Made by: Tatyana Yakelevich, Ksenija Kotenok, Svetlana Gurina, Viktoria Brodovich British universities are selfgoverning institutions Although they all receive considerable financial support from the state, it has no control over their regulations, curriculum, examinations or the way in which government money is spent University students have lectures, classes, seminars, and tutorials, and their studies are usually directed by tutors At the end of the full course of studies students receive a diploma or a first degree, that is a Bachelor's degree  Admission to most British universities and other institutions of higher education is usually by interviews Kings College Cambridge CambridgeUniversity crest The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom It is the second oldest university in both England and the English-speaking world and the seventh oldest university globally In post-nominals the university's name is abbreviated as Cantab, a shortened form of Cantabrigiensis The university grew out of an association of scholars in the city of Cambridge that was formed, early records suggest, in 1209 by scholars leaving Oxford after a dispute with townsfolk The two "ancient universities" have many common features and are often jointly referred to as Oxbridge In addition to cultural and practical associations as a historic part of British society, the two universities have a long history of rivalry with each other Academically, Cambridge ranks as one of the world's top universities, as well as a leading university in Europe, and contends with Oxford for first place in UK league tables Affiliates of the University have won more Nobel Prizes than those of any other institution in the world - with 88 Nobel Laureates as of October 4, 2010 - the most recent one being Robert G Edwards for the prize in physiology or medicine The University is a member of the Russell Group of research-led British universities, the Coimbra Group, the League of European Research Universities and the International Alliance of Research Universities It forms part of the 'Golden Triangle‘ of British universities  As an institution with such a long history, the University has developed a large number of myths and legends The vast majority of these are untrue, but have been propagated nonetheless by generations of students and tour guides  A discontinued tradition is that of the wooden spoon, the ‘prize’ awarded to the student with the lowest passing grade in the final examinations of the Mathematical Tripos The last of these spoons was awarded in 1909 to Cuthbert Lempriere Holthouse, an oarsman of the Lady Margaret Boat Club of St John’s College  It was over one metre in length and had an oar blade for a handle It can now be seen outside the Senior Combination Room of St John's Since 1909, results were published alphabetically within class rather than score order This made it harder to ascertain who the winner of the spoon was, and so the practice was abandoned  Each Christmas Eve, BBC radio and television broadcasts The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge The radio broadcast has been a national Christmas tradition since it was first transmitted in 1928.The radio broadcast is carried worldwide by the BBC World Service and is also syndicated to hundreds of radio stations in the USA The first television broadcast of the festival was in 1954 The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration Founded in 1881 it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic universities The university has produced eight Nobel Prize winners and offers more than 230 first degree courses across 103 subjects It has an annual turnover of £340 million, including £123 million for research  Liverpool has the sixth largest financial endowment of any UK university, valued at £110m, according to the Sutton Trust It is a member of the Russell Group of Universities and a founding member of the Northern Consortium  The University has over 23,000 registered students, with almost 18,000 full-time registered students The University has a broad range of teaching and research in both arts and sciences, and has a large medical school, which is associated with the neighbouring Royal Liverpool University Hospital  In September 2008, Sir Howard Newby took up the post of Vice-Chancellor of the University, following the retirement of Sir James Drummond Bone  The University has a Students' union to represent students' interests, known as the Liverpool Guild of Students  It should be noted that whilst Liverpool has a total of five universities, the colloquial term Liverpool University commonly refers to the University of Liverpool rather than either of the other four, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool John Moores University, Edge Hill University, or LIPA The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom and funded in part by the United Kingdom Government It is notable for having an open entry policy, i.e students' previous academic achievements are not taken into account for entry to most undergraduate courses  The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off-campus, but many of its courses can be studied offcampus anywhere in the world  There are a number of full-time postgraduate research students based on the 48 hectare university campus where they use the OU facilities for research, as well as more than 1000 members of academic and research staff and over 2500 administrative, operational and support staff The OU was established in 1969 and the first students enrolled in January 1971.The University administration is based at Walton Hall, Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, but has regional centres in each of its thirteen regions around the United Kingdom It also has offices and regional examination centres in most other European countries The University awards undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, as well as nondegree qualifications such as diplomas and certificates, or continuing education units With more than 180,000 students enrolled, including more than 25,000 students studying overseas,it is the largest academic institution in the United Kingdom and Europe by student number, and qualifies as one of the world's largest universities Since it was founded, more than million students have studied its courses It was rated top university in England and Wales for student satisfaction in the 2005 and 2006 United Kingdom government national student satisfaction survey, and  The Open University is also one of only two United Kingdom higher education institutions to gain accreditation in the United States of America by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, an institutional accrediting agency, recognized by the United States Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation  In May 2009, David Cameron, leader of the United Kingdom political Conservative Party and a regular speaker at the Open University campus in Milton Keynes, delivered a keynote speech praising the OU for 'innovation'  As recent as 7th June 2010, and now serving as the newly elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron once again returned to choose the Open University campus to deliver another keynote speech on the United Kingdom's economy and outline his new government's plans to tackle the economic challenges that lay ahead ... research-led British universities, the Coimbra Group, the League of European Research Universities and the International Alliance of Research Universities It forms part of the 'Golden Triangle‘ of British. .. studies students receive a diploma or a first degree, that is a Bachelor's degree  Admission to most British universities and other institutions of higher education is usually by interviews Kings... referred to as Oxbridge In addition to cultural and practical associations as a historic part of British society, the two universities have a long history of rivalry with each other Academically,