exams.
May 1947: As the House of Lords debates the implications of university education for all, the Guardian sounds a note of caution.
January 1960: Higher education is nothing but a hindrance to women who marry early and want to run a happy home.
March 1964: Financial and social costs forcing students to leave university before completing their degrees.
October 1964: Oxford University accused of elitism.
April 1966: University students resist government attempts to replace grants with loans.
May 1968: Paris students in savage battles. In Britain, the Revolutionary Socialist Student Federation is launched at a conference held at the LSE, and the following year students seize a University of London student union building.
November 1971: Day of insults for Margaret Thatcher, secretary of state for education, when she visits South Bank Polytechnic.
February 1989: Students, banks and the private sector all against the government’s plans for student loans.
November 2010: Student protest over tuition fees turns violent - protesters smash windows and get onto roof of Tory HQ as estimated 50,000 attend London rally.
