Watch: Students dressing up as the 'Lion King' and angry old women in hilarious matriculation pranks

One of Oxford’s most ancient traditions has been shaken up by cheeky students dressed as old women… and a baboon

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Matriculation, the ceremony that marks a student's formal entrance into university, involves a Latin speech and requires all students to wear a gown and formal dress. However, two Oxford colleges decided to liven up the stuffy proceedings by pulling pranks.

At St Anne’s College, the official photograph was interrupted when second year students blasted the opening chords of "The Circle Of Life" from Disney’s The Lion King. JCR Vice President Alex MacQuarie appeared on a balcony, dressed as a baboon, and held aloft a teddy-bear stand-in for Simba. Second-year students in animal onesies then rushed out and bowed to the lion king in homage to the Disney classic’s opening scene.

MacQuarie said, “it was a good laugh to stage and I'm glad the freshers enjoyed the show - Matriculation day can always do with some lightening up”.

At Exeter College, meanwhile an anonymous group of second and third year men charged onto the lawn and did battle with each other – whilst dressed as old women. The recreation of Monty Python’s Pearl Harbour sketch was a nod to Pythons Eric Idle and Michael Palin, who both studied at Oxford.

In typical Oxbridge fashion, these iconoclastic pranks have become a tradition in themselves. In 2012, St Anne’s students recreated the ‘flying’ scene from the Titanic. However, MacQuarie said that this year the prank almost didn’t happen: “nothing was ready even just after midday on Saturday, but we suddenly got into action when people were asking me what was going on and we realised how necessary continuing the tradition was.”