h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

And hasn't the new term started at full speed!
Darling first-years still to be fed in their vast numbers (45) and today they had to compose on "Early stages of capitalism in Britain: preconceptions and reality". We had studied at length an absolutely riveting BBC programme hosted by Melvyn Bragg, with George Monbiot, Lisa Jardine, Anthony Grayling and George Lucas and there they were this morning writing away. I am looking forward to reading their efforts I must say. But the heart sinks at the prospect of 45 essays to be be done for next week. Still that is what I am paid for.

All my free time is occupied with selecting applicants for next year's batch. We have roughtly 550 applications and we must rank the best 200-odd to fill our 48 places. They have applied to prepare the competitive examination to get into top business schools. This is done in the lycées stangely enough but the universitites have their eyes on us as they claim we pinch the best students, which is true.

Each year, we have candidates from lycées we've never heard of, but this year our task is made more difficult because they come from all over the country, as far south as Toulouse and Montpellier, as far west as Les Sables-d'Olonne, not to speak of Lille and Strasbourg. We do have boarding places ("internat") but they are meant for foreign students and low-income families. We have our usual large contingent of Moroccan students, fewer Algerians this year, plus French-speaking Africa as well as far-flung French possessions like Tahiti, La Réunion and Martinique. Choices, choices.

We are ranking them purely on academics theoretically, in the core subjects of the exam : maths, philosophy (ah, l'exception culturelle française!), history/geography (taught by the same teacher in France), French, 2 languages.

So far, working in teams (mostly the same three in fact) we have whittled down the list to 230-off names. Now we have to rank them.

It is fascinating work, but also exhausting, made more bearable by the icy temperatures. No temptation to go shopping for spring outfits. It's Damart and woollies and scarves and shivering.

More on Friday, to-morrow is reserved for another kind of exhausting activity that is however easier on the brain.

"Mamie!"
"Yes darling?"