Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College is a

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is additional education 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, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

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 counties of England, historic county of ...

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

. 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 counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, (e.g.

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

, 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 Brigitt ...

. 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 a higher education institution and part of the University of West London, in Oxford, England. It is not a Colleges of the University of Oxford, college of Oxford University. Named ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. 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 Fanny Street (21 November 1877, Wilton, Wiltshire - 20 March 1962, Hindhead, Surrey) was Acting Principal of Royal Holloway College, University of London (RHC) in 1944–1945. Her brother was Arthur George Street author of ''Farmer's Glory''. ...

. Street was acting principal of

Royal Holloway College Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a member institution of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departmen ...

(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. It is opposite the

Old Deer Park Old Deer Park is an area of open space within Richmond, London, Richmond, owned by the Crown Estate, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. It covers of which are leased as sports grounds for sports, particularly rugby, gol ...

, 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 range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

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

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 l ...

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, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

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