After secondary school, he studied at Christ's College, Cambridge. While he was a student there in the mid-to-late 1990s, Oliver was a part of the Cambridge Footlights, the university's club for theatre run by students of Cambridge University. David Mitchell and Richard Ayoade were also in the club. In 1997, he became the club's vice president. In 1998, Oliver graduated from Christ's College with a degree in English.