Societies and clubs at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge

JCR Catering (opens in a new tab) says Formal Hall is on Fridays and Sundays in Full Term. Tickets are sold on Upay until they sell out or until midday on Thursday, after which they cannot be changed or cancelled. Students can bring up to three guests; more need the Dean’s permission in advance, given only in exceptional circumstances. The college’s Formal Hall Code of Conduct (April 2024) (opens in a new tab) adds that tickets go on sale at 22:00 on the Sunday before. Special formals such as Bridgemas have no guest tickets, and swapping tickets outside Upay’s amendment options is no longer allowed. Guests are admitted only with their host: the Corpus student must be at check-in. Dinner starts promptly at 19:30, everyone must be seated before the Fellows enter, and latecomers are not admitted after First Grace.

The College Rules (updated 29 June 2026) (opens in a new tab), §18, require smart clothing at the level of a jacket and tie, plus gowns for members of the University, so a guest from another Cambridge college should wear one. Students answer for their guests. Each student may bring one 75 cl bottle of wine, or bottled beer, lager or cider up to two pints, and no other alcohol. The October 2023 Student Accommodation Handbook (opens in a new tab) (pp. 18–19) says Upay enrolment is automatic for Corpus students and postgraduate Formal Halls are arranged with the Catering Manager. Its Wednesday-noon amendment cut-off has been replaced by the Thursday-noon cut-off in the 2024 Code of Conduct and on the JCR page. JCR Finance (opens in a new tab) lists rough 2026-7 guides of £14.85 for a Formal Hall ticket and £21.50 for a guest; JCR Catering says “around £14” and “£20”.

Practical assessment: a Corpus host can bring up to three guests to an ordinary formal, but special formals have no guest places at all.