Richmond upon Thames College is a large

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

further Further or furthur, alternatively farther, may refer to: * ''Furthur'' (bus), the Merry Pranksters' psychedelic bus *Further (band), a 1990s American indie rock band *Furthur (band) Furthur was an American rock band founded in 2009 by former G ...

and

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

located on a single site 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 ...

. It provides education and training to 16- to 18-year-olds and adults from across the

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west Greater London, London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London boroughs, London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller ...

and further afield. The college offers a range of academic and technical vocational qualifications, including

A Levels 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 a ...

, technical vocational qualifications, higher education courses and apprenticeships. Since 2023, the college is part of a newly merged group with

Harrow College Harrow College is a further education college in England with two campuses, in Harrow and Harrow Weald.

and

Uxbridge College Uxbridge College is a large general further education college in the London Borough of Hillingdon. In 2017 the college has been merged with Harrow College and in 2023, Richmond upon Thames College became the latest member of the group as they mer ...

History

The college was formed in 1977 by a merger of the

sixth form college A sixth form college (pre-university college in Malaysia) is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 study typically for advanced post-school level qualifications such as GCE Advanced Level, A Levels, Business and Technology Edu ...

s from Shene School and Thames Valley School with the former Twickenham College of Technology on its site. It was the first

tertiary college In England and Wales, a tertiary college is a type of further education (FE) college that offers both academic and vocational courses to both teenagers and adults, combining the main functions of an FE college and a sixth form college. Unlike a si ...

established in Greater London. A merger with

Richmond Adult & Community College Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College is a further education college located in Richmond and Surbiton in Greater London. It was established in 2017 by a merger between Richmond Adult Community College and the specialist Hillcroft Colleg ...

was proposed in 2003 but did not happen. In November 2020, Richmond upon Thames College announced a proposed merger with

Harrow College Harrow College is a further education college in England with two campuses, in Harrow and Harrow Weald.

(HCUC) that could be completed for autumn 2021 pending confirmation. An £80 million redevelopment of the 22-acre campus kicked off in 2018. The first phase of the new campus was completed in spring 2020, and further new parts were scheduled to be opened in 2021 and 2022. A merger with

Harrow College Harrow College is a further education college in England with two campuses, in Harrow and Harrow Weald.

(HCUC) was confirmed in 2021. The new institution, Harrow, Richmond & Uxbridge Colleges (HRUC), was created on 4 January 2023.

Location

The college is situated in

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 ...

, a third of a mile from the English

national rugby stadium The Narodowy Stadion Rugby () is a multi-purpose stadium in Gdynia, Poland. It is currently used for rugby union (RC Arka Gdynia and the Poland national rugby union team, Poland national team) and also for American football games (the Seahawks G ...

. The nearest railway station is

and the nearest

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

connections are

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 Hounslow Central. It is also served by

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

routes, notably the 281 between

Tolworth Tolworth is a suburban area in the Surbiton district, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London. It is southwest of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Berrylands, Chessington, Epsom, Ewell, Kingston upon Thames, Kingston, Lo ...

and

and the 267 between Fulwell and

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

External inspections

The college received a "good" rating in all areas from

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

in its November 2017 report.

Notable alumni

Biig Piig Jessica Smyth, known by the stage name Biig Piig, is an Irish singer and rapper, who lived in Spain before settling in West London. She performs in English and Spanish and was signed to RCA before moving to parent company Sony Music. Starting ...

(born 1998), musician *

Jen Brister Jennifer Helen Brister (born 9 February 1975) is a British stand-up comedian, writer and actress from London. Life and career Early life Brister was born in Kingston upon Thames, Greater London, in 1975 to a British father and a Spanish mothe ...

, stand-up comedian *

James Cripps James Cripps is an artist and musician from Kensal Rise, London. He studied at Richmond upon Thames College. His 2009 art exhibition was with other young artists who went by the group name of 'Anklebiter'. The show received with acclaim, the cen ...

, musician and artist *

Ray Dorset Raymond Edward Dorset (born 21 March 1946) is a British guitarist, singer, songwriter, and founder of Mungo Jerry. He composed most of the songs for the band, including the hit record, hit single (music), singles "In the Summertime", "Baby Ju ...

, founder of

Mungo Jerry Mungo Jerry (formerly known as Mungo Jerry Blues Band) are a British rock band formed by Ray Dorset in Ashford, Middlesex, in 1970. Experiencing their greatest success in the early 1970s, with a changing line-up always fronted by Dorset, the ...

(as Twickenham College of Technology) *

Caroline Flint Caroline Louise Flint (born 20 September 1961) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Don Valley from 1997 to 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she attended the Cabinet as Minister for Housing and Planning in ...

(born 1961), Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Don Valley from

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

* Lava La Rue (born 1998), musician and director * Alan Mehdizadeh (born 1982), stage and screen actor * David Orobosa Omoregie (born 1998), musician * Fionn Whitehead (born 1997), actor

Notes

{{Authority control 1977 establishments in England Educational institutions established in 1977 Education in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Further education colleges in London Twickenham