(Test) New member morning ceremony - 1 January 2026 - Stage 1

• New members will be asked to take their seats in the Dorchester Library promptly at 11:30am following the sounding of the gong.
•  It is important you sit in the correct seat as you will be called up to the stage in alphabetical order by surname.
• You will be given a briefing at 11:45am before the ceremony begins.
• The ceremony will begin at 12:00pm and we ask that all members are punctual as it is difficult to admit anyone once proceedings have commenced.
• Only one adult guest per new member will be permitted to watch the ceremony from the Dorchester Library gallery.
•  A link will also be made available on the ceremony event page prior to the ceremony so that family and friends can watch from home.

• Following the ceremony, we will host a celebratory reception.
• New members can attend the reception for free, please select the ticket option "New member – attending ceremony + reception"
• All guest tickets include attendance to the celebratory reception. Guest tickets must be pre-booked and paid for in advance. Guest tickets will be available at stage 2 of the booking process.
• Children under 12 are welcome at the reception and are free of charge.
• Please advise us of any dietary requirements at stage 2 of the booking so that these can be accommodated.

• Guest tickets will be available at stage 2 of the booking process. Please see the ticket options tab for pricing information.
• All new members are invited to bring a maximum of four guests to watch the ceremony and attend the reception.
• All guests must be pre-registered advance. We cannot accommodate any additional guests on the day.
• Strictly one guest (aged 12 and over) per new member will be able to watch the ceremony from the balcony of the Dorchester Library.
• All other guests will be invited to watch the ceremony via live stream in the Wolfson Lecture Theatre.

Children

• We welcome all children (aged 1 – 11) to attend both the ceremony and the reception, and they are included in your guest count.
• Children under the age of 1 are also welcome and will not be included in your guest count.
• There will be a crèche facility provided during the ceremony, however places are limited and must be pre-booked and paid for in advance during stage 2 of your booking. The crèche will open at 10:30am and close at 1:30pm. Please see the crèche section in the optional extras tab for more information.
• Due to health and safety children are not permitted to view the ceremony from the Dorchester Library Gallery.

• For the purpose of the ceremony, we will be issuing sample certificates.
• Official certificates are issued by our examinations team via post. If you have not yet received your official certificate, please contact the appropriate team on:
  • Edinburgh College – diplomas@rcpe.ac.uk
  • Glasgow College – paces@rcpsg.ac.uk
  • London College (RCP North - UK candidates only) – paces.queries@rcp.ac.uk
  • London College (Overseas - International candidates only) – overseas.paces@mrcpuk.org

• After you have completed stage 2 of the booking process, you will receive an email containing an attached confirmation letter. This letter can be used to support your/your guests’ visa application.
• Please ensure you provide your guests’ names at stage 2 so that your confirmation letter will contain accurate information.
• Please ensure you check your confirmation of booking email after stage 2 for the auto-attached confirmation letter before contacting us on ceremonies.queries@rcp.ac.uk
• Please also check that the details on your confirmation letter are correct before submitting it to support your application.

• Ceremony and reception - new member - £0

• Ceremony and reception - 1 adult guests - £26
•  Ceremony and reception - 2 adult guests - £52
•  Ceremony and reception - 3 adult guests - £78
•  Ceremony and reception - 4 adult guest - £104

·       Ceremony and reception (1-11 years old) - £0

• We are pleased to be able to offer a crèche facility during the ceremony.
• Crèche places are limited and must be booked in advance, which will be possible in stage 2.
• The crèche will open at 10:30am and will close at 1:30pm for children from TBC.
• The crèche is run by experienced staff from Pop Up, Party and Play who will care for and entertain your children.
• Please add your child's name, age, any allergies and accessibility needs in the access requirements box during the stage 2 booking process.
• The crèche costs £35 per child. Payments must be paid in advance.
• Children placed in the crèche who are over the age of 1 are included in the four-guest maximum.
• The crèche will not be open during the celebratory reception. 

• On the day of the ceremony, you will have the opportunity to have professional photos taken to commemorate your membership.
• The photography service will be run by Tempest.
• Pre-booking is not required – just pop in before your ceremony and the staff from Tempest will be able to assist you.
• Photography will open at 10:30am and will take place in the Council Chamber.
• Tempest will take a photograph of each new member receiving their certificate from the president.
• To purchase your photos, payment must be paid to Tempest at the time.
• For more information or any queries relating to photography please contact Tempest Graduation on 01736 751 855.

• Gowns for the ceremony can be hired through Tempest at the cost of £45.
• It is recommended that members book and pay for their gown hire in advance of their ceremony, however Tempest will bring some spares for hire on the day.
• Gowns can be reserved via the Tempest website from approximately 1-2 weeks before the ceremony. You will need to provide your RCP code to secure your reservation.
• Please note that it is not compulsory to wear a gown, although many members do choose to.
• Gowns will need to be returned to the Linacre room ahead of the reception and leaving the premises.
• For more information or any queries relating to gowning please contact Tempest Graduation by email info@graduategowning.co.uk or by phone 01736 751 855.

• We will be offering members and their guests the opportunity to be taken on a heritage tour, guided by the Archive and Museum Services team.
• Pre-booking is not required – please arrive 5 minutes before the time you wish to attend to join in on the tour.
• Tour times will be clearly advertised around the venue on the day of the ceremony. 

• We will be offering members and their guests the opportunity to be taken on a garden tour, guided by our garden fellows.
• Pre-booking is not required – please arrive 5 minutes before the time you wish to attend to join in on the tour. You can meet the tour guides (wearing red caps) out in the garden to join one of the tours.
• Tour times will be clearly advertised around the venue on the day of the ceremony.
• Please note that garden tours are seasonal and only take place from March to October. 

• All complete and eligible bookings will trigger a confirmation email to be sent to the email address inputted during booking. Please allow a few minutes to receive the email and ensure to check your junk folder if it has not appeared in your main inbox.
• Confirmed bookings will also appear in your 'my bookings' area of your MyRCP portal.
• If your booking is not displayed in your portal, please contact us on ceremonies.queries@rcp.ac.uk immediately, as your booking may not have been completed.
• We recommend that you do not book travel and accommodation until after you have received confirmation for your booking.
   

• You can email us on ceremonies.queries@rcp.ac.uk to make changes until one month prior to the ceremony date.

• Unfortunately, we are unable to exceed 4 guests per new member at our ceremonies. This is due to capacity and safety restrictions but also to ensure fairness among our members.
• All ceremonies will be available via live stream so friends and family can watch live at home.

• Each new member may bring a maximum of four guests.
• Guest booking will be possible from stage 2, a link for which will be sent to you approximately three months prior to your ceremony.
• If, after stage 2, you have not already filled these spaces and you wish to add someone, please email ceremonies.queries@rcp.ac.uk and include the name(s) of the guest(s) you would like to bring, alongside any dietary requirements, if applicable.
• If any of the extra guests are children, please let us know, alongside whether you would like to book them into the crèche.
• Guest ticket prices can be found in the ticket options tab.

• The ceremony will be live streamed and recorded and made available online after the ceremony.
•  You can find this recording on the event page under the 'watch the ceremony' tab.

• There are a range of hotels in close proximity to the Royal College of Physicians London. The closest include:
  • William Harvey House
  • Meliá White House
  • Holiday Inn Regent’s Park
  • Radisson Blu Grafton Hotel
  • Fitztrovia Hotel

• If the ceremony you would like to attend is fully booked you can join the waitlist.
• If we receive a cancellation and a space becomes available, we will get in touch via email to offer you the place.
• Alternatively, you can register your interest in attending a ceremony in 2027 in order to receive notification when booking does become available (we expect this to be September 2026). Please complete this form to be on the list.

• You can register your interest in attending a ceremony in 2027 in order to receive notification when booking does become available (we expect this to be September 2026). Please complete this form to be on the list. 

• After you have completed stage 2 of the booking process, you will receive an email containing an attached confirmation letter. This letter can be used to support your/your guests’ visa application.
• Please ensure you provide your guests’ names at stage 2 so that your confirmation letter will contain accurate information.
• Please ensure you check your confirmation of booking email after stage 2 for the auto-attached confirmation letter before contacting us on ceremonies.queries@rcp.ac.uk.
• If your guestlist changes, please email the above address to request that we reissue your letter.

• The opportunity to hire a gown for your ceremony will be provided by Tempest, at the cost of £45.
• You can find more information about gown hire in the optional extras tab.
• For further information or any queries relating to gowning please contact Tempest Graduation by email info@graduategowning.co.uk or by phone 01736 751 855.

• There is no formal dress code for our ceremony.
• New members have the option to hire a gown on the day through Tempest, however it is not mandatory to do so.
• We recommend that guests dress in smart/business wear, though you may prefer to wear black tie or traditional dress.

• Heritage tours and seasonal garden tours will be advertised clearly in the venue on the day of your ceremony. There is no need to book a place, just arrive 5 minutes before the tour that you wish to attend.
• Tour meeting points will be clearly advertised around the venue.
• Garden tours will only take place from March to October.

• All of our bookings are recorded and managed digitally, and so physical tickets will not be issued.

• All photos in previous years, including individual portraits and photo with the RCP President, were taken by Tempest.
• You should be able to purchase any photos that weren’t paid for on the day via their website.
• If you wish to speak with Tempest directly you can call them on 01736 751555 or place an enquiry via their website.
• The group photo in the ceremony hall with all new members will be sent to you in a post-ceremony email.

• If you would like to cancel your booking, please review our cancellation policy below and then email us at ceremonies.queries@rcp.ac.uk to let us know how you wish to proceed.
• Cancellations and requests to amend your confirmed booking must be made in writing.  
• Where fees have been paid, the following cancellation charges will apply:

Your booking, including for guests, is a contract. If payment has not been received within 21 days of the event, the RCP reserves the right to cancel your booking.

• A full refund will be issued where you cancel within 7 days of completing your booking during stage 2 (providing your event is more than 21 days away).
• A full refund, minus an administration fee of £15, will be issued if you cancel after 8 days of completing your booking but more than 21 days before the event.
• No refunds will be issued within 21 days of the event date.
  Within 21 days of the event date, the following option is available:
• Within 7 working days of the event – no refunds or amends can be made to bookings.

• The RCP reserves the right to change the programme and/or speakers at any time and without prior notice. It also reserves the right in its absolute discretion to cancel the event, in which case a full refund will be issued for your booking.
• The RCP is not responsible for refunding the cost of pre-booked travel or accommodation and would recommend taking out suitable insurance to include the impact from strike action.

Updated: 31 July 2024