Examination Schools

There is no university owned parking for the Exam Schools. There is a strip of pay and display bays located on Merton Street (behind the Exam Schools). Merton Street is very old and cobbled and the paving is highly cambered and patchy.

There are also several accessible parking bays in Oriel Square (at the end of Merton Street), from here use High Street to get to Examination Schools to avoid the cambered and patchy paving on Merton Street.

Please click on the link below for a map of accessible parking in Oxford: 

• Oxford Blue Badge parking map (PDF)

There are two entrances to the Exam Schools, both on High Street, one is accessible the other is not level access.

Main entrance

The main entrance is located off High Street (underneath the pillared archway). There are three steps up and an additional step to pass through the doors, which are not automated.  There is no railing either.

Accessible entrance

Located adjacent to the main entrance (and signposted) is the accessible entrance.

It's ramped, so go up the ramp and pass through the archway.  On the left hand side you will see a buzzer.  Press for the Exam Schools, and the large glass door in front of you will open (although there is a delay- so don’t try and force it).

There is then a lobby with a platform lift.  Go past this and up a small ramp.  This will lead into the main building.

Please click on the thumbnails below to enlarge:

The Exam Schools have a large entrance hall with a staffed ‘cabin’. There is no lowered section but the staff are very friendly and willing to help!  This is immediately in front of the main doors as you enter. 

If you use the alternative entrance, the cabin backs onto the corridor, where there is a lowered section, or alternatively the ramp should be down for larger events.

Please click on the thumbnails below to enlarge:

Accessible toilets

There are two accessible toilets located in the Exam Schools:

In the main building there is one located just off the long corridor near to the main staircase.

As you pass the staircase it is immediately on the right hand side.

The second accessible toilet is located in the basement, there is a platform lift located at the main entrance point to the Exam Schools.  Take the lift down to Level  2, as you exit the lift the toilet is located on the left hand side.

Standard toilets

There are standard toilets located on the ground floor, mezzanine and basement levels of the Exam Schools.

The Men's are located off the mezzanine landing on both  the main and rear staircase, there is an additional Men's toilet located in the basement.  Take the staircase down from the main lobby area, turn left and left again, pass the lift and they are directly ahead of you.

The Women's are located in the long corridor leading to the rear of the building, on the right hand side adjacent to the accessible toilet.

An additional Women's toilet is located in the basement. Take the staircase down from the main lobby area and turn right.

See floor plans for detailed locations.

Please click on the thumbnails below to enlarge:

There are two lifts located in the Exam Schools.

The main lift is located in a small corridor located just after the large double height entrance lobby, on the right hand side, before you reach the small seating area in front of rooms 6 and 7. 

At the end of the small corridor is the lift, this services the upper floor.  As you exit the lift you will be faced with a small landing area, immediately to the right is a wooden door. Pass through this door (not powered and with an original handle) and you will enter the large North School.

Near the accessible entrance is a secondary lift.  This platform lift services the lower ground floor where there is an additional accessible toilet.

Please click on the thumbnails below to enlarge:

There are two main staircases in the Exam Schools. 

The main staircase is located midway along the long corridor.  The staircase is original and as such doesn’t have tactile nosing or high contrast markings.  There is also no handrail as such except a large marble banister.

There is a secondary staircase located at the back of the Exam Schools, again this is original and doesn’t have tactile or high contrast nosings. There is however a grab rail located on the right hand side as you ascend.

There is also a smaller staircase located to the left of the reception area, which leads down the toilets and up to the upper floor.  Again the stair is original and as such has no tactile or high contrast nosings. There is also no railing/grab rail.

Please click on the thumbnails below to enlarge:

The Exam Schools has a range of doors! In the large rooms upstairs there are large solid wooden sliding doors (two doors) but these should be open for any lectures/events. They are original and as such don’t have any adaptations for vision panels.

In the smaller teaching spaces (ground floor) the double doors to each room are also original and don’t have vision panels, and are manually opened. Some users of larger wheelchairs may need both doors to be open.

Please click on the thumbnails below to enlarge:

The larger rooms upstairs act as lecture theatres.  These are all level access (via the lift) and have flexible seating.

Please click on the thumbnails below to enlarge:

The smaller seminar rooms (ground floor) are again all level access.  The seating is also flexible to accommodate anyone with specific access requirements.

Please click on the thumbnails below to enlarge:

There is a seating area at the first corner of the corridor on the ground floor opposite rooms 6 and 7. These are bench style seats with back rests. This is a spacious area with plenty of manoeuvring space. The floor surface is highly patterned. 

Please click on the thumbnail below to enlarge:

There are infra-red systems in: 

• the South School,
• the East School,
• Room 8.

Portable infra-red systems can be set up in all other rooms. Receivers can be borrowed, please ask reception if you require one.

Accessible Computers

There is not a permanent computer cluster but the Exam Schools can set up an cluster for specific events and it will be fully accessible.

Specialist equipment

There are height adjustable desks available for students who need them.