WESTMINSTER UNIVERSITY CHALLENGED

By Gavin Pearce

The president of the student union has attacked Westminster students for shunning University Challenge, insisting they are more interested in booze and dating.

Chris Beaney, Student Union President, said students here are more concerned about being stylish than flaunting their intelligence.

The attack comes after the show turned 40 years old on Monday.
Despite having 20, 000 students, a team of five from the University of Westminster has never appeared on the telly quiz.
Mr. Beaney said: “Even if we offered free beer to entrants, we wouldn’t get a team together – they’re just too apathetic and are more concerned about style.

“They don’t seem to care about the contest, probably because they are not confident about taking on the top colleges.”

He added that students take no notice of posters asking them to apply because they are more partial to socializing than facing Jeremy Paxman.

But the manager of the Harrow Campus Undergraduate Office, Kevin Addison, said entry to the competition was not a priority for the university.

He said: “I think there’s a general view that the show is dominated by the elite universities, who push their students to enter and hold competitions to find the best teams.

“I don’t think it’s as important to new universities like ourselves,” he added.

The university quiz is celebrating its anniversary by bringing back some of the original contestants to pit their wits against present-day winners. The new series, University Challenge Reunited, began last night at 8pm on BBC2.