Oxford bans students from partying in street

Students at Oxford University have been banned from rowdy partying in the streets to celebrate the end of their exams after losing out in a town-against-gown row.

Police have stepped in to stop the generationsold practice after complaints from residents fed up with the disruption to their lives caused by students dousing each other in paint, champagne, flour and water from high-powered water pistols.

Offenders now face £70 on-the-spot fines, and for actions deemed more serious they face being sent down from university, fines of £500 and arrest.

A new code of practice has been hammered out with the university and the student union, and is likely to be ratified by the student body next week.

Students will still be allowed to bring along balloons and flowers, but they will not be allowed to open bottles of champagne or throw anything other than glitter and confetti.

The partying is seen by many current and past students as a rite of passage and a release from the gruelling pressures of Oxford finals.

But the gathering outside "Schools" - the gothic exam halls in the centre of the city - when friends wait for finalists to emerge from their last exams, is too much for many in the town to bear. It can happen twice a day for up to four weeks during the summer term.

The university welcomed the code as it has been trying to control the partying for decades, but some students are unhappy about the changes.

Laura Hamilton, a law student at Keble College, said: "The idea of spotfining students who are celebrating the end of weeks of hard work seems excessive.

"It is just another example of the university trying to control every aspect of students' lives."