In article , Terry Harper
writes
The word "taught" is superfluous, the correct expression being "Full Term".

Yes, but there's been a bit of an effort to avoid Oxbridge slang, I
think. Cambridge also had the 8-week lecture term plus approx half a
week either side for "housekeeping".

Back in my day in Oxford, and I doubt that Cambridge was different, there
were lectures at 9 and 10 on most days Monday-Saturday, but attendance was
not compulsory

Indeed, not compulsory, but in the later years with some specialist
lectures being given to a handful of familiar students they were
effectively compulsory.

(although desirable, as questions in finals were mostly based
on the lecture course over three years. A certain amount of attendance at
the laboratories was also required, but could usually be fitted in between
11 and 1 before lunch. Afternoons would often be devoted to sport, games or
the pleasures of punting

My experience of Engineering at Cambridge was lectures 9-1 Mon-Fri and
9-12 Saturday; plus two or three afternoons of labs, and at least one
5pm lecture. The labs were just collecting experimental results, too;
you could easily spend another two hours writing up and crunching the
numbers - this being before electronic calculators, let alone PCs.
--
"now, the thing you type on and the window you stare out of are the same thing"