Will any Oxford College accommodate a family including children?

2/7/2023 7:31:54 PM

If you have to get accommodation at a college, it might be tricky. Most folks I knew there who had kids didn’t stay at a college. However, my partner and I lived at Castle Mill for two years and there are plenty of children that live there. It’s graduate accommodations, and about 10 minutes walk from Corn Market.

2/6/2023 8:03:58 PM

I searched UniversityRooms.com with adult=1, children=1 for 28 March (a date out of term time but not in peak summer), and it turns out Exeter College has a ‘Twin Set Ensuite’ (two connecting single rooms), a ‘Family Room’ (sleeps 3, appears to be a double bed and a single bed in a connecting room), and a ‘Standard Single x 4’ (four single rooms on the same floor).

So they are available to tourists, if your dates align with availability.

It’s also worth mentioning these aren’t the same as facilities for student families. They are essentially just a collection of single adult rooms that happen to have connecting doors or be on the same floor (separated by a public corridor or landing). Often bathroom facilities are elsewhere, maybe even another floor. Whether that’s suitable depends on the age of your kids.

2/6/2023 10:53:14 AM

Wolfson College has rooms/flats for families (because it’s a graduate-only college, so has some students with partners/children). Might be worth checking that out.

(Note that Wolfson is a modern college + a bit outside of Oxford central, so it may not have quite the same "feel" as an older Oxford college.)

EDIT – The other graduate colleges may also have family accommodation, so you could try those too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colleges_of_the_University_of_Oxford#Postgraduate_and_mature_colleges

2/5/2023 11:37:36 PM

I’m only familiar with my old college, King’s in Cambridge. But patterns for Oxford and Cambridge are usually similar for most things.

When universities rent rooms it is usually their existing undergraduate student accommodation. This means it is available only outside of term time. Student accommodation is intended for single adults. There will mostly be one single bed ("twin" if you are North American). There will not be televisions or facilities like hotel rooms, although there will probably be a desk and a chair (since students have to work). There won’t be "interconnected" rooms. There won’t be room service of any kind. Breakfast will be canteen-style with the students. Be aware that you will be paying over the average price for the facilities you get.

Because of the style of rooms children will be difficult to accommodate. Even couples will find less accommodation than single people. Children are going to need to be at least old enough to sleep in their own self-contained apartment.

I did discover some exceptions by searching universityrooms.com (link above). The main one is Wycliffe College, which is a theological college in the north of Oxford. Its students are more likely to be married and have children than the typical undergraduate, and so it probably has a few family rooms for students.

You can do more searches to find alternatives. Colleges that work outside the usual pattern are more likely to have family style rooms.

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Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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