Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College is a

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It ...

college located in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

and

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it ha ...

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...

. It was established in 2017 by a merger between Richmond Adult Community College and the specialist Hillcroft College.

History

The college's Richmond campus traces its roots to the 19th century as a technical institute. In the latter part of the 19th century, there was no reasonable secondary education in Barnes and

for miles around, except for those who could afford private tuition or send their children many miles to school. In the most populous areas of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, (e.g. Sutton, Wimbledon and Richmond) parents were for the most part obliged to be content to give their children an elementary education. Richmond County was to be one of a series of new technical buildings erected or being erected by the county council in the seven principal towns of the county. The site was opened on 2 July 1895 on land in Kew Road, Richmond and was fee paying. The buildings occupied a prominent site on the Kew Road at the corner of Selwyn Avenue. This building housed both the Technical Institute and secondary school. When the school merged with Sheen Grammar School in 1939 the school moved out of the Kew Road premises leaving the Technical Institute as sole occupants of the Kew Road site. The technical institute continued up to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

when it was put on a war-time basis and used as an ARP (Air Raid Precautions) and ambulance depot. It was revived as the Technical Institute and School of Art for Richmond and Barnes in 1947 and in 1954 renamed as the Richmond Institute of Further Education. In 1970 it became the Richmond Adult College and in 1978 transferred to the Parkshot site, vacant with the closure of Richmond County School for Girls and as the Richmond Adult & Community College remains at that site. The college also previously occupied The Clifden Centre in

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boro ...

, the campus of the former Twickenham County Grammar School for Girls (which became the comprehensive Twickenham Girls' School). The college relocated from the Clifden Centre to the main college campus in September 2014, making way for

St Richard Reynolds Catholic College St Richard Reynolds Catholic College is a coeducational Catholic school for pupils aged 4 to 18. It is located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. The school is named after Saint Richard Reynolds, a Brigit ...

. The college's site in Surbiton was previously Hillcroft College, a residential adult education college for women. Originally called The National Residential College for Women, the college was established in 1920, and has always been a residential college solely for the education of adult women. The college was intended to be a female equivalent to

Ruskin College Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is an independent educational institution in Oxford, England. It is not a college of Oxford University. It is named after the essayist, art and social critic John Ruskin (1819–1900) ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. In this regard, Hillcroft College was unique in the British further education sector. The college was owned and operated by the Hillcroft Charitable Trust. The college's joint founder, and first principal (1929–1933) was Fanny Street. Street was acting principal of

Royal Holloway College Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

(RHC), University of London, from 1944 to 1945 when Edith Clara Batho took over. In September 2017, Richmond Adult Community College and Hillcroft College merged to form Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College.

Location

The college's Richmond campus is situated on Twickenham Road ( A316) just west of the Richmond Circus roundabout with the

A307 The A307 road runs through SW London and NW Surrey. It is primary at the north-east end; the remainder is non-primary, generally superseded in the mid-twentieth century in two stages by newer alignments of the Portsmouth Road, the Kingston byp ...

. It is opposite the Old Deer Park, and just north of Richmond tube station. The Hillcroft campus is at South Bank, Surbiton.

Courses

The college offers a range of courses including

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

NVQ National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are practical work-based awards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that are achieved through assessment and training. The regulatory framework supporting NVQs was withdrawn in 2015 and replaced by the ...

s and

Access course The Access to Higher Education (HE) Diploma is a U.K. qualification which prepares students — usually 19+ — for study as an undergraduate at university. The diploma is designed for people who would like to study in higher education but who ...

s. In addition, the college offers some higher education courses in conjunction with the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first polytechnic to open in London. The Polytechnic formally received a Royal charter in Aug ...

References

External links

Official website: Richmond campus

Official website: Hillcroft campus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College 1895 establishments in England Adult education in the United Kingdom Education in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Education in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Educational institutions established in 1895 Former women's universities and colleges in the United Kingdom Further education colleges in London Grade II listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Richmond, London Surbiton