Art and Design
Take your creative ideas and skills on to the next level in Art & Design.
Hills Road brings on board new specialist teaching space for Art and Photography
Hills Road Sixth Form College is expanding its accommodation with new specialist facilities for Art and Photography students, close to our main campus.
Published on 24/09/2026
New rooms in a familiar spot around the corner...
Work is underway on the first floor of the Rattee & Kett building at School House in Homerton Gardens, just around the corner from the College, with some Art classes already taking place there.
Owned by neighbouring Homerton College of the University of Cambridge, the first floor of the building is being adapted for teaching, with specialist Photography facilities coming into use as the fit-out progresses.
The additional space is a first step in increasing capacity as Hills Road responds to growing demand for sixth-form places: student numbers have risen by almost 50% since 2014, from 2,050 to 3,050.
Ali Kirkman, Principal of Hills Road, said, “We are delighted to take up a lease on the first floor of the Rattee & Kett building."
“This nearby accommodation creates some much-needed breathing space on our main site,” Ali continued, “while providing a modern, bright and airy environment where our Art and Photography students can be really creative.”
She added, “This is an important first step in our longer-term plans to adapt and enhance our teaching accommodation in response to rising demand for sixth-form places and the changing needs of our students and the wider region.
"We hope to secure further capital investment to develop additional specialist teaching facilities and ensure our estate continues to support the opportunities our students need.”
For the Art & Design department, the new studios offer the opportunity to create an environment specifically designed around creative learning.
Tim Winn, Head of Art & Design, said: “It’s a really impressive space and an exciting opportunity for our Art and Photography students. The bright, dedicated studios will give them greater freedom to experiment, work at scale and develop their own creative ideas.
“We encourage our students to be ambitious, curious and willing to take creative risks, and the environment they work in can play an important part in that. We’re looking forward to seeing what they do with the space and how they make it their own.”
Art & Design students at Hills Road are encouraged to develop their own creative direction while experimenting with a wide range of media, techniques and ways of working. These can include painting, sculpture, printmaking, graphic communication, textiles and fashion, and digital media.
Bringing the new accommodation into use forms part of the College’s wider plans to evolve its estate as demand for space continues to grow, while creating specialist teaching environments that support students to make the most of their time at Hills Road.
