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77-473: Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards , four Laurence Olivier Awards , and two Tony Awards . He also earned an Academy Award nomination for his film The Madness of King George (1994). In 2005 he received the Society of London Theatre Special Award . Bennett

154-634: A Special Tony Award . He gave up academia, and turned to writing full time, his first stage play, Forty Years On , being produced in 1968. He also became known for writing dramatic monologues Talking Heads which ran in 1988 and 1999 on BBC1 earning a British Academy Television Award . Bennett gained acclaim with his various plays at the Royal National Theatre . He received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Play for Single Spies in 1990. Next, he made his breakthrough with

231-791: A "third", is the lowest honours classification in most UK universities. Informally, it is referred to as a "gentleman's third" ( cf. the "gentleman's C" in U.S. parlance). Slang terms in the UK for a third include a "Richard" (after Richard III ), a "Douglas" (after Douglas Hurd , the 1980s Conservative MP who actually graduated with a First Class Honours degree in history), or a "Thora" (after Thora Hird , an English TV actress). Approximately 3-5% of UK students graduating between 2018 and 2022 were awarded thirds. While most university bachelor's degree courses lead to honours degrees, some universities offer courses leading to ordinary degrees. Some honours courses permit students who do not gain sufficient credits in

308-592: A 2:1, while the department of English Language and Literature at Oxford considers a GPA of "about 3.8" equivalent to a first class degree. Similarly, the UK NARIC gives equivalent GPAs for determining eligibility for teacher training bursaries. Durham University 's North American Undergraduate Guide gives a conversion table as a guide to understanding British classifications (rather than for admission to postgraduate study) of 1st = 3.8–4.0, 2:1 = 3.3–3.7, 2:2 = 2.8–3.2 and 3rd = 2.3–2.7. The GPA conversions are summarised in

385-597: A bachelor's course, or after completion of a bachelor's course requirements and attaining adequately competitive grades. Some graduate degrees have been or are classified; however, under the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), no graduate-level degrees (i.e., master's by coursework, master's by research, or higher research degrees) may be classified. To comply with this standard, some institutions have commenced, or will commence, offering high-achieving graduates with "distinction". Notably, this

462-448: A bachelor's honours degree, although some integrated master's degrees are classified like postgraduate taught master's degrees or foundation degrees into: At most institutions, the system allows a small amount of discretion. A candidate may be elevated to the next degree class if their average marks are close to (or the median of their weighted marks achieves) the higher class, and if they have submitted several pieces of work worthy of

539-470: A chair from press baron Rupert Murdoch . He also declined a CBE in 1988 and a knighthood in 1996. He has stated that, although he is not a republican, he would never wish to be knighted, saying it would be a bit like having to wear a suit for the rest of his life. In December 2011 Bennett returned to Lawnswood School , nearly 60 years after he left, to unveil the renamed Alan Bennett Library. He said he "loosely" based The History Boys on his experiences at

616-477: A degree award from certain Scottish universities (c.f. Scottish MA ) and is at the same level as a bachelor's degree. The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) has published the number of degrees awarded with different classifications since 1994–1995. The relative proportions of different classes have changed over this period, with increasing numbers of students being awarded higher honours. The table below shows

693-538: A doctoral programme is nearly always required to have a first or 2:1 at bachelor's level. In the United Kingdom, medicine is usually taught as an undergraduate course, with graduates being awarded a master's level qualification: normally the conjoined degrees of Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, BM BCh, MB ChB, etc.) although at Queen's University Belfast (and universities in Ireland) Bachelor in

770-403: A few minutes' walk away to Primrose Hill with his partner Rupert Thomas, the former editor of The World of Interiors magazine. Bennett also had a long-term relationship with his former housekeeper, Anne Davies, until her death in 2009. Bennett is an agnostic . He was raised Anglican and gradually "left it [the church] over the years". In 1988, Bennett declined the award of Commander of

847-458: A first has been awarded to nearly thirty percent of graduates of British universities. The increase is said by some commentators to be due to student-demanded grade inflation rather than students' academic ability. In the early 1990s, First Class Honours went to about 7% of graduates, or about one student in 15. The percentages of graduates achieving a First vary greatly by university and course studied. Students of law are least likely to gain

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924-417: A first or upper second, by itself, is no longer sufficient to secure a good job, and that they need to engage in extra-curricular activities to build their CV . A bachelor's degree can be an honours degree (bachelor's with honours) or an ordinary degree (bachelor's without honours). Honours degrees are classified, usually based on a weighted average (with higher weight given to marks in the later years of

1001-453: A first, while students of mathematical sciences are most likely to gain a first. A first class honours degree is sometimes colloquially referred to in rhyming slang as a Geoff Hurst after the English 1966 FIFA World Cup footballer, or as a Damien (after the contemporary artist Damien Hirst ). The upper division is commonly abbreviated to "2:1" or "II.i" (pronounced two-one ). The 2:1

1078-507: A grade simply existed for every Part of the degree, not for the overall degree. For students beginning their course of study from October 2020, a final class is awarded across the course of study, according to an algorithm determined by the Tripos. Attaining First Class Honours in two Parts culminates in graduating with a "double first". It is possible in some Triposes to be awarded a "starred first", for examination scripts that "consistently exhibit

1155-526: A number of eventually successful actors in the Oxford Revue . He remained at the university for several years, working as a junior lecturer of Medieval History at Magdalen College , before deciding, in 1960, that he was not suited to being an academic. In August 1960, Bennett – along with Dudley Moore , Jonathan Miller and Peter Cook – gained fame after an appearance at the Edinburgh Festival in

1232-403: A place in a postgraduate course and to obtain funding, especially in medical and natural sciences. Some institutions specify a 2:1 minimum for certain types of master's program, such as for a Master of Research course. Candidates with a Third or an Ordinary degree are sometimes accepted, provided they have acquired satisfactory professional experience subsequent to graduation. A candidate for

1309-528: A research project of limited scope. This prepares students for the research degrees later in their academic career. The UK NARIC has derived equivalencies for the grades of the Spanish grado and licenciatura degrees for purposes of initial teacher training bursaries. The Netherlands organisation for international cooperation in higher education (NUFFIC) has compared UK degree classification to Dutch degree grades. Dutch equivalencies have also been calculated by

1386-547: A series of dilapidated vans for more than fifteen years. It was first published in 1989 as an essay in the London Review of Books . In 1990 he published it in book form. In 1999 he adapted it into a stage play, which starred Maggie Smith and was directed by Nicholas Hytner . The stage play includes two characters named Alan Bennett. On 21 February 2009 it was broadcast as a radio play on BBC Radio 4, with Maggie Smith reprising her role and Alan Bennett playing himself. He adapted

1463-587: A student achieves a particularly good grade average, usually 70% or above. A common example of a Scottish ordinary degree is the Bachelor of Laws course taken by graduates of other subjects, as this is sufficient (without honours) for entry into the legal profession. Until the 1970s the University of Oxford awarded a Fourth Class degree as an equivalent of the ordinary degree. An aegrotat ( / ˈ iː ɡ r oʊ t æ t / ; from Latin aegrōtat  'he/she

1540-418: A student's overall performance and work quality. The honours degree system has been subject to scrutiny owing to significant shifts in the distribution of classifications, leading to calls for reform. Concerns over grade inflation have been observed. The Higher Education Statistics Agency has documented changes, noting an increase in the proportion of First Class and Upper Second Class honours degrees awarded;

1617-547: A three-year B.A. or a three-year BSc) by default. High-achieving students may be recognised with an honours classification without further coursework or research, as is often the case in engineering (which often contains a research and thesis component) or law. However, other courses (such as humanities, arts, social sciences, and sciences) and other universities may recognise high-achieving students with an honours classification with further coursework or research, undertaken either concurrently with, and as part of or in addition to,

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1694-462: A three-year bachelor's degree onto a master's degree (normally requiring a 1st or a 2:1 – those with a 2:2 or a 3rd usually require appropriate professional experience), South Africa does not do so unless the student has proven research capabilities. South African Honours degrees prepare the students to undertake a research-specific degree (in terms of master's), by spending an in-depth year (up to five modules) creating research proposals and undertaking

1771-428: A year by a small margin to transfer to a parallel ordinary degree course. Ordinary degrees may also sometimes be awarded to honours degree students who do not pass sufficient credits in their final year to gain an honours degree, but pass enough to earn an ordinary degree. Some Scottish universities offer three-year ordinary degrees as a qualification in their own right, as well as an honours degree over four years. This

1848-564: Is a minimum requirement for entry to many postgraduate courses in the UK. It is also required for the award of a research council postgraduate studentship in the UK, although a combination of qualifications and experience equal to a 2:1 is also acceptable. This is often interpreted as possession of a master's degree (sometimes at merit level or above) in addition to a 2:2 undergraduate degree. The percentage of candidates who achieve Upper Second Class Honours can vary widely by degree subject, as well as by university. A 2:1 degree ("two-one")

1925-423: Is claimed that academics are under increasing pressure from administrators to award students good marks and grades with little regard for those students' actual abilities, in order to maintain their league table rankings. The percentage of graduates who receive a first (First Class Honours) grew from 7% in 1997 to 26% in 2017, with the rate of growth sharply accelerating toward the end of this period. A 2018 study by

2002-428: Is consistent with British graduate degree classification. Regulations governing the progression of undergraduate degree graduates to postgraduate programmes vary among universities, and are often flexible. A candidate for a postgraduate master's degree is usually required to have at least a 2:1 (or 2:2 in some cases) bachelor honours degree, although candidates with firsts are in a considerably stronger position to gain

2079-606: Is ill') degree is an honours or ordinary degree without classification, awarded to a candidate who was unable to undertake their exams due to illness or even death, under the presumption that, had they completed those exams, they would have satisfied the standard required for that degree. Aegrotat degrees are often qualified with an appended "( aegrotat )". Following the introduction of new regulations regarding mitigating circumstances, aegrotat degrees are less commonly awarded. Degrees may be granted which incorporate prior learning, such as by means of CATS points transfer. Where

2156-452: Is in contrast to English universities that have honours degrees with three years of study. An ordinary degree in Scotland is not a failed honours degree, as in certain English universities. Students can decide, usually at the end of their second or third year, whether or not they wish to complete a fourth honours year. Scottish universities may also award their ordinary degrees with distinction if

2233-587: Is no longer sufficient for securing desirable employment, pushing students towards extracurricular activities to enhance their resumes. The system affects progression to postgraduate education , with most courses requiring at least a 2:1, although work experience and additional qualifications can sometimes compensate for lower classifications. In comparison to international grading systems, the UK's classifications have equivalents in various countries, adapting to different academic cultures and grading scales. The ongoing debate over grade inflation and its implications for

2310-511: Is sometimes referred to as an "Attila" (after Attila the Hun , " Trevor Nunn " in rhyming slang in the UK. Until 1986 the University of Oxford did not distinguish between upper and lower second-class degrees. This is the lower division of Second Class degrees and is abbreviated as "2:2" or '"II.ii" (pronounced two-two ). It is informally referred to, in rhyming slang, as a "Desmond", after Desmond Tutu . Third Class Honours, commonly referred to as

2387-691: The Bodleian Library , stating that it was a gesture of thanks repaying a debt he felt he owed to the British welfare state that had given him educational opportunities which his humble family background would otherwise never have afforded. In September 2015, Bennett endorsed Jeremy Corbyn 's campaign in the Labour Party leadership election . The following month, after Corbyn's election victory, Bennett said: "I approve of him. If only because it brings Labour back to what they ought to be thinking about." Following

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2464-753: The Dearing Report , consider British honours degrees equivalent to a US master's degree and US bachelor's degrees as equivalent to British pass degrees in terms of the standard reached in the major subject, due to the higher degree of specialisation in the UK. However, British institutions generally accept US bachelor's degrees for admission to postgraduate study (see below). In comparing US bachelor's degrees to British honours degrees, equivalencies can be expressed in terms of either US grade point averages (GPAs) or letter grades. British institutions normally state equivalence in terms of GPAs. Approximate mappings between British classifications and GPAs can be inferred from

2541-655: The Qualifications Framework of the European Higher Education Area . The table below depicts the Greek Grading system while illustrates approximately how the Grades are compared with ECTS and UK grades: from all years, are passed successfully. Years are extended. The University of St Andrews gives equivalencies between French and British grades for its study-abroad programme. Equivalencies for

2618-765: The Society of London Theatre Special Award . He has also received two Tony Awards for his work on the Broadway stage . He won a Special Tony Award in 1963 for Beyond The Fringe alongside Peter Cook , Jonathan Miller , and Dudley Moore . He also won Best Play for The History Boys in 2005. He also won a Drama Desk Award , five Evening Standard Theatre Awards , three New York Drama Critics Circle Awards, two London Film Critics Circle Awards , and an Outer Critics Circle Award . British degree classification The UK's university degree classification system, established in 1918, serves to recognize academic achievement beyond examination performance. Bachelor's degrees in

2695-492: The Art of Obstetrics (BAO) is added, and at some universities only the Bachelor of Medicine is awarded – all of these have equal standing. Unlike most undergraduate degrees, the MBBS is not normally considered an honours degree, and thus is not classified into first class honours, etc. Students may be awarded "Merits" and "Distinctions" for parts of the course or the whole course (depending on

2772-524: The Final Honours School, or in both the bachelor's and master's components of an integrated master's degree. At University College London , candidates who perform well beyond the requirements of a standard First Class Honours may be nominated to the Dean's List . This is generated once per year and recognises outstanding academic achievement in final examinations. There are no set criteria for nomination to

2849-595: The Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre. The History Boys won six Tony Awards on Broadway, including best play, best performance by a leading actor in a play (Richard Griffiths), best performance by a featured actress in a play ( Frances de la Tour ) and best direction of a play (Nicholas Hytner). A film version of The History Boys was released in the UK in October 2006. In his 2005 prose collection Untold Stories , Bennett wrote of

2926-859: The National Theatre as part of a double bill with the monologue Hymn . The production was directed by Bennett's long-term collaborator Nicholas Hytner. It was well-received, and transferred to the Duchess Theatre in the West End of London , being subsequently adapted for radio broadcast by BBC Radio 4 . In July 2018, Allelujah! , a comic drama by Bennett about a National Health Service hospital threatened with closure, opened at London's Bridge Theatre to critical acclaim. Bennett lived for 40 years on Gloucester Crescent in Camden Town in London and in 2006 moved

3003-583: The Order of the British Empire (CBE) and in 1996 declined a knighthood . In September 2005, Bennett revealed that, in 1997, he had undergone treatment for colorectal cancer and described the illness as a "bore". His chances of survival were given as being "much less" than 50% and surgeons had told him they removed a "rock-bun" sized tumour. He began Untold Stories (published 2005) thinking it would be published posthumously, but his cancer went into remission. In

3080-700: The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). Bachelor's degrees (including the Scottish MA , but not including medical degrees , dentistry degrees or degrees in veterinary science) attained in the UK are at FHEQ level 6/FQHEIS level 9 (ordinary) or 10 (honours); master's degrees (including integrated master's degrees and first degrees in medicine, dentistry and veterinary science) are at FHEQ level 7/FQHEIS level 11, and doctoral degrees are at FHEQ level 8/FQHEIS level 12. Bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees map to first, second and third cycle qualifications in

3157-458: The UK NARIC. NUFFIC also noted that the grading culture is different in the Netherlands, so that it is very rare for even the best students in the Netherlands to be awarded a 9 or a 10, which represent near perfection and absolute perfection. US comparison services treat English three-year bachelor's degrees and American four-year bachelor's degrees as equivalent. Some British sources, such as

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3234-550: The UK Standing Committee for Quality Assessment concluded that improvements in faculty skill and student motivation are only two of many factors driving average grades upward, that grade inflation is real, that the British undergraduate degree classifications will become less useful to students and employers, and that inflation will undermine public confidence in the overall value of higher education. Students already believe that

3311-423: The UK can either be honours or ordinary degrees, with honours degrees classified into First Class, Upper Second Class (2:1), Lower Second Class (2:2), and Third Class based on weighted averages of marks. The specific thresholds for these classifications can vary by institution. Integrated master's degrees follow a similar classification, and there is some room for discretion in awarding final classifications based on

3388-477: The UK's higher education landscape reflect broader concerns about maintaining academic standards and the value of university degrees in an increasingly competitive job market. The classification system as used in the United Kingdom was developed in 1918. Honours were then a means to recognise individuals who demonstrated depth of knowledge or originality, as opposed to relative achievement in examination conditions. Concern exists about possible grade inflation . It

3465-553: The Van (2015). Bennett is also known for a wide variety of audio books, including his readings of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Winnie-the-Pooh . Bennett was born on 9 May 1934 in Armley , Leeds , West Riding of Yorkshire . The younger son of a Co-op butcher, Walter, and his wife, Lilian Mary (née Peel), Bennett attended Christ Church, Upper Armley, Church of England School (in

3542-517: The WES grades given using the letter grade to GPA conversion of Duke University . Canadian academic grades may be given as letters, percentages, 12-point GPAs or 4-point GPAs. The 4-point GPAs are sometimes seen to differ from the US but other sources treat them as equivalent. The Durham conversion specifies GPAs for the US and letter grades/percentages for Canada while the UK NARIC has separate GPA conversions for

3619-515: The West End of London in January 2009. The West End show took over £1 million in advance ticket sales and even extended the run to cope with demand. The production starred Alison Steadman , David Troughton , Richard Glaves, Carol Macready and Josie Walker . Bennett wrote The Lady in the Van based on his experiences with an eccentric woman called Miss Shepherd , who lived on Bennett's driveway in

3696-527: The autobiographical sketches which form a large part of the book Bennett says of himself "I am homosexual", but also mentions "flings" with women. Previously Bennett had referred to questions about his sexuality as like asking a man who has just crawled across the Sahara desert to choose between Perrier or Malvern mineral water. In October 2008, Bennett announced that he was donating his entire archive of working papers, unpublished manuscripts, diaries and books to

3773-494: The course, and often zero weight to those in the first year) of the marks gained in exams and other assessments. While grade boundaries are defined by institutions, there are well-defined conventional values that are generally followed: Students who do not achieve honours may be awarded an ordinary degree, sometimes known as a "pass". Ordinary degrees, and other exit awards such as the Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE; for completing

3850-620: The death of Jonathan Miller in 2019, Bennett became the only surviving member of the original Beyond the Fringe quartet which had also included Peter Cook and Dudley Moore . Selected credits Bennett was made an Honorary Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford , in 1987. He was also awarded a D.Litt by the University of Leeds in 1990 and an honorary doctorate from Kingston University in 1996. In 1998 he refused an honorary doctorate from Oxford University, in protest at its acceptance of funding for

3927-455: The examining professors ask no questions about the candidate's written work but simply stand and applaud" and Martin Amis described as "the sort where you are called in for a viva and the examiners tell you how much they enjoyed reading your papers". A "double first" at Oxford informally refers to First Class Honours in both components of an undergraduate degree, i.e., Moderations or Prelims, and

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4004-528: The first or second year, but their results do not typically affect the final degree classification. Until the 1970s, the four honours divisions in Oxford's moderations and final examinations were named first, second, third and fourth class, but from the 1970s onwards, Oxford began to adopt the classification system used by other British universities. Oxford sometimes grants a congratulatory first, which The New York Times described as "a highly unusual honor in which

4081-404: The first two years of a degree course) and Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE; for completing the first year of a degree course), may be unclassified (pass/fail) or, particularly in Scotland where the ordinary degree is offered as a qualification in its own right, classified into pass, merit and distinction. Integrated master's degrees are usually classified with honours in the same way as

4158-507: The following table: Letter grade equivalents are more commonly used by American institutions. World Education Services (WES), a nonprofit organisation which provides qualification conversion services to many universities and employers, gives 1st = A, 2:1 = A−/B+, 2:2 = B, 3rd = B−, Pass = C. The Fulbright Commission has also created "an unofficial chart with approximate grade conversions between UK results and US GPA". The table below summarises these conversions, including GPA equivalents for

4235-526: The four-year bachelor's honours, baccalauréat and professional bachelor's degrees (which differ from their US GPA equivalents by at most 0.1) and the three-year bachelor's degree (which is seen as a lower standard). The British Graduate Admissions Fact Sheet from McGill University uses the conversion 1st = 4.0; 2:1 = 3.0; 2:2 = 2.7; 3rd = 2.0; Pass = 1.0; Fail = 0.0. Some universities, such as those in Australia, offer ordinary or pass degrees (for instance, as

4312-466: The graduate admissions criteria used by British universities, which often give international equivalents. For example, University College London (UCL) equates the minimum classification for entrance to GPAs using 2:1 = 3.3 and 2:2 = 3.0. Different universities convert grades differently: the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) considers a GPA of 3.5 or better as equivalent to gaining

4389-514: The higher class. However, even students with a high average mark may be unable to take honours if they have failed part of the course and so have insufficient credits. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a bachelor's degree with honours normally takes three years of full-time study and usually requires 360 credits , of which at least 90 are at level 6 (final year of a bachelor's degree) level, while an ordinary bachelor's degree normally requires 300 credits, of which 60 are at level 6. In Scotland,

4466-413: The honours bachelor's degree takes four years and requires 480 credits with a minimum of 90 at level 10 of the Scottish framework (last year of the honours degree) and 90 at level 9 (penultimate year), while the ordinary degree takes three years and requires 360 credits with a minimum of 60 at level 9 (last year of the ordinary degree). In Scotland, it is possible to start university a year younger than in

4543-439: The latter. For his work on television he has received eight British Academy Television Awards for Talking Heads (1989), Screen Two (1992), and Talking Heads 2 winning for the latter. For his work in theatre he has received four competitive Laurence Olivier Awards for his work on the West End . He won for Single Spies in 1990, Talking Heads in 1992, and The History Boys in 2005. That same year he received

4620-599: The list, but typically only a small number of students from each faculty are nominated per year. Comparable recognition in other anglophone countries is the award of a University Medal . Degrees in the UK are mapped to levels of the Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies (FHEQ), which includes the Framework for Qualifications of Higher Education Institutes in Scotland (FQHEIS), which has an alternative numbering of levels corresponding to those of

4697-470: The medium, A Day Out in 1972, A Little Outing in 1977, Intensive Care in 1982, An Englishman Abroad in 1983, and A Question of Attribution in 1991. But perhaps his most famous screen work is the 1988 Talking Heads series of monologues for television which were later performed at the Comedy Theatre in London in 1992. A second set of six Talking Heads followed a decade later. Bennett wrote

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4774-543: The mental illness that his mother and other family members suffered. At the National Theatre in late 2009 Nicholas Hytner directed Bennett's play The Habit of Art , about the relationship between the poet W. H. Auden and the composer Benjamin Britten . Bennett's play People opened at the National Theatre in October 2012. In December that year, Cocktail Sticks , an autobiographical play by Bennett, premièred at

4851-421: The percentage of First Class Honours increased from 7% in 1997 to 26% in 2017. Critics argue this trend, driven partly by institutional pressures to maintain high league table rankings, dilutes the value of higher education and undermines public confidence. Despite improvements in teaching and student motivation contributing to higher grades, there is a sentiment that achieving a First or Upper Second Class Honours

4928-438: The percentage of classified degrees (i.e., not including fails or unclassified degrees such as MBBS ) in each class at five-year intervals; note that HESA stopped giving statistics separately for third class honours and pass degree after 2003. First Class Honours, referred to as a "first", is the highest honours classification and indicates high academic achievement. Historically, First Class Honours were uncommon, but since 2019

5005-625: The performances of Nigel Hawthorne and Helen Mirren . It won the award for best art direction. In 1995 Bennett wrote and hosted the three-part BBC documentary series The Abbey , directed by Jonathan Stedall. The programme provides a personal tribute to, and tour of, Westminster Abbey . Bennett's critically acclaimed The History Boys won three Laurence Olivier Awards in 2005, for Best New Play, Best Actor ( Richard Griffiths ), and Best Direction ( Nicholas Hytner ), having previously won Critics' Circle Theatre Awards and Evening Standard Awards for Best Actor and Best Play. Bennett also received

5082-544: The play Enjoy in 1980. It barely scraped a run of seven weeks at the Vaudeville Theatre , in spite of the stellar cast of Joan Plowright , Colin Blakely , Susan Littler , Philip Sayer, Liz Smith (who replaced Joan Hickson during rehearsals) and, in his first West End role, Marc Sinden . It was directed by Ronald Eyre . A new production of Enjoy attracted very favourable notices during its 2008 UK tour and moved to

5159-723: The play The Madness of George III in 1992. For this play, he received a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play . The following year he staged a theatrical production of the BBC series Talking Heads in 1992. He continued receiving acclaim for his plays The Lady in the Van in 1999, The History Boys in 2004, and The Habit of Art in 2009. He won his second Tony Award for Best Play for The History Boys in 2005. The following plays were later adapted into films, The Madness of King George (1994), for which he received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay nomination, The History Boys (2005), and The Lady in

5236-485: The purposes of initial teacher training have also been derived by the UK NARIC for 1st, 2:1 and 2:2 degrees, which do not align with St Andrews' table. The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) compares international degrees with local degrees before any international student continues their studies in that country. While the British degree accreditation and classification system allows students to go straight from

5313-404: The qualities of first class answers to an exceptional degree." Some Cambridge alumni who achieved Firsts in three Parts of the Tripos are described by their colleges and others as having achieved a "triple first". At the University of Oxford , a formal degree class is awarded, typically based on the final examinations. Examinations for Prelims or Honour Moderations are also undertaken in

5390-595: The rest of the United Kingdom, as the Scottish Higher exams are often taken at age 16 or 17 (as opposed to 18), so Scottish students often end a four-year course at the same age as a student from elsewhere in the UK taking a three-year course , assuming no gap years or students skipping the first year (direct entry to 2nd year). When a candidate is awarded a degree with honours, "(Hons)" may be suffixed to their designatory letters – e.g. BA (Hons), BSc (Hons), BMus (Hons), MA (Hons). An MA (Hons) would generally indicate

5467-491: The same class as Barbara Taylor Bradford ), and then Leeds Modern School (now Lawnswood School ). He has an older brother. Bennett learned Russian at the Joint Services School for Linguists during his national service before applying for a scholarship at Oxford University. He was accepted by Exeter College, Oxford , and graduated with a first-class degree in history. While at Oxford he performed comedy with

5544-606: The satirical revue Beyond the Fringe , with the show continuing in London and New York. He also appeared in My Father Knew Lloyd George . His television comedy sketch series On the Margin (1966) was erased; the BBC re-used expensive videotape rather than keep it in the archives. However, in 2014 it was announced that audio copies of the entire series had been found. Bennett's first stage play Forty Years On , directed by Patrick Garland and starring John Gielgud ,

5621-855: The school and his admission to Oxford. Lawnswood School dedicated its library to the writer after he emerged as a vocal campaigner against public library cuts. Plans to shut local libraries were "wrong and very short-sighted", Bennett said, adding: "We're impoverishing young people." List of awards and nominations received by Alan Bennett Alan Bennett is an English playwright known for his work film, theatre and television. He has received various awards for his work in film, television and theatre. For film he earned an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay nomination for The Madness of King George (1994). He also received four British Academy Film Award nominations for A Private Function (1984), Prick Up Your Ears (1987), and The Madness of King George (1994), winning Outstanding British Film for

5698-450: The story again for a 2015 film, with Maggie Smith reprising her role again, and Nicholas Hytner directing again. In the film Alex Jennings plays the two versions of Bennett, although Alan Bennett appears in a cameo at the very end of the film. Bennett adapted his 1991 play The Madness of George III for the cinema. Entitled The Madness of King George (1994), the film received four Academy Award nominations: for Bennett's writing and

5775-478: The substance of incorporated credit exceeds a given threshold, the granting institution may be unable to grade sufficient work to award a degree classification. Any degree granted may then be unclassified. At the University of Cambridge , undergraduate Tripos examinations are split into one or more Parts, which span either one or two years. Each student receives a formal classification for each Part (i.e. Class I, II.i, II.ii, or III). Until October 2020, officially

5852-518: Was born in Leeds and attended Oxford University , where he studied history and performed with the Oxford Revue . He stayed to teach and research medieval history at the university for several years. His collaboration as writer and performer with Dudley Moore , Jonathan Miller and Peter Cook in the satirical revue Beyond the Fringe at the 1960 Edinburgh Festival brought him instant fame and later

5929-624: Was produced in 1968. His second play, Getting On , also directed by Garland and starring Kenneth More , opened in 1971. Many television, stage and radio plays followed, with screenplays, short stories, novellas, a large body of non-fictional prose, and broadcasting and many appearances as an actor. Despite a long history with both the National Theatre and the BBC, Bennett never writes on commission, saying "I don't work on commission, I just do it on spec. If people don't want it then it's too bad." Bennett's many works for television include his first play for

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