Study with us

Prospective applicants FAQs

We have answered some of the most common admissions questions below. We recommend checking this page first, as you may find the information you need without having to contact the Admissions Team.

If you cannot find an answer to your question, or if your circumstances are not covered here, please get in touch with the Admissions Office and we will be happy to help.

Predicted grades and teacher references

As part of your application, your current school must provide a personal reference and your predicted GCSE grades. If you have already achieved any GCSE grades (for example, if you sat an exam early in Year 10), these actual grades should also be included.

For schools listed on MyChoice16 (you can review the list here), grades and references will be uploaded by your school by the application closing date. All other applicants will be required to enter their predicted grades as part of the application process. Once submitted, your nominated referee will check and amend your predicted grades, as necessary, and provide your reference.

The College can only accept predicted GCSE grades that are submitted by the 12 January 2026 application deadline. Grades cannot be updated after this point, even if newer predictions or mock exam results become available; only grade errors will be updated. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that their application includes the most recent and accurate predicted GCSE grades before the application deadline.

Applicants with an EHCP

Where applicants currently have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and intend to name Hills Road as their first-choice post-16 centre, their Local Education Authority must send a written placement consultation to the College. This must include a copy of the most recent annual review and the up-to-date EHCP, so the College can ensure it can meet the applicant’s needs.

Please note: A member of the College’s Study Skills team should be invited to the applicant’s Year 11 EHCP annual review to discuss transition planning.

Applicants from outside the UK

Our Admissions Policy requires applicants to apply from their permanent address at the time of application. Students must live at a permanent address with their parents or legal carers within a sustainable commute of the College at the point of application in January.

Sustainable commute

Students must live at a permanent address with their parents or legal guardians within a sustainable commute of the College at the point of application in January. This would typically be up to one hour each way. We will consider local travel options and make a judgement about whether the journey is sustainable.

Post-results

If you were not made an offer in March, then we welcome re-applications via the post-results window.

I have applied through MyChoice16 instead of Applicaa

If you have submitted your application through MyChoice16 but your school is not listed on the platform, please do not worry. Once we have received your reference and predicted grades, we will transfer your application to our internal system, Applicaa.

After your application has been transferred, we cannot accept further changes through MyChoice16. Please contact the Admissions Team if you need to update your application.

Changing my subject choices or order of preference

If you have submitted your application through Applicaa and would like to change your chosen subjects, please contact the Admissions team.

If you only wish to change the order of your subjects, you do not need to do this now. In February, you will be asked to confirm your final subject choices in order of preference through your course confirmation. We use these confirmed choices and their order when making offers.

Guidance meetings

Meeting the entry requirements for all your chosen subjects does not guarantee that you will be invited to a guidance meeting or receive an offer. The number and pattern of applications each year determine who we can invite to guidance meetings and the offers we can make at the end of March.

Applicants who qualify for at least three A level subjects, or who could qualify for a three A level programme by changing their subject choices, will be invited to a guidance meeting where space allows.

If we receive more applications than places available, we will follow the offer decision process set out in section 14 of our Admissions Policy.