ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

Among the entertainments of the coming academic year should be watching the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals incoming management team of chair Gareth Roberts and chief executive Diana Warwick evolve a working relationship.

With two forceful and opinionated characters on the loose, the concept of creative tension looks set for a good run. Some are predicting a series of Hill-Schumacher incidents as they race to be first to television studios to interpret the latest twists and turns in higher education policy. The opening shots were fired at this week's CVCP garden party with Professor Roberts setting a decent standard of literary reference as he quoted Shakespeare's Henry VI Part III in connection, it was suspected, with Ms Warwick's recently expressed views on student fees: "Peace, impudent and shameless Warwick, "Peace, proud setter and puller down of Kings".

We can't believe that Ms Warwick will let this go by without some good-humoured retaliation, handicapped though she is by the proliferation of Warwick references in Shakespeare. Given some flexibility over titles, Lennon and Macartney's Dr Robert(s) might offer the best bet.