George Pye is the director of marketing at Hull University and his son Rob is a student at Manchester University. When the opportunity arose for George to live the life of a student for a while, he took it. Ken Cooper met George at the halls of residence as he prepared to settle in...

George arriving at his student room

George Pye thought student life would be easy until he saw his student room. It was a bit bare. A further shock came when he was getting ready to go to bed at 10.30pm: his fellow students were just heading out on the town for the night. George has begun to see student’s lives from a different perspective.

His son Rob is studying at Manchester University and doesn’t have much sympathy for his father. He says "It’s good for him to see how you live and how hard it is. It’s just such a contrast to our home life".

Earning extra cash

Rob’s only tip to his father on coping with student life is: "get an overdraft and loosen up". But George thought he'd take what he thought was the more sensible option - a job for the week in the student bar. And George is quite grateful for the free pint and sandwich he gets at the end of his shift. "I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s a bit of fun, watching all these students slamming it down their throats and having a good time".

Rob thinks his father’s experience of university life might give him a more lenient view towards students. But adds that once he gets back to his normal life "I’m sure he’ll forget the horrors of being a student".