Hurstpierpoint College

An Independent Co-educational Boarding & Day College for ages 13 – 18, weekly boarding for GCSE & full boarding for A level students, 547+ pupils, County of East Sussex

About the School
Academic excellence is the bedrock of the Hurst education, not just in its own right, but because it opens the doors to the next stage of pupils’ lives. Many students who have studied to GCSE elsewhere choose to join Hurst Sixth Form. They find a warm welcome and quickly become integrated into every aspect of school life, enjoying the many opportunities for intellectual, creative, sporting and outdoor pursuit’s activities available on the College’s wonderful 140 acre, safe country campus. Hurst is proud that, with the help of both tutors and the College’s own UCAS and careers experts, the overwhelming majority of students leave to take up places on courses at their first choice of university.

Admissions
For all applicants college need a full school report with character references, their academic achievements and what they wish to study at A level. It is desirable if an IELTS test has been taken, if not an English test will be organised and for those wishing to study Maths a maths test. Hurst College will only take full boarders into sixth form; students wishing to study GCSE can join the college as weekly boarders. 

Boarding
Hurst is a very friendly and warm community. It has a genuinely family feel especially in the Houses. These are small and well-managed by a strong team of Tutors led by a Housemaster or Housemistress. Whether in a day or boarding House, pupils develop a strong send of House identity and loyalty. Hurst pupils are characteristically very supportive of each other and close friendships are often formed which last a lifetime. As boys and girls move up through the School, they assume greater responsibilities and enjoy more privileges. Through the innovative Guardian Scheme, pupils look out for one another and House Prefects take on the role of mentors and coaches.

Academic
Hurst is unashamedly ambitious for its Sixth Form and strives to ensure that every student achieves his or her true academic potential. The formal study time allocated for each subject and small class sizes ensure that subject specialists are able to pay careful attention to each individual’s needs. Students are encouraged to take ownership of both their learning and their overall academic progress and to take greater responsibility for the organisation of their time. Whether in their private study areas or the well-equipped Learn Resources Centre, effective independent study, essential for success at A level and beyond, is strongly supported and students regularly participate in seminars and make presentations on specific topics to their peers.
Sixth Form life is underpinned by a mentoring relationship between student and specialist tutor over the two years. Weekly meetings provide regular guidance and support, monitor academic progress and help students to achieve the ambitious targets set for them. Tutors join in celebrating successes and follow the extra-curricular and social progress of their tutees.
As students begin their second year, they move into St John’s, Hurst’s co-educational Upper Sixth hall of residence, designed to provide a bridge between school and beyond. As befits ‘trainee undergraduates’, every student – day or boarding – has his or her own study and, within appropriate academic and pastoral frameworks, enjoys greater freedoms and more independent control of their academic work. It is from here - working in partnership with their tutor, University application specialist and the School’s Head of Careers – that they apply to University and it is here that they focus on their final A2 studies and prepare for life after beyond A levels. 

Creative
The creative and performing arts feature in the life of every Hurst Sixth Former – be it through direct participation, helping to nurture younger talent or simply enjoying the work and performances of fellow students.
Leading the technical and creative teams that mount every School theatre production, students assist the Head of Drama in works that he directs and under his guidance, direct their own productions. Senior students mastermind every aspect of the annual production of the School Shakespeare Society (the oldest in the country). Drama and music enthusiasts combine their talents, putting on the annual School musical which plays to packed houses.
Sixth Form artists work with a rich diversity of media and techniques to produce displays throughout the School. They exhibit and discuss their latest work at evening shows. Also, students collaborate to produce sets, and sometimes costumes, for the School theatre productions.
Sixth Form musicians make the most significant contributions to Hurst’s flourishing musical life – forming bands and ensembles, arranging formal and informal performances and concerts, singing in choirs, mentoring younger pupils and organising the House entries in the School’s hotly contested annual House Music Competition.

Activities
Hurst Sixth Form students use their spare time creatively and both self-reliance and responsibility for others are encouraged. Many choose to undertake the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Aware. Others join the School’s very popular Combined Cadet Force, one of the first to be formed in the United Kingdom, comprising both Army and RAF corps. Students considering a business career find the Young Enterprise scheme offers invaluable experience.

Location
By air – Gatwick is about 30 minutes drive, Heathrow airport 90 minutes drive.
 
Visit the Hurstpierpoint College website.