Built between 1876 and 1881 and designed to house the University’s examinations at the heart of Oxford’s city centre, the impressive Examination Schools is brimming with beautiful architectural features from sweeping Italian marble staircases to ornate wooden carvings and original Victorian fireplaces.
The impressive Examination Schools is one of the largest venues in Oxford making it ideal for large conferences, festivals, talks, awards dinners, exhibitions, celebrations and so much more. Rooms are spread across two easy-to-navigate accessible floors and a beautiful entrance hall and outside quad provide additional space surrounded by impressive architecture.
The space lends itself to a range of capacity options to suit your event, whether you are looking for spacious or cosy, large or small. Take a look at our capacity options in the capacity guide to find the right choice for you.


| Boardroom | Cabaret | Classroom | Classroom with back projection | Dinner | Dinner Dance | Exhibition | Reception | Theatre | Theatre with Back Projection | U-shape | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East School | 46 | 60 | 100 | - | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 100 | - | 24 |
| North School | 46 | 120 | 330 | 330 | 240 | 165 | 330 | 330 | 330 | 330 | 60 |
| Room 1 | 32 | 35 | 62 | - | - | - | - | 75 | 75 | - | 24 |
| Room 10 | 24 | 35 | 53 | - | - | - | - | 60 | 60 | - | 18 |
| Room 11 | 32 | 42 | 60 | - | - | - | - | 70 | 70 | - | 24 |
| Room 12 | 12 | - | 20 | - | - | - | - | 20 | 20 | - | 9 |
| Room 14 | 24 | 35 | 65 | - | 36 | - | - | 65 | 65 | - | 18 |
| Room 15 | 24 | 42 | 63 | - | 40 | 20 | - | 75 | 75 | - | 18 |
| Room 2 | 32 | 35 | 47 | - | - | - | - | 65 | 65 | - | 24 |
| Room 5A | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | - | - | - |
| Room 6 | 32 | 42 | 60 | - | 40 | 20 | 60 | 60 | 60 | - | 24 |
| Room 7 | 32 | 42 | 68 | - | 30 | - | - | 75 | 75 | - | 24 |
| Room 8 | 18 | 21 | 37 | - | - | - | - | 45 | 45 | - | 12 |
| Room 9 | 32 | 42 | 67 | - | 60 | 30 | - | 75 | 75 | - | 24 |
| South School | - | 186 | - | - | 340 | - | - | 440 | 440 | - | - |
| Rate Ex/Inc (GBP) | Package details | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Choice Fork Buffet Day Delegate Rate | From £82.50 (Ex Tax) | Whole venue hire, staff between 08:30 and 17:30, any in house furniture, equipment and IT/AV kit as detailed in the customer information guide, AV technical support between the hours 08:30 and 17:30 and catering as follows: 1 x tea/coffee/water with mini pastries, 1 x tea/coffee/water with biscuits, two choice hot & cold fork buffet lunch, 1 x tea/coffee/water with mini traybakes |
| Bronze all day catering bundle | From £28.50 (Ex Tax) | Arrival refreshments: Tea, Coffee & Mini-Danish Pastries
Mid-morning refreshments: Tea, Coffee & Biscuits
Lunch: Simple Lunch
Select either a mixed or a plant-based sandwich platter.1 round of sandwiches pp, served with:Handcrafted potato crispsWater & juice.
Afternoon refreshments: Tea, Coffee & Biscuits
Water available throughout the day |
| Silver all day catering bundle | From £29.50 (Ex Tax) | Arrival refreshments: Tea, Coffee & Mini Danish Pastries
Mid Morning refreshments: Tea, Coffee & Biscuits
Lunch: Sandwich & Finger Food lunch - select either a mixed or a plant-based sandwich platter.1 round pp, served with your choice of:
2 items from our Finger Food menu (at least 1 plant based)
Smoked goats’ cheese & beetroot croute (v) |
| Wellness All Day Catering Bundle | From £47.00 (Ex Tax) | Arrival Refreshments: Tea, coffee, coconut yoghurt with fruit compote Mid-Morning Break: Tea, coffee, health bar Lunch: Choice of three salads and three finger food options Afternoon Break: Tea, coffee, cut fuit platter (vg) Througout the day: Fruit infused hydration stations |
Examination Schools
75-81 High Street
Oxford
Oxfordshire
OX1 4BG
These Terms and Conditions accompany a Booking Contract (the “Booking Contract”) issued by the Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford (“us”) for the hire of the Venue described in that Booking Contract.
These Terms and Conditions, together with the Booking Contract and any annexes, schedules or other documents incorporated in such documents, comprise a legally binding agreement between us and the person identified as the Customer in the Booking Contract (“you”) (the “Agreement”).
The Agreement governs the hire of the Venue to you for the purposes of the Event, together with the provision of any associated catering services or other additional services which we have agreed to provide.
The Agreement may be formed before the Booking Contract is complete (for example, if you have yet to determine certain details of the Event or to provide certain information). The parties may update the Booking Contract or associated documents such as menus from time to time by written agreement, including in e-mail correspondence and in these Terms and Conditions a reference to the Booking Contract is to the most recently-agreed iteration of the Booking Contract together with its associated documents.