Student accommodation
Full board
Full board is the arrangement in which the residence provides, on top of the room, all three meals of the day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is the norm in colegios mayores (Spanish halls of residence) and in many Spanish university residences, and it means knowing every day how many people will eat.
Also known asfully catered · catered · pensión completa
What it involves
In Spain full board is almost a hallmark of the colegio mayor, which also runs a formative programme: the dining hall is part of the life of the house, with fixed times and meals that bring everyone together. Newer private residences have moved towards more flexible arrangements. In the United Kingdom halls are described as catered, part-catered or self-catered, and in private ones self-catering is the norm, with a kitchen in the flat or in the studio.
| Arrangement | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Full board | Breakfast, lunch and dinner |
| Half board | Two meals, almost always breakfast and dinner |
| Room only | No meals; residents cook in their own or a shared kitchen |
Full board does not mean everyone always eats. Weekends and bank holidays usually have different times and a different rule, the building empties over long weekends and holidays, and some residents eat out almost every day because of classes or placements. Every meal someone will not eat is a serving left over if they do not say so: hence the dining-hall cancellation, the packed lunch and the headcount forecast. Spain's Law 1/2025 also counts establishments with a dining service among those that must prevent food waste. How Bedel handles it: dining hall.
Sources
Related terms
- Dining-hall cancellationA dining-hall cancellation is the notice that someone will not have lunch or dinner at a particular sitting. It is given before the cut-off time the residence sets, so the kitchen prepares the right number of servings instead of throwing away the ones nobody collects.
- Headcount forecastA headcount forecast is the estimate of how many people will eat at each sitting, built from who lives in the residence, who has said they will not come and how each day of the week usually behaves. It is the number the kitchen uses to decide how much to prepare.