"My 2 years"

A review of Hills Road Sixth Form College by -L- written on Thursday 26th of August 2004

I think your time at Hills Road is what you make of it - obviously (looking at some reviews) it's not for all. Overall, I enjoyed my time at Hills, and have just received my A-Level results (AAAa).

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My first year was a bit of a mess, particularly the first few months, the freedom and independence went to my head somewhat, as a result I gained only BCC in my AS-Levels. This was as I was too busy having fun, and didn't really feel pressured by teachers to work hard, so I find some of the other comments different from my experience. I think the pressure is only there if it comes from inside you, I don't believe you are overworked unless you want to work that hard. Only one teacher in my first term said 'get your act together, you're capable of so much more'.

I got my act together, obviously, and starting making use of some of the extra facilities & talks etc. I think getting the balance right from the start should lead to a very enjoyable time.

Many of the teachers aren't great, (nearly) all are of course very capable and always willing to help, there are many surgeries etc. available to help, but at the end of the day, the college achieves highly, predominantly, because the students are capable and hard-working.

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Most people at Hills go from being top of their school, to just one of a crowd of intelligent and capable people, this can be odd. Leaving with AAAa, I didn't feel I had achieved something special, moreover that I wasn't going to stick out in the results chart in the prospectus, I was one of the crowd. Reading the results of my local college, I see if I had gained what I did there, I would have been comfortably top of the pile. But that's obviously a by product of studying in an very academic environment; whether or not that motivates or pressures you is up to the individual.

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I still count my blessings I got in from out of catchment, I feel I am a stronger person, for the *wobbles* and the highlights and I feel well prepared to start Uni in a few weeks. I wouldn't take back my time at Hills, I went up not knowing anyone, so really had to make an effort, and have left with some fantastic friends, nearly everyone I met was lovely. Altogether, don't make your mind up before you try it, there is something there for everyone..

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