Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge has been named as one of the best 30 state schools in the country.
According to Tatler magazine, the college is among the “creme de la creme” of educational facilities in the country as it’s a “university in microcosm”.
Last year, 92 per cent of the college’s A-level grades were A*-C, with more than half being A* or A in 2013 and it won an award from the Sunday Times towards the end of 2013 for being the best state sixth form college.
One ex-pupil told the magazine that the college provides “long hours, a lot of homework, no hand-holding – and that sense of being a little fish in a big pond” to students.
The magazine added that the college was quite daunting at first with its 2,000 students and that pupils were expected to be self-motivated and organise their time themselves.
Traditionally, the magazine, known for its high-brow status, publishes a guide to the best public schools in the country. However, this year it has published a guide to the best state schools for the first time, claiming that it is now too expensive for many people to send their children to fee-paying schools.