Waugh arrived in Oxford in January 1922. He was soon writing to old friends at Lancing about the pleasures of his new life; he informed Tom Driberg: "I do no work here and never go to Chapel".Amory (ed.), p. 7 During his first two terms, he generally followed convention; he smoked a pipe, bought a bicycle, and gave his maiden speech at the Oxford Union, opposing the motion that "This House would welcome Prohibition".Stannard, Vol. I pp. 67–68 Waugh wrote reports on Union debates for both Oxford magazines, Cherwell and Isis, and he acted as a film critic for Isis.Waugh, A Little Learning. p. 182Gallagher (ed.), p. 640 He also became secretary of the Hertford College debating society, "an onerous but not honorific post", he told Driberg.Amory (ed.), p. 10 Although Waugh tended to regard his scholarship as a reward for past efforts rather than a stepping-stone to future academic success, he did sufficient work in his first two terms to pass his "History Previous", an essential preliminary examination.Hastings, p. 85
