The Spectator(@spectator):Although it has been many – many – years since I was a student, I’ve never forgotten looking at my university timetable at the start of my first year and wondering how I was going to cope. Not with the hours of study, but with having so much free time. For it seemed the hours of formal teaching required to pursue a degree in English Language and Literature at this particular Russell Group university barely exceeded double figures. After the grind of A levels, the vast open spaces on the timetable were dizzying. Surely a university education was supposed to be more demanding than this? ✍️ Angela Epstein

2026.08.30 07:50

Although it has been many – many – years since I was a student, I’ve never forgotten looking at my university timetable at the start of my first year and wondering how I was going to cope. Not with the hours of study, but with having so much free time. For it seemed the hours of formal teaching required to pursue a degree in English Language and Literature at this particular Russell Group university barely exceeded double figures. After the grind of A levels, the vast open spaces on the timetable were dizzying. Surely a university education was supposed to be more demanding than this? ✍️ Angela Epstein