Hillcroft College is a residential adult education

Adult education

Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...

 college for women, located in Surbiton

Surbiton

Surbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is situated next to the River Thames, with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, more recent residential blocks and grand, spacious 19th century townhouses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates...

 area of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London, England. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the three Royal Boroughs in England, the others are Kensington and Chelsea, also in London,...

 in South

South London

South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...

 London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England, (previously Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

).

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. In this regard, Hillcroft college is unique in the British further education

Further education

Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...

 sector. The college is owned and operated by the Hillcroft Charitable Trust

Charitable trust

A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...

.

Hillcroft College offers a range of courses including basic Literacy, Numeracy and IT

Information technology

Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...

 studies, ESOL programmes and Access course

Access course

The Access to Higher Education Diploma is a qualification which prepares students - usually mature students, although the minimum age to be able to study for an access diploma is actually nineteen - for study as an undergraduate at university...

s. The college also offers specialised courses for dyslexic learners.

Notable former staff

• Fanny Street
  Fanny Street
  Fanny Street was Acting Principal of Royal Holloway College, University of London from 1944-1945. Her brother was Arthur George Street author of Farmer's Glory.-Education:...
  
   Joint founder and first Principal 1929-33
• Eileen M Aird, former Principal, psychoanalytic psychotherapist; went on to be Clinical Director of the Women’s Therapy Centre, London