The Sixth Form College, Colchester is situated on North Hill in central Colchester

Colchester

Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...

, Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Established in 1987, it provides further education in the north Essex area.
The College has consistently ranked highly on the AS/A-level performance tables http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/cgi-bin/performancetables/group_06.pl?Mode=Z&Type=LA&No=881&Base=a&Year=06&Phase=2&F=51&L=100 in which the results have been above the national average and the average for Essex. The College was assessed as 'outstanding' by OFSTED in 2007/08, including 'outstanding' assessments in all 11 inspection categories.

History

The College is located on the former site of the Gilberd School

Gilberd School

The Gilberd School, established in 1912, is a comprehensive school in Colchester, England.-History:The school originally opened on 12 July 1912 in buildings on North Hill, Colchester...

. Parts of the building constructed in the last ten years were designed by local architects Martin Wilesmith and Bob Ward of the Roff Marsh Partnership..

In 1994 Blur

Blur (band)

Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...

 played a show at the college - three out of four members of Blur have links with Colchester, with drummer Dave Rowntree

Dave Rowntree

David Alexander De Horne Rowntree is an English solicitor, musician, animator, and political activist. He is best known as the drummer of the alternative rock band Blur...

 having attended the Gilberd School.

Courses

The College offers courses and qualifications to more than 3100 students - including a large range of AS-Levels and A-Levels; GCSEs; and since 2003, the International Baccalaureate. It is mandatory for students studying AS/A-levels to take at least 5 academic subjects; most A-level courses have six lessons per week.

Additional studies

An extensive Additional Studies programme is run to suit individual interests or to support a career aim. Most courses run over two terms for between one and three periods a week, and some lead to nationally recognized qualifications.

The college's music Additional Studies are notable. It has an orchestra, a band, a choir, and has many music events throughout the year. Instrumental lessons are provided at college at a subsidised cost, and students taking music A-level or IB receive half an hour's free music tuition each week. The Essex Music Foundation also pays for the college's students to take grade 5 and 8 instrumental and theory exams, using the exam board ABRSM.

Departments

• Art and Design
  • Art
  • Photography
  • History of Art
  • Sculpture
• Biology
  • Biology
  • Applied Science
• Business Studies and Economics
  • Accounting
  • Business Studies
  • Applied Business
  • Economics
• Chemistry
  • Chemistry
  • Science In Society
• Computing
  • Computing
  • ICT
• Critical Thinking
• English
  • English language
  • English Literature
  • English Language & Literature
• General Studies
• Geography
  • Geography
  • Geology
  • Environmental Science
  • World Development
• History
  • Archaeology
  • Classical Civilisation
  • History - Modern
  • History - Tudors
  • History - Medieval
  • Politics
  • Ancient History
• Law
  • Law
  • Citizenship

• Mathematics
  • Mathematics
  • Further Mathematics
  • Use of Mathematics
  • Statistics
• Media and Film Studies
  • Media
  • Film
  • Communication & Culture
• Modern Languages
  • French
  • German
  • Italian
  • Spanish
• Performing Arts
  • Dance
  • Drama
  • Music
  • Music Technology
  • Performance Studies
• Philosophy and Religious Studies
  • Philosophy
  • Religious Studies
• Physical Education
• Physics
  • Physics
  • Electronics
• Psychology
• Sociology
  • Sociology
  • Anthropology
• Technology
  • Graphics
  • Technology (Product Design)
  • Food Technology
  • Textiles

Committees and representation

The Sixth Form College, Colchester has a college council which includes committees for Arts, Social, Charities, Environmental, International and Sports (primarily student-run). Executive positions include a Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and Public Relations officer.

Coffee bar - Russ Shop and Ethical Café

A student volunteer-run facility that serves hot and cold drinks, and snacks. It is a Fairtrade, not-for-profit organisation supporting the Russ Foundation in India. It is open from September to May each year.

College magazine

The college produces a magazine. All the articles are written by students. In the academic year 2010/2011 the magazine was called 'Banter'.

Student radio

The college has run its own radio station (Storm Radio) since 1995. The shows are presented by students from both years and make use of mixed genres of music, while the station itself functions and is treated by the music industry as any other commercial radio station. The station can be received on 999AM/999MW in the College area and across the IT network in most classroom locations. It can also be picked up in certain areas around Colchester Town Centre. It usually broadcasts for 2 and a half hours a day, although for a one off special in 2002 it broadcast for 24 consecutive hours.

Notable alumni

• Dermot O'Leary
  Dermot O'Leary
  Dermot O'Leary is an English television and radio presenter. He established himself as a presenter of Big Brother's Little Brother on Channel 4 before moving on to The X Factor on ITV. O'Leary has also presented on the BBC and has his own radio show on BBC Radio 2...
  
  , television and radio presenter
• Coffin Joe, founding member of punk rock band The Horrors
  The Horrors
  The Horrors are an English band from Southend on Sea, formed in 2005. Their debut Strange House, was released in 2007 and reached number thirty-seven on the UK Albums Chart, their second album Primary Colours was released in 2009 and peaked at number 25 in the UK...
  
  
• Jamie Lidell
  Jamie Lidell
  Jamie Lidell is an English musician and soul singer living in Nashville, United States...
  
  , electronic musician
• Luke Wright
  Luke Wright (poet)
  Luke Wright is a British poet.Born in Hackney in 1982 Luke Wright was adopted as a baby and moved to North-Essex where he was raised.Inspired by Martin Newell and John Cooper Clarke he began writing and performing poetry aged 17, whilst still at sixth form college in Colchester. He soon met fellow...
  
  - poet

External links