Formal (university)

St John's College, Cambridge Formal Hall

Formal hall or formal meal is a meal held at some of the oldest universities in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland (as well as some other Commonwealth countries) at which students usually dress in formal attire and often gowns to dine. These are held commonly in the colleges of Oxford,[1] Cambridge[2] and Durham,[3] at Trinity College Dublin (where they are known as commons),[4] and in some halls and colleges at St Andrews,[5] and the Australian sandstone universities (Adelaide,[6] Melbourne,[7] Queensland,[8] Sydney,[9] Tasmania,[citation needed] Western Australia[10]), and at Trinity College, Toronto.[11]

In a number of redbrick universities, such as Manchester, Bristol, Leeds and Exeter, some halls practise similar traditions in order to increase interaction between academics and students, and to enrich the students' overall learning experience. Colleges of some Australian redbrick universities, including the Australian National University, Monash University, the University of New England, the University of New South Wales and the University of Southern Queensland, also hold gowned formal dinners.

The nature of 'formals' varies widely between the colleges and halls that hold them. In some colleges, formals may be held every night, and are simply a second sitting of hall at which gowns are worn and grace is read. In other colleges, formals may be special events to which guests from outside the college are frequently invited, often with themes and associated ents or "bops". In between these two extremes fall the great majority of colleges. Formals are generally rarer at halls of residence, with some traditional halls holding them more regularly than others.[12]

  1. ^ "Formal Hall Etiquette". Jesus College, Oxford. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011.
  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?. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Dining". St Mark's College. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Rooms and Meals". University College, Melbourne. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Union College". Meals. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Residential colleges". University of Sydney. Why college?. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  10. ^ "What is Formal Hall?". St Catherine's College, UWA. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  11. ^ Anwesha Mukherjee (17 November 2023). "From Cult to Kin: Trinity Redefined". Trinity Times.
  12. ^ "In defence of Wills Hall". 8 January 2017.