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Formal (university)

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St John's College, Cambridge Formal Hall

A formal hall or formal dinner, commonly referred to as a formal, is a meal held at some of the older universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as some Commonwealth countries, at which students usually dress in formal attire and often gowns to dine.

Practices and traditions

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Mildert day formal at Van Mildert College, Durham

Formals are held commonly in colleges in the universities of Oxford,[1] Cambridge[2] and Durham,[3] and at Trinity College Dublin (where they are known as commons).[4] They are also held in some halls and colleges of other universities, including St Andrews[5], Leeds[6] and Manchester[7] in the UK; Adelaide,[8] Melbourne,[9] Queensland,[10] Sydney,[11] Tasmania,[12] Western Australia[13] Monash,[14] New England[15] and New South Wales[16] in Australia; and Toronto in Canada.[17]

Formals have declined in Britain in the 21st century, with the last formal at Wills Hall, University of Bristol, being held in 2018[18] and formals at some Durham colleges have been reduced from twice weekly in 2019 to every other week in 2026.[19]

Some colleges and halls have elaborate traditions, while others are more relaxed. Grace may be said before the meal,[6][20] in some places in Latin. The wearing of academic gowns at formals is compulsory at some colleges and halls;[6][20] at others formal wear (for example, a lounge suit for men or equivalent for women) is required,[21] and some colleges wear black tie.[22] Fancy dress may be permitted for themed formals.[6]

Drinking games are traditional at many, but not all, halls and colleges.[20] These are banned in some colleges, such as St Cuthbert's Society, Durham,[23] and Downing College, Cambridge.[24]

Many formals include a high table, for members of the senior common room, their guests, and sometimes members of the middle common room or the junior common room executive, with other students eating at the lower tables.[6][21] The high table may be raised above the floor level of the hall, on a dais.[20] Some colleges, such as Linacre College, Oxford, do not have high tables.[25] At Manchester halls, which do not have a close academic connection with the university and have always been largely undergraduate institutions, the executive committee of the junior common room sits at the high table.[26]

There may be one or more after-dinner speakers at the end of the dinner or even between courses on special occasions. These have sometimes caused controversy, such as Rod Liddle at South College, Durham.[27][28]

Terminology

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The full name and abbreviations to describe the formals differ. Generally, though, they are known as:

Abbreviations of the above terms tend to be either formal or, at St John's College, Cambridge, hall. There are other circumstances in which different names are used. For example, some larger colleges have both a large dining hall and a canteen-style dining room (often called the buttery or servery). In these cases informal evening meals are taken in the buttery and formal meals in the hall, and the term hall is used uniquely to refer to the latter meal. Some may call it second hall to differentiate from the earlier self-service first hall or informal hall.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Maxi Grindley (5 October 2022). "A guide to Oxford's traditions". Cherwell.
  2. ^ M. Tina Dacin; Kamal Munir; Paul Tracey (December 2010). "Formal Dining at Cambridge Colleges: Linking Ritual Performance and Institutional Maintenance". The Academy of Management Journal. 53 (6): 1393–1418. JSTOR 29780264.
  3. ^ "Our Colleges". Durham University. College Formals. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  4. ^ Tom Doorley (1 March 2008). "Commons People". The Irish Times.
  5. ^ "St Regulus Hall". University of St Andrews. What is St Regulus Hall like?. Archived from the original on 6 January 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Sarah Djuric. "Devonshire Hall Formals". Residence Life. University of Leeds. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  7. ^ a b "Catering". St Anselm Hall, Manchester. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  8. ^ "Dining". St Mark's College. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Rooms and Meals". University College, Melbourne. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Union College". Meals. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Food and Dining". Sancta Sophia College, Sydney. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  12. ^ "Catering". Jane College, Tasmania. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  13. ^ "Events". St Catherine's College. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  14. ^ "Formal Dinners of 2022". Mannix College, Monash University. 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2024. Every second Wednesday, Mannix College holds various types of Formal Dinners in the Dining Hall providing residents with meaningful experiences ranging from guest speeches, performances, and more. See below all the Formal Dinners held at Mannix College during 2022.
  15. ^ "Austin Page College". University of New England. Retrieved 22 April 2026. Affectionately known as "the Dino", the dining room is where you attend one of our five formal dinners.
  16. ^ "Social Life". New College Communities at the University of New South Wales. Retrieved 22 April 2026. The New College Communities gather several times a year for Formal Dinners.
  17. ^ Anwesha Mukherjee (17 November 2023). "From Cult to Kin: Trinity Redefined". Trinity Times.
  18. ^ James Heale (5 May 2018). "Legendary Hall Warden goes clubbing with students after final formal". The Tab.
  19. ^ Morgan Watkins (1 March 2026). "The Decline of Durham". The Critic.
  20. ^ a b c d Clarissa Wemple; Kathrine Bertram (2025) [22 November 2019]. "I'm going to a formal! Wait, what is a formal?". John's Chronicle. Depending on which college you attend, the traditions may vary. In John's, we say grace before the meal. Additionally, there is usually a 'High Table' at formal, which normally consists of 'Guests of the Principal', seated on the raised platform of Leech Hall
  21. ^ a b c "The Van Mildert Guide to Formal Dining" (PDF). Van Mildert College, Durham. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  22. ^ "Formals". Hild Bede SRC. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  23. ^ "Student Handbook 2021–2022" (PDF). St Cuthbert's Society. pp. 14–16. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  24. ^ "Formal Hall dress and conduct". Downing College, Cambridge. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  25. ^ "About the College". Linacre College, Oxford. Retrieved 24 April 2026. Students and fellows - the academics attached to the college - eat and socialise together. Partners and children are welcome. Linacre has one common room for all and no High Table.
  26. ^ Lawrenceson, T.E. (1957) 'St. Anselm Hall in the University of Manchester, 1907-1957.' Manchester: Manchester University Press.
  27. ^ Maya Wolfe-Robinson (9 December 2021). "Durham head steps back after calling students 'pathetic' at Rod Liddle event". The Guardian.
  28. ^ "Durham University reviews speaker policy after Rod Liddle row". BBC News. 11 March 2022.
  29. ^ "Formal Halls". St Hugh's College, Oxford. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  30. ^ "Formal Halls". Wolfson College, Cambridge. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  31. ^ "Buildings, Facilities and Accommodation". St Chad's College, Durham. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  32. ^ "Information for New Scholars" (PDF). Trinity College Dublin. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  33. ^ Gavin Foster (21 October 2018). "The problem with high tables". The Varsity.
  34. ^ "Massey High Table". Massey College. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
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