Hills Road Sixth Form College (commonly referred to as HRSFC, Hills Road or just Hills) is a

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, infra ...

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

sixth form college A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...

Cambridge, England Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge became ...

, providing full-time

A-level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

courses for approximately 2000 sixth form

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

s from the surrounding area and a wide variety of courses to around 4,000 part-time students of all ages in the

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...

programme, held as daytime and evening classes.

History

Hills Road Sixth Form College was established on 15 September 1974 on the site of the former

Cambridgeshire High School for Boys The Cambridgeshire High School for Boys was founded as the Cambridge and County School for Boys in Cambridge, England, in 1900. History It was later the Cambridge and County High School for Boys, and then finally the Cambridgeshire High School ...

, when education in Cambridgeshire was reorganised on a comprehensive basis, and grammar schools and secondary moderns were replaced by a system of (mainly) 11-16 comprehensive schools and sixth form colleges. Since then, the college has expanded from its original single building, with the addition of the Sports and Tennis Centre in 1995; the Colin Greenhalgh building, which houses most arts subjects such as English, modern languages and history; The Rob Wilkinson building housing the physics, chemistry, and PE departments was developed in 2004; in 2005 the Margaret Ingram Guidance Centre provided specialist tutorial accommodation. Although the college previously had ambitious plans for a major redesign between 2010 and 2013, the economic crisis reduced the scope of the plans: in 2010 the college administrative areas were redesigned, more classrooms added in the physical sciences, psychology and art departments, the staffroom enlarged and relocated, the library partially refurbished, an extra resource area built to compensate for the space used to build new classrooms and the student social area rebuilt. In the early 1990s responsibility for further education was removed from local authorities (as part of reforms aimed at reducing the level of the council tax), and Hills Road like other colleges moved to direct funding from central government.

Results and reputation

In 2006, fifty-two Hills Road students gained places at

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to de ...

; this was a larger number than at any other state school and represents one in every sixteen students. Hills Road was recently ranked third in a list of the schools with highest levels of

entry, after

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. The Sunday Times reported that Hills Road sends approximately sixty-five students to the universities of Cambridge and Oxford every year. In January 2014 Hills Road was named the "creme de la creme" of state schools by Tatler Magazine, and included in Tatler's list of thirty elite state school in the United Kingdom. The 2009 Alps Report placed the College third in the sixth form college performance table and in the top 1% for all institutions. According to the 2009 edition of the BBC's English school tables, the school's student have performed above average in

A-Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

examinations. The college has achieved an

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

rating of 'Outstanding' from its first inspection in 2001. OFSTED. Retrieved on 2019-08-06.

Notable alumni

Cambridgeshire High School for Boys *

Martin Amis Martin Louis Amis (born 25 August 1949) is a British novelist, essayist, memoirist, and screenwriter. He is best known for his novels ''Money'' (1984) and ''London Fields'' (1989). He received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his memoir '' ...

- novelist and son of

Sir Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social an ...

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...

and

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...

of the rock band

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

; there is a suggestion that the song Another Brick in the Wall Part II, written by Waters, which includes the famous lyrics "we don't need no education", bears reference to Waters' miserable stint endured whilst at the County High School for Boys * Sir John Bradfield - Founder of Cambridge Science Park, the first Science Park in Europe. *

Bob Klose Rado Robert Garcia Klose (born 1945) is an English musician, photographer and printmaker. Between 1964 and July 1965, he was the lead guitarist of the rock band the Tea Set, a group that would later become Pink Floyd. Although he recorded a f ...

- an early member of Pink Floyd *

Storm Thorgerson Storm Elvin Thorgerson (28 February 1944 – 18 April 2013) was an English graphic designer and music video director. He is best known for closely working with the group Pink Floyd through most of their career, and also created album or other a ...

- co-founder of the Hipgnosis partnership, who designed record covers for artists including

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

and

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

Many other notable alumni are listed in the Alumni section of the Wikipedia entry for the

. Hills Road Sixth Form College *

Alison Balsom Alison Louise Balsom, Lady Mendes, (born 7 October 1978) is an English trumpet soloist, arranger, producer, and music educator. Balsom was awarded Artist of the Year at the 2013 Gramophone Awards and has won three Classic BRIT Awards and thre ...

- trumpeter signed with

EMI Classics EMI Classics was a record label founded by Thorn EMI in 1990 to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogues for internationally distributed classical music releases. After Thorn EMI demerged in 1996, its recorded musi ...

* Catherine Banner - Author *

Edward Dusinberre Edward Dusinberre (born 1968 in Leamington Spa, England) is a British/American violinist. Biography Edward Dusinberre is first violinist of the Takács Quartet and Artist in Residence at the University of Colorado Boulder. His second book "Dista ...

- First violinist of the

Takács Quartet The Takács Quartet is a string quartet founded in Budapest, Hungary, and now based in Boulder, Colorado, United States. History In 1975, four students at the Music Academy in Budapest, Gábor Takács-Nagy (first violin), Károly Schranz (seco ...

* Tom Findlay - Musician, half of

Groove Armada Groove Armada are an English electronic music duo, composed of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They achieved chart success with their singles "At the River", "I See You Baby" and "Superstylin'". The duo have released nine studio albums, four of whic ...

* Tom Hunt, serving Member of Parliament for Ipswich *

Katie Rowley Jones Katie Rowley Jones (born c. 1978) is a British musical theatre actress, best known for originating the role of Nessarose in the West End production of ''Wicked''. Early life and education Katie Rowley Jones was born in Cambridge, and is one o ...

- West End actress *

Tim Key Timothy David Key (born September 1976) is an English poet, comedian, actor, screenwriter and radio personality. He is best known for playing Alan Partridge's sidekick Simon in '' Mid Morning Matters'', '' Alpha Papa'', and '' This Time'', as ...

- Surreal comedian and poet * Dave Lewis - former

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

CEO * Heather McRobie - Writer and academic * Nemone Metaxas - Radio DJ *

Mark Pettini Mark Lewis Pettini (born 7 August 1983) is an English cricketer who has played domestically for Essex and from 2016 for Leicestershire. He is a right-handed batsman and very occasional wicket-keeper and right-arm medium-pace bowler. Playing st ...

, Essex County cricketer (and former captain). Former member of England Under-19 team *

Hector Janse van Rensburg Hector Richard Janse van Rensburg (born 27 October 1993), better known by his pseudonym Shitty Watercolour, is a British painter and cartoonist who started posting watercolour paintings on the social media website ''Reddit'' in February 2012, ...

- watercolor painter, also known as '' Shitty Watercolour'' *

Surie Susanna Marie Cork (born 18 February 1989), better known as SuRie, is an English singer and songwriter. She was born in Harlow, Essex, and raised in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire. Early life and career SuRie was born Susanna Marie Cork to ...

- Singer, representing the United Kingdom in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmos ...

" *

Ben Thapa Ben Vishala Thapa (born 2 March 1982) is an English opera singer, best known as the low tenor in G4 from 2004 to 2018. Born in Cambridge, Thapa was raised by a single mother from the age of four after his father left, and entered foster care wh ...

- member of male singing quartet G4 *

Tom Westley Thomas Westley (born 13 March 1989) is an English professional cricketer who has played Test cricket for the England cricket team. He is a top order right-handed batsman who occasionally bowls offbreaks and has played first-class cricket for Es ...

, Essex County England Test cricketer and captain of England Under-19 at the

2008 Under-19 Cricket World Cup The 2008 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup was held in Malaysia from 17 February 2008 to 2 March 2008. The opening ceremony took place on 15 February 2008. The final was played between South Africa and India, which India won by 12 runs on the Duckwo ...

Cavetown Robin Daniel Skinner (born 15 December 1998), known professionally as Cavetown (sometimes stylized in all lowercase), is an English singer-songwriter, record producer, and YouTuber. His style blends elements of indie rock, indie pop and bedroo ...

- singer, songwriter, musician, and YouTuber * Benedict Cork - singer, songwriter, musician

References

{{authority control Schools in Cambridge Educational institutions established in 1974 Learning and Skills Beacons Sixth form colleges in Cambridgeshire