Formal (university)

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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]