Our Facilities

Our main location at Bocardo House is a typical city centre building in Oxford. Situated just opposite the Oxford Union in St Michael's Street, Bocardo House consists of:

• 6 classrooms, varying in size from 2 to 8 students' capacity
• A students' common room, including a small lending library and 3 internet-enabled computers, which are available to our students free of charge during the academic year
• A kitchenette, with tea and coffee, a microwave oven, and a refrigerator where students may keep packed lunches, if they like
• A reception area and an administrative office

In the summers, we hold part of our summer school at Lady Margaret Hall, allowing our students to study in the same classrooms used during the academic year by Oxford University students. LMH is also just a 5 minute walk from trendy North Parade, a small haven of galleries and restaurants that is popular with students for lunchtime wanderings.

"Lady Margaret Hall admitted its first seven students in October 1879. They pioneered women's higher education in Oxford, entering a world of learning that had for centuries been a male monopoly. When the College celebrated its centenary [in 1979], the foundation seven had increased to four hundred, including postgraduate as well as undergraduate students."
(LMH website)

Today, LMH is one of the most well-respected colleges in the Oxford University system. It also has one of the most beautiful campuses of all the Oxford colleges, being situated in the northern part of the city surrounded by the University Parks, the River Cherwell, and unmaintained nature areas.

During the academic year as needed, we often hire the Gladstone and Morris rooms at the Oxford Union, conveniently located just opposite Bocardo House in St Michael's Street.

These rooms can be used for small or large groups and offer students an opportunity to experience the tradition of this Oxford institution. The Union has played host to a huge variety of internationally-renowned guest speakers over the nearly 200 years of its existence:

According to the Union's website:
"To name a few, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama and even Kermit the Frog have all found the time to come and speak at the Oxford Union. Every term, every year, the Union has a tremendous range of high-profile speakers unlike anywhere else in Britain."

Recently, we have begun hiring the Tower Room in the Parish Church of St. Michael at the North Gate for teaching groups during the academic year. This lovely, historic building is the oldest in Oxford, and is just a minute's walk across Cornmarket from Bocardo House.

According to the Church's website:
"If you approach St Michael's from the south, east or west and imagine yourself living here 1000 years ago, you will be reaching the North Gate of the city. The tower that you see before you formed part of the city wall with only fields and open countryside beyond to the north. This wonderful example of Saxon architecture and workmanship is, in fact, the oldest remaining eleventh century building in Oxford."

We regularly use a number of rooms at the Wesley Memorial Methodist Church. These premises are close to CIE - situated just one minute away from Bocardo House. The church offers both larger rooms, which are suitable for testing in the summer, certificate ceremonies and junior classes, as well as smaller rooms used for classes during busy periods throughout the academic year.

According to the Church’s website:
“Our location, which is in the very heart of Oxford, has a very prominent frontage on New Inn Hall Street, right next to St Peter's college. We are very easily accessible and are an ideal venue for all types of meetings.”

(Image copyright Kaihsu Tai)