In the upper part of the image, schoolboys are given water in a cup from a fountain by a young woman dressed in an ancient Greek-style garment and crowned with laurel wreath. It could be Athena, goddess of wisdom, as the spout of the fountain is an owl, one of the goddesses\' symbols. The water is overflowing, running across the ground and spilling into the lower part of the image where a boy is splashed with the water. His hat is invisible under an oversized mortarboard hat. He carries books under his arms and some are in the process of tumbling to or already lying on the ground. The arch above the fountain is inscribed with \'Pro Bono Publico\' in capital letter.