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Original post by mkr_08
I'm interested in applying to Hills Road but have heard many mixed opinions about the school and am unsure if it would be the right fit for me. Does anyone who is going/has gone their have any opinions or advice?
the social aspect of hills is great, the atmosphere, the freedom, the new people and variety of opportunities to meet new people- societies, lessons, enrichment, form etc. so if you want to develop socially or a social life is important to you then it’s a plus. If you thrive on or are motivated by being the best of your class or people seeing you as smart then it may not be the best because you are in a college full of equally or smarter people than you, not necessarily bad but can be a shock to the system, but you will learn this at uni or the real world anyway so it may be a positive. the work load is significantly high so you need to keep up with it or you can fall behind easily, but i’ve found my teachers are quite understanding if you ask for an extension or help. I do essay/ humanity subjects tho so I’m not certain of science subjects but I have friends who do science subjects and it seems like a lot aswell and i’ve heard some science teachers can be quite strict but i’m not certain. not sure if i helped but hope i managed to give you stuff to think about
Thanks so much, I’m starting hills road this September… so excited
Original post by mkr_08
I'm interested in applying to Hills Road but have heard many mixed opinions about the school and am unsure if it would be the right fit for me. Does anyone who is going/has gone their have any opinions or advice?
im just a yr 10 but a local
i suggest going to their open evening if possible. you can book sometime in june and the dates are Sat 8th (10am-4/5pm) and Mon 10th july(5pm-8pm) from the top of my head, double check their website. also you can sign up to the email to be notified of the booking for the open evening.
from what i heard hills does expect more in terms of grades and does put pressure and gives more work but it is 1 of the best state sixth forms. Also it depends how you work and what environment works best for you! so if could let ppl know abt how you do in terms of e.g workload it could help others leting you know if it may be suitable.
But nethertheless go to the open evening to get a personal insight abt it
Original post by mkr_08
I'm interested in applying to Hills Road but have heard many mixed opinions about the school and am unsure if it would be the right fit for me. Does anyone who is going/has gone their have any opinions or advice?
Hi I'm a yr 13 leaving hills to go to uni. it can be a lot of work and you have to be independent especially in year 12 but its very worth it as unis love seeing hills on an application. The people there are really lovely too
Original post by anviv
Hi I'm a yr 13 leaving hills to go to uni. it can be a lot of work and you have to be independent especially in year 12 but its very worth it as unis love seeing hills on an application. The people there are really lovely too
I'm just curious but how does the EPQ work and and subjects did u take in hills? I'm interested in the stem area
Original post by Trickia
I'm just curious but how does the EPQ work and and subjects did u take in hills? I'm interested in the stem area
hi, i can help with the epq but not really the stem area subjects (i do all essay subjects)- you don’t start epq till about october. you have an epq session every other week (may be every week at the start). You start with ideas and stuff like the research and admin side of the project, and then you will be told to start doing the actual project part slightly later (either dissertation or artefact). The summer after yr12 can be used to complete but you’re advised to start it before. It can’t be content you actually cover in a class- but can be in the field of your subjects (e.g. can be based on psychology or something to do with it but can’t be on something you learn in class). The project is highly based on development of skills and you will explain those- so if you were to do all essay subjects, a dissertation may be harder to prove development so harder to get a higher grade. Also the project is only done in year 12 and the summer if you leave it till then, not yr 13. Hope that kind of helps. Don’t worry- it becomes more independent later in the year but at the start you just follow what your tutors say and set for you to do.
Original post by noclue678
hi, i can help with the epq but not really the stem area subjects (i do all essay subjects)- you don’t start epq till about october. you have an epq session every other week (may be every week at the start). You start with ideas and stuff like the research and admin side of the project, and then you will be told to start doing the actual project part slightly later (either dissertation or artefact). The summer after yr12 can be used to complete but you’re advised to start it before. It can’t be content you actually cover in a class- but can be in the field of your subjects (e.g. can be based on psychology or something to do with it but can’t be on something you learn in class). The project is highly based on development of skills and you will explain those- so if you were to do all essay subjects, a dissertation may be harder to prove development so harder to get a higher grade. Also the project is only done in year 12 and the summer if you leave it till then, not yr 13. Hope that kind of helps. Don’t worry- it becomes more independent later in the year but at the start you just follow what your tutors say and set for you to do.
Don't worry about it! Thanks for the info btw what's dissertion and artefact? Is dissertion an essay kinda thing and artefact more creative?
Original post by Trickia
Don't worry about it! Thanks for the info btw what's dissertion and artefact? Is dissertion an essay kinda thing and artefact more creative?
yes, a dissertation has a certain amount of words (can’t remember how many) and is like a long extensive essay, an artefact is anything that really falls out of that. It can be making a physical project like knitting or an art piece or can be online like a blog or something like that.
(edited 11 months ago)
Original post by noclue678
yes, a dissertation has a certain amount of words (can’t remember how many) and is like a long extensive essay, an artefact is anything that really falls out of that. It can be making a physical project like knitting or an art piece or can be online like a blog or something like that.
Alrighty, thanks again!
as a current student id say really avoid slacking, its very hard to catch up especially because they go through content so quickly. epq sucks and most people leave it until summer because it just gets in the way of studies, dont let it take up your study time because good a levels are worth infinitely more. try to pay attention as much as possible in class and do your homework asap because it helps with retention. theres a lot of pressure with grades so the healthiest mindset is to avoid comparison and focus on you and what you want, because imo grades at this point are a measure of how you spend your time outside of school and how effectively you know how to study, not ability or intelligence. some departments are very strict about performance like maths, and will put you in a lot of intervention stuff and can be harsh if youre underperforming, but they dont really bother you if youre getting Bs and above. the jump from gcse to a level can be discouraging, but even if youre getting lower grades than your peers at the start, that does not mean you'll come out with lower grades. theres a good social life at hills and most friend groups change around all the time so there doesnt need to be a rush to make friends, you can kinda just join people halfway through the year. if youre having difficulties with studies and tests be open about it to your teachers because most do care. i find the school pretty pressurised but i dont dislike being there and i like all my subjects, so another thing is really make sure you like your subjects and research other subjects to switch to to make sure you dont get stuck with one you hate
(edited 11 months ago)
Original post by Trickia
im just a yr 10 but a local
i suggest going to their open evening if possible. you can book sometime in june and the dates are Sat 8th (10am-4/5pm) and Mon 10th july(5pm-8pm) from the top of my head, double check their website. also you can sign up to the email to be notified of the booking for the open evening.
from what i heard hills does expect more in terms of grades and does put pressure and gives more work but it is 1 of the best state sixth forms. Also it depends how you work and what environment works best for you! so if could let ppl know abt how you do in terms of e.g workload it could help others leting you know if it may be suitable.
But nethertheless go to the open evening to get a personal insight abt it
i suggest going to their open evening if possible. you can book sometime in june and the dates are Sat 8th (10am-4/5pm) and Mon 10th july(5pm-8pm) from the top of my head, double check their website. also you can sign up to the email to be notified of the booking for the open evening.
from what i heard hills does expect more in terms of grades and does put pressure and gives more work but it is 1 of the best state sixth forms. Also it depends how you work and what environment works best for you! so if could let ppl know abt how you do in terms of e.g workload it could help others leting you know if it may be suitable.
But nethertheless go to the open evening to get a personal insight abt it
Update: the open evenings are avaliable for booking and places are running out quick so if you want to go I suggest booking now has hills is v popular
Hi! I left hills road last year, so I had the full experience. I personally hated my time there. Loved the teachers - it's great seeing staff be actually passionate about their subjects, and the university admissions help is very important (genuinely makes such a difference).
HOWEVER, found the people incredibly posh and pretentious. This is mostly exacerbated by my background and coming from a below average school - but being surrounded by private/grammar school people and ski trip frequenters made me feel very isolated and out of place. I did find some good friends by the end of it, but because I'm from outside Cambridge I found it very hard to join a group as many people from cambs secondaries will stay in their pre-existing friend groups.
HOWEVER, found the people incredibly posh and pretentious. This is mostly exacerbated by my background and coming from a below average school - but being surrounded by private/grammar school people and ski trip frequenters made me feel very isolated and out of place. I did find some good friends by the end of it, but because I'm from outside Cambridge I found it very hard to join a group as many people from cambs secondaries will stay in their pre-existing friend groups.
Original post by isabelbelle
Hi! I left hills road last year, so I had the full experience. I personally hated my time there. Loved the teachers - it's great seeing staff be actually passionate about their subjects, and the university admissions help is very important (genuinely makes such a difference).
HOWEVER, found the people incredibly posh and pretentious. This is mostly exacerbated by my background and coming from a below average school - but being surrounded by private/grammar school people and ski trip frequenters made me feel very isolated and out of place. I did find some good friends by the end of it, but because I'm from outside Cambridge I found it very hard to join a group as many people from cambs secondaries will stay in their pre-existing friend groups.
HOWEVER, found the people incredibly posh and pretentious. This is mostly exacerbated by my background and coming from a below average school - but being surrounded by private/grammar school people and ski trip frequenters made me feel very isolated and out of place. I did find some good friends by the end of it, but because I'm from outside Cambridge I found it very hard to join a group as many people from cambs secondaries will stay in their pre-existing friend groups.
Hi! That's really helpful as I'd be coming from outside of Cambridge as well. Just wondering, do they have any support systems in place for that kind of thing or just ways to meet people in general?
Original post by isabelbelle
Hi! I left hills road last year, so I had the full experience. I personally hated my time there. Loved the teachers - it's great seeing staff be actually passionate about their subjects, and the university admissions help is very important (genuinely makes such a difference).
HOWEVER, found the people incredibly posh and pretentious. This is mostly exacerbated by my background and coming from a below average school - but being surrounded by private/grammar school people and ski trip frequenters made me feel very isolated and out of place. I did find some good friends by the end of it, but because I'm from outside Cambridge I found it very hard to join a group as many people from cambs secondaries will stay in their pre-existing friend groups.
HOWEVER, found the people incredibly posh and pretentious. This is mostly exacerbated by my background and coming from a below average school - but being surrounded by private/grammar school people and ski trip frequenters made me feel very isolated and out of place. I did find some good friends by the end of it, but because I'm from outside Cambridge I found it very hard to join a group as many people from cambs secondaries will stay in their pre-existing friend groups.
thanks i'm out of cambridge aswell but still part of cambridgeshire - its very sad to hear that, glad you made some good friends
they usually take applications from cap schools so im a bit surpised about there being a lot of privat/grammar kids but fyi not all kids are like that so please don't misunderstand
Former Hills Road student here, currently studying physics at Warwick university
My impression of Hills Road was terrible- I consider this my greatest mistake academically, and should have remained in the Perse school.
I was doing Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.
Maths was horrible. You had good teachers mixed in with truly horrible individuals, one who once told me, in front of the entire class, that I would fail in my dream career. I've forgotten the names of 2021's lecturers in Maths which I had, but they were devastating. You had a teacher squealing at her jokes for half of the lesson instead of actually teaching. The quality of teaching you will get depends on which teachers you get. You may get away with good teachers, or you will find yourself with terrible teachers, with all the resulting consequences.
Physics was horrible. The material covered was boring and nearly resulted in a loss of motivation which was reflected in my A-level grades. The teachers were mostly fine, but the quality of teaching was truly awful.
Chemistry was on an entirely different level. Lessons were dull and boring and poorly-explained, and there were repeated instances of me getting predicted low grades the head of department getting involved and sorting it out, and so on and so forth. I came to Hills Road passionate about Chemistry, and now I do not want to -ever- say a single word about the subject or read a single text on it ever again, and that was entirely because of these teachers.
My EPQ experience was horrendous. I made a huge dissertation. My tutor rated it an A. Academics who saw my text became interested in having me as an intern, saying it is 'incredible', whilst world-leading experts in the field then heard about my project and wanted to find out more about it.
My tutor deserves a special mention. The thing is, she is extremely young and I think not ready for this sort of thing, because what happened between us is not professional or appropriate. I was repeatedly told that 'I was not the best', hinted heavily that 'only geniuses go there, and you are not that' and so on like that.
The grades I got saw me resit the exams. I tried to do it at Hills Road, who said that I shouldn't even bother, because very experienced teachers were very lenient about my grades.
I resat the exams and got into Warwick university physics somehow (I think barely and only because the course was new)
And literally a few weeks ago, I was awarded a first-class grade for my year. The professor I spoke to described it as a 'very high first', and three of my module results exceeded 80%, and one exceeded 90%
So yes, in all, Hills Road is not a recommended sixth form college in my eyes
My impression of Hills Road was terrible- I consider this my greatest mistake academically, and should have remained in the Perse school.
I was doing Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.
Maths was horrible. You had good teachers mixed in with truly horrible individuals, one who once told me, in front of the entire class, that I would fail in my dream career. I've forgotten the names of 2021's lecturers in Maths which I had, but they were devastating. You had a teacher squealing at her jokes for half of the lesson instead of actually teaching. The quality of teaching you will get depends on which teachers you get. You may get away with good teachers, or you will find yourself with terrible teachers, with all the resulting consequences.
Physics was horrible. The material covered was boring and nearly resulted in a loss of motivation which was reflected in my A-level grades. The teachers were mostly fine, but the quality of teaching was truly awful.
Chemistry was on an entirely different level. Lessons were dull and boring and poorly-explained, and there were repeated instances of me getting predicted low grades the head of department getting involved and sorting it out, and so on and so forth. I came to Hills Road passionate about Chemistry, and now I do not want to -ever- say a single word about the subject or read a single text on it ever again, and that was entirely because of these teachers.
My EPQ experience was horrendous. I made a huge dissertation. My tutor rated it an A. Academics who saw my text became interested in having me as an intern, saying it is 'incredible', whilst world-leading experts in the field then heard about my project and wanted to find out more about it.
My tutor deserves a special mention. The thing is, she is extremely young and I think not ready for this sort of thing, because what happened between us is not professional or appropriate. I was repeatedly told that 'I was not the best', hinted heavily that 'only geniuses go there, and you are not that' and so on like that.
The grades I got saw me resit the exams. I tried to do it at Hills Road, who said that I shouldn't even bother, because very experienced teachers were very lenient about my grades.
I resat the exams and got into Warwick university physics somehow (I think barely and only because the course was new)
And literally a few weeks ago, I was awarded a first-class grade for my year. The professor I spoke to described it as a 'very high first', and three of my module results exceeded 80%, and one exceeded 90%
So yes, in all, Hills Road is not a recommended sixth form college in my eyes
Original post by sandrasandi
you relied too much on the teaching
lolol why are you getting mad that someone tries to from teachers??? like bad teachers are bad.... u don't have to defend them...
Original post by toothysmile
lolol why are you getting mad that someone tries to from teachers??? like bad teachers are bad.... u don't have to defend them...
because I've had most of the teachers he's talking about. and blaming them for his own failures is pretty cringe, if your teacher is terrible in sixth form you learn the stuff yourself, no way around it. he has the typical entitled private school attitude
Original post by hypercolius
Former Hills Road student here, currently studying physics at Warwick university
My impression of Hills Road was terrible- I consider this my greatest mistake academically, and should have remained in the Perse school.
I was doing Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.
Maths was horrible. You had good teachers mixed in with truly horrible individuals, one who once told me, in front of the entire class, that I would fail in my dream career. I've forgotten the names of 2021's lecturers in Maths which I had, but they were devastating. You had a teacher squealing at her jokes for half of the lesson instead of actually teaching. The quality of teaching you will get depends on which teachers you get. You may get away with good teachers, or you will find yourself with terrible teachers, with all the resulting consequences.
Physics was horrible. The material covered was boring and nearly resulted in a loss of motivation which was reflected in my A-level grades. The teachers were mostly fine, but the quality of teaching was truly awful.
Chemistry was on an entirely different level. Lessons were dull and boring and poorly-explained, and there were repeated instances of me getting predicted low grades the head of department getting involved and sorting it out, and so on and so forth. I came to Hills Road passionate about Chemistry, and now I do not want to -ever- say a single word about the subject or read a single text on it ever again, and that was entirely because of these teachers.
My EPQ experience was horrendous. I made a huge dissertation. My tutor rated it an A. Academics who saw my text became interested in having me as an intern, saying it is 'incredible', whilst world-leading experts in the field then heard about my project and wanted to find out more about it.
My tutor deserves a special mention. The thing is, she is extremely young and I think not ready for this sort of thing, because what happened between us is not professional or appropriate. I was repeatedly told that 'I was not the best', hinted heavily that 'only geniuses go there, and you are not that' and so on like that.
The grades I got saw me resit the exams. I tried to do it at Hills Road, who said that I shouldn't even bother, because very experienced teachers were very lenient about my grades.
I resat the exams and got into Warwick university physics somehow (I think barely and only because the course was new)
And literally a few weeks ago, I was awarded a first-class grade for my year. The professor I spoke to described it as a 'very high first', and three of my module results exceeded 80%, and one exceeded 90%
So yes, in all, Hills Road is not a recommended sixth form college in my eyes
My impression of Hills Road was terrible- I consider this my greatest mistake academically, and should have remained in the Perse school.
I was doing Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.
Maths was horrible. You had good teachers mixed in with truly horrible individuals, one who once told me, in front of the entire class, that I would fail in my dream career. I've forgotten the names of 2021's lecturers in Maths which I had, but they were devastating. You had a teacher squealing at her jokes for half of the lesson instead of actually teaching. The quality of teaching you will get depends on which teachers you get. You may get away with good teachers, or you will find yourself with terrible teachers, with all the resulting consequences.
Physics was horrible. The material covered was boring and nearly resulted in a loss of motivation which was reflected in my A-level grades. The teachers were mostly fine, but the quality of teaching was truly awful.
Chemistry was on an entirely different level. Lessons were dull and boring and poorly-explained, and there were repeated instances of me getting predicted low grades the head of department getting involved and sorting it out, and so on and so forth. I came to Hills Road passionate about Chemistry, and now I do not want to -ever- say a single word about the subject or read a single text on it ever again, and that was entirely because of these teachers.
My EPQ experience was horrendous. I made a huge dissertation. My tutor rated it an A. Academics who saw my text became interested in having me as an intern, saying it is 'incredible', whilst world-leading experts in the field then heard about my project and wanted to find out more about it.
My tutor deserves a special mention. The thing is, she is extremely young and I think not ready for this sort of thing, because what happened between us is not professional or appropriate. I was repeatedly told that 'I was not the best', hinted heavily that 'only geniuses go there, and you are not that' and so on like that.
The grades I got saw me resit the exams. I tried to do it at Hills Road, who said that I shouldn't even bother, because very experienced teachers were very lenient about my grades.
I resat the exams and got into Warwick university physics somehow (I think barely and only because the course was new)
And literally a few weeks ago, I was awarded a first-class grade for my year. The professor I spoke to described it as a 'very high first', and three of my module results exceeded 80%, and one exceeded 90%
So yes, in all, Hills Road is not a recommended sixth form college in my eyes
you reported my original reply so I'm gonna say the syllabus is designed by the exam board not the teachers, EPQ has a specific criteria and you had a levels in a year were the grades *were* lenient. this was all in your control stop blaming other people
Original post by sandrasandi
because I've had most of the teachers he's talking about. and blaming them for his own failures is pretty cringe, if your teacher is terrible in sixth form you learn the stuff yourself, no way around it. he has the typical entitled private school attitude
Yeah you should learn the syllabus yourself if you have a bad teacher but the larger problem is that some teachers are bad and we should hold bad teachers accountable, if teachers don't teach then whats the point of going to school if its just a huge waste of time, you would be better off self-studying. People go to school to get taught... If people held bad teaching accountable then teachers would get better at teaching and then everybody wins as teachers get better at teaching and students get better teachers...
To me this doesn't feel like a 'entitled private school attitude' but more like the teachers are bad and he wants to warn others about bad teaching... Also personal attacks don't make an argument more valid or make you more correct...
(edited 8 months ago)
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