HUNDREDS of students have taken part in a mass foam fight as part of a ritual dating back centuries at Scotland’s oldest university.

Raisin Monday is the culmination of a weekend of festivities when first-year students at the University of St Andrews say thank-you to their more senior student “parents” for mentoring them.

The so-called “children” are given embarrassing costumes to wear and take part in a shaving foam fight in St Salvator’s Quad in the Fife town.

Raisin Weekend dates far back into the history of the university and is named after the tradition whereby “children” gave their academic “parents” a pound of raisins to thank them for welcoming them to St Andrews.

Nowadays it is more likely to be a bottle of wine.

The University of St Andrews was founded in 1413.