Students turned the Victoria Rooms water fountain into a ball pool to celebrate the end of uni

It’s long been tradition for Bristol students to spend at least some of their time in the city standing in the Victoria Rooms fountain.

Some do it in their first week, taking the plunge halfway round a Freshers’ Week bar crawl. Others wait until the final moments of their degree, presumably to reduce the chances of being disciplined and chucked out of uni (as if that would happen anyway).

This year though, one group of students took it to a whole new level. From now on, people who merely jump into the fountain and splash around will be looked down on with scorn and disgust. From now on, we live in a world where a group of students turned the Victoria Rooms water fountain into a motherfucking ball pool.

That’s right, a *literal* ball pool.

Students add a bit of colour to the Victoria Rooms fountain

Third year student Zoe Nash was behind the stunt, writing on her blog that it’s something she “always wanted to do”.

“During my time at uni I learned that nearly everyone is ruled by a little fear. This is a demonstration of what can happen if you ‘LIVE LESS SERIOUSLY’, don’t over-think, worry, or let logic stop you from making a giant ball pit”.

Free from the shackles of logic, Zoe and her friends headed down to the Victoria Rooms one sunny day with a collection of plastic balls to create the kind of crazy, surreal scene that Bristol hasn’t seen the likes of since Park Street became a water slide the other month.

Speaking to the Tab, Zoe said: “It was so much fun and everyone had a great time doing it. People loved it when they walked past, some even joined in!”

The ball pool wasn’t there for long, as Zoe and her friends made sure they tidied up after themselves, but not before snapping a few pictures.

“I now do have a fair few balls to try and get rid of! Some guy in Nigeria wanted to buy them but that turned out to be a massive (and pretty amusing) scam”.

Anyone interested in obtaining a collection of plastic balls can contact Zoe via her blog, Mission Why Not.

Photos by Jamie Corbin