Visiting the College
Prospective students are always welcome to visit the College independently. If you are planning a trip to Oxford especially to do this, it’s best to come for one of our Open Days. However, if you cannot make it to an Open Day, you’re always welcome to come and look around. Simply let our porters know you are a prospective applicant, and they will let you in. There is no need to make an appointment, unless you would like to speak to one of our admissions staff. If that’s the case, please contact us at admissions@balliol.ox.ac.uk.
For information on how to find us, please go to the Maps and directions page.
School Visits
Balliol College offers a range of activities for schools interested in finding out more about the University, College life and the admissions process. The College is also keen to support enquiries from teachers.
Oxford Information Events at Balliol
Schools are encouraged to visit Balliol College. A morning programme usually includes the following:
- a talk on the University, College life and the admissions process;
- a Q&A session with current undergraduates;
- a tour of Balliol College.
Additionally, it is possible to tailor the event to particular needs and to complete the day with another activity such as a visit to a museum.
Oxford Information Events in Schools
It is possible to arrange for the Deputy Tutor for Undergraduate Admissions to visit schools. Where feasible, schools and colleges are encouraged to work collaboratively: for example, a host institution could open the event to students from other schools in its area. Oxford Information Events would usually include a talk on the University, College life and the admissions process as well as a Q&A session with some current undergraduates.
Should a school or consortium wish to organise a joint Oxford-Cambridge (Oxbridge) event, Balliol is happy to provide an Oxford representative.
Regionalisation
As part of Oxford University’s ongoing commitment to engage with schools, we have developed a programme to simplify communication between the University and all schools in the United Kingdom. Each Oxford College is linked to a Local Authority to ensure that each school has a named first point of contact within the University. The Local Authority of Hertfordshire has been linked to Balliol College. This link is meant to improve the way in which we communicate information, advice and guidance to teachers. The scheme will not have any bearing on the Oxford admissions process and will not influence whether a college offers a candidate a place. This scheme is not intended to replace any existing contact a school may have with a particular college or department. To learn more about this scheme or find out which College has been linked to your Local Authority, please visit http://www.admissions.ox.ac.uk/regionallinks.
Schools within Hertfordshire are particularly encouraged to contact Balliol to organise a visit to Oxford or to host an Oxford Information event. Additional support may be provided in the form of master-class events, mock-interviews and information sessions for teachers. The master-classes are sessions run by our tutors and each is designed to inspire and challenge students as well as let them experience what it might be like to study a certain subject at Oxford. These additional activities are ideally suited to groups of schools that can work collaboratively to bring together students with passion and potential for a day-long event. Please note that an event including 4 master-classes requires a minimum of about 80 students to be effective.
For further information or to organise an event, please contact admissions@balliol.ox.ac.uk, and consult our Hertfordshire Events page.