A working-class student from Essex navigating his first year at Bristol University, Brian Jackson (
James McAvoy) has a lot to prove. While his hometown mates worry about him turning into a poncey wanker (stuck up jerk), Brian's biggest concern is making the team for the long-running British television quiz show University Challenge.
Amid Tarts & Vicars dances, anti-Apartheid rallies, minging (exclusive, or excessively class-conscious) dorm rooms and puffs of marijuana smoke, Brian also finds himself romantically torn between two very different co-eds: ultra-fit blonde bombshell and University Challenge teammate Alice (Alice Eve), and thoughtful, politically-conscious Rebecca Epstein (Rebecca Hall).