Telephones in Britain are more different from those in the U.S. than you might think. The biggest difference is that local calls are billed by the unit. There is no local calling area in which one may make unlimited calls for a set fee. This means that the university will pass this cost along to you by having you use coins to pay for your calls from the house, using a pay phone just off the kitchen.
Calls are more expensive during the day than they are in the evening and on weekends.
To make a call, pick up the receiver. The display will light up with the minimum amount you must insert. The display will indicate how much money you have put in and how much credit remains. When the phone starts beeping, you have run out of money and you must insert more coins or you will be disconnected. Once you have deposited a coin in a British pay phone, you will not get it back if you have used any fraction of its value.