A Part One Law tripos examination that was set this year has attracted national media attention for its question featuring the initiation ceremony of a fictional drinking society. 

The question had graphic descriptions of oral sex, rape and death and was designed to test students’ knowledge of criminal offences. This is not the first time that drinking societies have featured in the Cambridge Law examinations – last year’s paper featured a scenario in which a person ran naked through Cambridge while being beaten with stinging nettles 

Although the question has provoked a shocked reaction from national media outlets, the students themselves were unfazed. Jonny Dillon, a first year Law student at Trinity who sat the paper, said: “The only people who seem to be particularly shocked by this question are people who don’t do Law…everyone in the exam just answered the question”.

Nevertheless, some students were not impressed. Miranda Pottinger, a Cambridge English finalist, said on Twitter: “That’s a horrific question – so far beyond acceptable and a total misrepresentation of most socs, actually”.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, a spokesperson from the University stated: “In the Part One Criminal Law examination paper set by the University of Cambridge Law Faculty hypothetical situations are presented in order to test students' understanding of different aspects of Criminal Law.”