At the Oxford Summer Program, the students are able to experience traditional English dining in the same dining hall that Oxford University students eat in. This is an experience that members of the public would not otherwise have access to, which makes our program unique and highly sought after. The hall also happens to be the same one that inspired the Great Hall from Harry Potter, as the film producers modeled one just like it for their film set. This hall is the Christ Church College dining hall and it used to be the largest dining hall Oxford University had.
This was until the 1870s when Keble College decided to make sure that their dining hall was bigger than the one at Christ Church! Some say it was only made bigger by a few meters. The original hall has been in consistent use throughout the centuries as college members tend to eat their three meals there, one of which is a more formal dinner that would take place in the evenings. Here the students are required to wear gowns, however, at the Oxford Summer Program, you are very much allowed to wear your own clothes!
The hall itself is very beautiful, with stained glass windows designed by the artist Patrick Reyntiens, who has cleverly included some of the work of Lewis Carroll within one of the windows. Lewis Carroll wrote Alice in Wonderland, and it is said that the hall itself was partly responsible for inspiring Mad Hatter’s tea party in the story.
Traditionally, Oxford University students always partake in fine dining, regardless of which college they are in. There are numerous formal dinners each term and these would have a multitude of different and delicious courses. A range of cuisines are consumed, and the halls are usually very large and old-fashioned with wooden floors and huge portraits of previous alumni of the colleges on the walls. In some of the dining halls, there are even chandeliers and high tables for the deans and academic professors to sit at.
At the Oxford Institute, we ensure that the students are able to find something that they would like to eat, as we cater to a range of dietary needs and preferences. There are so many delicious options available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. These are cooked by a professional chef and the utmost care is taken to ensure the food is both nutritious and delicious as this can really improve a student’s ability to learn and function to a high standard. This is all included in the cost of the Oxford Summer Program and considering the amazing location and food quality provided, this is an incredibly good offer. For those who love both history and literature, this would be the perfect place to come as you can spend your time in the same hall that inspired both Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland!
