International Study Centre – FAQs

The day of arrival for all courses is always a Sunday. You will need to check the dates of your course to find out which Sunday you need to arrive on. You may arrive any time from 12:00 on Sunday, though we recommend that you aim to arrive before 17:00 to allow you to settle in before your first evening meal. On arrival you will need to register at Yarnton Manor and sign in. You will receive your room keys and course information at this point.

Students should arrive between 12:00 and 17:00 to register for their course at Yarnton Manor. Following this, students will be shown around the manor, complete their induction and be allowed time to settle into their new surroundings. After this, students attend our Pizza Party, which happens on the first night of every term, to have dinner and to get to know their new peers.

Students will be asked to vacate their rooms shortly after breakfast. If you have booked an Oxford Royale Academy-organised transfer, you will have been informed of the procedure during the previous few days. Students will be asked to return their room keys and collect their reports and graduation packs as soon as possible after breakfast. Staff will be on hand to assist with departures throughout the day.

No – accommodation at Yarnton Manor is only available in single rooms. Communal bathrooms are plentiful in each accommodation block on campus.

Whilst male and female students are housed in the same buildings, their rooms are on separate corridors and/or staircases. If you have any questions about this, please contact us.

Yes – Yarnton Manor has laundry facilities available to all students.

Yarnton Manor is a very secure environment. Our students are supervised regularly throughout the day by campus staff, and are able to report any problems they may have immediately. All students must check-in regularly during the day: at roll-call at breakfast; at their morning classes; in the afternoon for lessons, workshops or activities; at dinner and in the evening before curfew.

The manor also has its own safe where students may deposit items of value such as passports, travel documents, bank cards etc.

Students are served a buffet breakfast and a cooked dinner each day, both of which are included in the course fees. Students can buy their lunch off campus, either at the nearby shop, via online deliveries or in the many cafes and restaurants in the centre of Oxford. As students have access to self-catering kitchens they are able to prepare meals when they choose.

If you have any dietary requirements you must let us know at least 60 days in advance of your course start date so that we can cater for your requirements.

All meals offer a vegetarian option (which must be booked in advance). We are not always able to provide special Kosher or Halal food as a dining option; students with these dietary requirements will be offered the vegetarian option, so you must let us know in advance what foods and meats you cannot eat.

All medical dietary requirements such as lactose intolerance and any food allergies must be reported to us at least 60 days in advance of your course start date so that we can ensure you receive the correct meals. This can be done using the Medical and Dietary Form that all enrolled students must complete prior to their arrival at Yarnton Manor. A link to the Medical and Dietary Form can be found in the confirmation letter you receive upon booking.

If your country is part of the EU or the European Economic Area you will not require a visa. It is always best for you to check your visa requirements directly with the UK Border Agency. Please click here for more information.

Please note that students with passports from outside of the European Union cannot study with us for longer than 6 months unless they are of dual nationality with an EU country.

Oxford Royale Academy provides all students with insurance. Students from the EU or EEA should also bring a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). Please click here for more information on insurance. Please pay particular attention to the exclusions to the policy and the financial limits of cover. If any of the exclusions apply or you feel the financial limits are not sufficient, you will need to arrange your own separate travel insurance.

Students who have booked a place on a course will receive a Welcome Pack before their course commences, which contains information on what clothes to bring and a list of other packing suggestions.

The weather in England can be very changeable. Even in periods of sunshine and warmth, the forecast can change fairly quickly, so we recommend that students bring warm clothes and to prepare for some wet weather. Therefore, a raincoat and an umbrella would certainly be a good idea. Recent weather reports and forecasts can be found online at BBC Weather.

Parents, guardians, friends and relatives are invited into Yarnton Manor to meet our friendly staff and to ensure that the student has everything they need. They are respectfully asked to depart the campus once the student has settled in as the programme will have officially begun.

Parents and family are welcome to visit on weekends when students have free time, but should bear in mind that the students may be busy studying or on a trip, and so should find out ahead of arriving whether the student will be available on campus or not.<

Students should certainly bring their mobile phones with them (if the phone will work in the UK), as this provides family and friends as well as the programme staff with a good means of contacting them.

We also recommend that students bringing their own mobile phones switch Data Roaming off, to avoid incurring large unwanted telephone bills.

Morning classes usually take place between 09:00 and 12:00, with a 20 minute break in between. The lunch break is then between 12:00 and 13:00. Afternoon classes take place every other day, and usually begin at 13:00 and finish at 16:00 with a 20 minute break. Please note that these timings are a guide, and the actual timings of lessons may differ according to the course type.

Outside of lesson time, students are encouraged to undertake self-study, relax in the common room and also participate in the range of extracurricular activities available on campus.

Oxford Royale Academy offers a variety of trips to sites of historical and cultural interest, most of which are relevant to students’ specific course types. For further information, please refer to your course page.

Yarnton Manor has staff onsite regularly throughout the day, so students should feel safe, secure and looked after at all times. There is also a 24 hour emergency phone number which students and family/friends may call. This telephone number will be emailed to all students before their course date, and will also be made available on arrival.

All students under the age of 18 must provide the contact details of one parent or guardian. In addition, if their parent or guardian is likely to be unavailable during the course dates, students are asked to provide another Emergency Contact whom our staff will be able to contact. Students are reminded that it is vitally important that all contact details they give us are up-to-date, so that we have the correct information in case of an emergency.

It is advisable that students carry some money on arrival to cover any small purchases on their first day/inbound journey. There are plenty of banks and ATM cash machines (which may charge you for withdrawing money) in Oxford. However, it is also advisable to come prepared with a variety of payment means e.g. Traveller’s Cheques, bank cards, and cash. Students may keep money in the Campus safe

Guidance on personal expenses is difficult as it depends on the individual. As far as necessary expenses are concerned, students have very few, as included in the course fees are accommodation and food.