Our doors are always open to schools and pupils interested in studying at Somerville.
Somerville is open to prospective applicants and offer holders throughout the year. You can pick up a self-guided tour from the Porters’ Lodge when you arrive, and take a look around. Prospective applicants can visit us free of charge on most days, without needing to book ahead. If one of the Access team is available, we’ll be happy to chat to you. Our working hours are Monday-Fridays, 9-5pm. Email us on access@some.ox.ac.uk to find out if we’re free.
Whilst prospective applicants are welcome to visit college throughout the year, you should note that if you’re visiting us outside of the Open Days, we can’t guarantee that tutors or students will be available to chat to you, especially if you’re visiting outside of term times, when fewer students will be in residence. Please see here to check the University term dates when planning your visit.
If you are a teacher looking to book a school visit for a group of students, see our For Teachers page.
Somerville is close to the historic centre of Oxford and easily accessible by car, coach, rail and bus.
Parking
Parking is available on St Giles, within a few minutes’ walk of the college. The Gloucester Green, Worcester Street and Broad Street car parks are also a short walk from Somerville. There is more parking available at Port Meadow, although this is further away.
If travelling to Oxford by car, please be aware that Oxford now has a traffic filters scheme – more info about this can be found on the council’s website, including a map of Oxford showing where the filters are and the timings they are active, so you can plan your route accordingly.
Coach drop-off
There is a coach drop off point at the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, by the Maths Institute, a short walk from the college entrance. Minibuses can park at the college if you enquire in advance, although our car park only has space for one minibus. You should also note that our vehicle entrance has restricted dimensions, so if your minibus is larger than 2.5m high, 2.4m wide (including wing mirrors), and 6.3m long, we recommend parking at the Redbridge Park and Ride instead.
Getting here from the train station
Walking up from the main train station is very convenient. Several regular bus services run virtually door to door in just under ten minutes, with a return costing around £4. You can walk the same distance in around 10-15 minutes.
