Happy 25th Birthday to Radcliffe Training and Conference Centre

25 fantastic facts about Warwick Conferences to mark the 25th birthday of its most established training and conference centre – Radcliffe



1. Warwick Conferences comprises three dedicated, all year-round training and conference centres (Scarman, Radcliffe and Arden) and utilises the very best of the University facilities during student vacation periods – the Conference Park

2. Warwick Conferences’ Radcliffe and Scarman now offer bed and breakfast for business travellers

3. Warwick Conferences’ Scarman is one of few venues in the UK to achieve the IACC (International Association of Conference Centers) gold standard

4. This year, Warwick Conferences played host to Teach First’s three week residential Summer Institute for the second time in a row. The event, which takes place at the Conference Park, attracts over 1,300 top graduates to the venue
5. Warwick Conferences’ venues are located at the hub of the national motorway network and are served by excellent air and rail travel links making it the ideal, central location for companies to bring their staff together

6. Warwick Conferences’ Scarman training and conference centre underwent a £2 million refurbishment this summer

7. The venues are located on 700 acres of rural parkland in the heart of England. The location benefits from banks, bars, shops, a pharmacy, supermarket and hairdressers, so all amenities are close at hand. Warwick Conferences also offers access to extensive sports facilities

8. Warwick Conferences offers free Wi-Fi for delegates across all of its venues and is supporting the Conference Cloud campaign

9. Warwick Conferences regularly welcomes famous faces. Over the years these have included President Clinton, Princess Anne, Howard Webb, Gordon Brown and Alistair Campbell

10. Warwick Conferences plays an active role in the conference and meetings industry. It is a member of the Meetings Industry Association (MIA), Conference Centres of Excellence (CCE), International Association of Conference Centers (IACC), Venuemasters, Hotel Booking Agents Association (HBAA) and Marketing Birmingham

11. Richard Harrison, General Manager of Scarman is the current chair of CCE while Alan Robinson sits on the board of the MIA and our business development manager Gail Tomlinson-Short is on the board of Venuemasters

12. Radcliffe is just one of a handful of conference venues in the UK to offer state-of-the-art Cisco TelePresence video conferencing technology. It is even available at no extra charge as part of a day or 24 hour delegate rate
13. Warwick Conferences is the largest of the University of Warwick’s commercial operations. All surplus from its £20 million turnover is reinvested into the University’s world-class teaching and research

14. In March 2011, Warwick Conferences won three gold awards and one silver at the M&IT Awards. This was the 16th time in the awards history the venue has taken home the gold award for Best Academic Venue

15. On 24th June 2011, Scarman celebrated its 20th birthday. Since opening, Scarman has hosted an amazing 77,060 events and its loyal staff have served up 721,000 sausages, 2,164,00 rashers of bacon and over 3.8 million cups of tea and coffee

16. Warwick Conferences was awarded gold in the TUCO Chefs and Food Service Challenge in 2011

17. This summer, our development chef Graham Crump helped raise £800,000 for underprivileged children in South Africa when he took part in the ten day Bidvest World Chefs Tour Against Hunger 2011

18. Warwick Conferences has a reputation for sporting excellence. Events hosted in conjunction with Warwick Sport in recent years include the British Transplant Games, the Nike Premier Cup and the Under-23 Women’s International Football Tournament

19. The University of Warwick is home to 22,000 students, 1,000 academic staff and 700 researchers and is recognised as one of the UK’s leading universities, with a reputation for excellence in research and teaching, innovation and links with business and industry

20. Clients to have hosted events at Warwick Conferences include Coca Cola, E.on, RSPCA, Siemens, Costain, The Environment Agency and Jaguar Land Rover

21. Having worked at Warwick Conferences for 25 years, Dannie Cahill is one of its longest serving employees. He started as head chef at the Radcliffe training and conference centre and is now general manager at the same venue

22. This December, Warwick Conferences will play host to the annual Jewish Limmud festival for the fifth consecutive year. The event welcomes up to 2,500 participants from more than 30 countries worldwide and involves more than 800 sessions over a six day period

23. Warwick Conferences offers a huge choice in accommodation. It has 479 hotel standard en suite bedrooms at its three training and conference centres and student accommodation in excess of 1,200 rooms

24. Warwick Conferences is on Twitter. Follow us at @WarwickConf

25. Warwick Conferences has achieved triple gold in the BDRC Continental’s VenueVerdict assessment this year. The accreditation is awarded in recognition of their outstanding level of customer satisfaction