In article , Neil Williams
writes
Perhaps - though I've not heard in a long time of another university
(like I'm told is the case in Cambridge and possibly Oxford) that
requires you to be in residence over a specified number of weekends.

Weekends aren't special (nor are Bank Holidays during exams); it's the
number of *nights* that count. You need the weekends to make up the
numbers, and in my day there were quite a few courses with Saturday
morning lectures- I'm not sure whether that's changed now.

Comparing our calendars with friends at London University, their terms
were 2 weeks longer, but everyone routinely took time off most weekends
- so they actually worked less. My college library was full of people
studying on a Sunday afternoon, and with no TV or other distractions to
speak of (one set in a common room) people did tend to work most of the
time.
--
"now, the thing you type on and the window you stare out of are the same thing"