Keble College (Oxford): Detailed Guide, General Information and Contacts

Keble College is located on Parks Road, adjacent to the University Parks, between the science buildings and the Radcliffe Observatory. In fact, the city centre is only 5 minutes away! Whilst some may say that Keble is out of the way, our Oxford tutors have unveiled one of their secrets – the gate behind Keble, down St Giles Way is a little known shortcut to the Oxford City Centre!

If a student is eligible for the Oxford Bursary, they will automatically be considered for the Keble bursary too. The College also offers a student support fund bursary, funding for students with disabilities, and estranged students.

There are student grants and awards available for academia, travel, graduate work and research projects. Additionally, cash prizes are awarded for excellence in subject specific exams. More information is available here.

Keble College has one of the most popular student theatres in Oxford, The Keble O’Reilly, which provides a unique opportunity to engage in drama at Oxford. Additionally, there is an active music society and choir who host a multitude of much-loved events. There are lots of sports teams and other societies too, as well as active common rooms for socialising. ‘Bops’ (i.e.; local parties) are held in the ‘Spaceship’, the college bar, as well as open mic nights, pub quizzes, and wine and cheese evenings.

As well as these, there are over 300 university societies you can join.

Accommodation is offered to undergraduate students from first to fourth year as well as all first-year graduate students. However, undergraduates can choose to live outside of College after first-year. Those who live on site will be allocated rooms on a ballot-basis, organised by the JCR.

For undergraduates, room cost depends on size, whether the bathroom is en-suite or shared, and whether the room faces the quad or the street. For this reason, some rooms are more expensive than others, and Keble College publishes the rent costs every spring. More information about undergraduate accommodation can be found here.

For graduates, after the first year, a ballot is organised for rooms in the H B Allen Centre, as the College cannot house all graduate students. The rooms are mostly self-contained studio apartments with their own kitchenettes, but some are organised into study rooms, and a few are 2-room apartments with shared facilities. All these rooms are wheelchair accessible. More information can be found here.

All meals in Keble College are pay-as-you-go. Lunch is approximately £4.20, and a 3-course meal costs £8.35. Payment is made via university cards.

University Parks are in close proximity to Keble allowing students easy access to a football pitch, cricket grounds and tennis courts. There is also a popular boathouse. Unfortunately, Keble does not house it’s own gym.

Keble College has a student welfare support team composed of peer welfare officers, a Chaplain, a college counsellor and nurse and other advisors. Every graduate has an appointed college graduate advisor whilst each undergraduate has an Alternative Personal Tutor who isn’t involved with teaching. Further information on medical matters and exam support, as well as welfare, can be found here.

• There is a student production every fortnight in the O’Reilly Theatre.
• The library, containing over 50,000 volumes, is open 24/7.
• For people of faith, there is a chapel and an Islamic prayer room run by the Oxford Islamic Society.
• Keble Dining Hall holds the record for being the longest dining hall in Oxford.
• Poetry has an important place in Keble, as John Keble himself was a poet. Each term, a poet visits the college for a reading followed by a Q&A session.

Imran Khan

Ed Balls

Andrew Adonis