February 29 comes only once every four years–but in Oxford, it’s merely 7th week Friday of Hilary Term–and an exam day, to judge by all the black suits and commoners’ gowns I saw students wearing early that morning.
A commoners’ gown “is made of black material but with the style of a turned-over collar. It has no sleeves, but has a streamer on each side with square pleating and hanging to the full length of the gown, which covers the normal lounge coat, ” says Shepherd and Woodward Ltd. (Oxford student gowns since 1845.)
Oxford is famous for its many briliiant students–Tim Berners Lee, Stephen Hawking, and our own Bill Clinton, who didn’t inhale here. So I’m sure all these serious students will do quite well on their exams, although they did not look any happier about exam day than any other student from anywhere else.
Some things are pretty reliably universal.