"Kicking the bar was a prerequisite for passing your degree - with both feet at the same time if you wanted a First. Trouble was - there was quite a drop on the other side! Then the students from Swansea Uni cut the bar off and took it away! Jealousy, I think!"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/mid/sites/aberystwyth/pages/kick_the_bar.shtml