Student Prince

The decision of Prince William to pursue Art History roused Evening Standard (London) art critic Brian Sewell to severely criticise the appropriateness of his choice of study. But as a foundation year curriculum it is broadly based: architectural history is included and is his expressed interest, which he might pursue through to broader environmental studies.

There is not much ‘dilettantism’ here, despite Sewell’s concern, to the well heeled student market that traditionally seeks out St Andrews University, other than in the institution’s own tailoring of such interesting course material as ‘The Country House’. The problem at St Andrews (ironically one of the first universities in the l960s to commission Sir James Stirling) is the lack of anyone capable, as yet, of lecturing authoritatively on modernism, or for that matter on contemporary architecture. Old Fogeyism took root early in St Andrews, and remains alive and well, bolstered by sound scholarship. But the university may already be seeking to remedy this gap. Time, however, is of the essence.