Sober up, Cambridge students told

Students at a Cambridge college have been warned to sober up and work harder.

St Catharine's College has written to more than 400 undergraduates after a series of incidents early in the new term which saw two taken to hospital suffering from alcohol poisoning. Another drunk student had to be "virtually carried" out of a formal college dinner and a fourth was sick in the college lavatories.

In the letter, college dean Dr Pete Tyler warned students that drunkenness, rudeness and "unmannerly behaviour? would not be tolerated.

The college's reputation was already suffering, said Dr Tyler, as it slipped to 18th out of 24 colleges in a league table of academic performance..

He recalled that "the first week began with two cases of alcoholic poisoning". Then, at a formal college dinner, known as "formal hall", one first-year female undergraduate "had to be virtually carried out of hall because she was so drunk. Another male student at the same dinner would not remain seated." Days later, a thirdyear female became so drunk at formal hall that she vomited in the lavatory.