Richard Huish College is a further education and sixth-form college in Taunton, Somerset, England. Located on a single site in South Road, about a mile from the centre of Taunton, it offers Level 2 Pathways, Level 3 A Level and Vocational courses, Education Apprenticeships and AAT Accountancy qualifications.
The college has around 2,200 students and is one of only a few state sixth form colleges to offer boarding.
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History
The college is named after Richard Huish, a Taunton wool merchant in the 17th century who invested in property in London. He died in 1615 and his will included an endowment to establish almshouses in Taunton and support local people's university education. Increased income from the properties in the nineteenth century allowed this to be expanded to create both boys and girls schools in Taunton. Huish's Grammar School, the boys' school, opened in 1875 in what are now the town's Municipal Buildings but by 1891 had moved to East Street. The girls' school opened in The Crescent in 1876 but the charity was unable to support both schools so the girls' school was funded by Bishop Fox's endowment from 1890. It became a sixth form college in 1979.
Campus
The college occupies a site of 8 hectares (20 acres), of which 70% is sports fields, in the south of Taunton. Its buildings, which range in age from 1880 to 2015, take their names from some of the trees that cover the campus. The site is alleged to have previously been an Arboretum.
Over the period 2000–2009, a variety of building projects resulted in;
Willow, housing the Willow Café (serving both hot and cold drinks and food options alongside a smaller seating area than the Redwood Kitchen), spaces for History, Law, A Level Business, Economics, Modern Foreign Languages and Psychology.
A renovation in 2025 upgraded the IT help desk area, moving it from Beech to the downstairs area of Willow.
Hawthorn, housing Student Services (otherwise known as H1), Public Services, English and Sports Studies
Linden, providing a space for tutorials
Rowan House, housing the offices of various teachers and the Apprenticeship Team
In 2003, the Learning Centre, situated in the heart of the campus, which is named after the science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, a former pupil of Huish's Grammar School, was extended and completely refurbished.
The Learning Centre now contains several study areas including places for both static computers and laptops, a library containing books and DVD's on several different topics, areas for reading and quiet study, a dedicated classroom and a closed off "silent zone" for either quiet study or lessons as required. Various pieces of equipment are also available for "loan", including cameras, laptops and textbooks.
In 2006 the sports dome was opened, which at the time was a ground breaking project for an inflatable dome for sports. Plans were formed to replace this during 2016 with a state of the art sports facility including a viewing area, gym, changing areas and a classroom for sports students. The project was completed in January 2017 and was named the Sycamore Sports Hall.
Curriculum
The college offers A Level and BTEC subjects. There are more than 45 subjects offered at A Level (Level 3). As well as traditional school subjects, many other A Level subjects are offered such as archaeology, classical civilisation, dance, economics, environmental studies, geology, government and politics, law, photography, psychology, sociology and statistics.
A range of BTEC courses (Level 3 vocational courses equivalent to A Levels) are offered. They include applied science, business, creative media production, graphic design, health and social care/health sciences, information technology, music production, popular music and sport. A small number of GCSEs are offered for those wanting to progress to the sixth form.
The college also delivers apprenticeships and traineeships in the areas of accountancy, medical administration, business and administration, call centre operations, customer service, healthcare, IT user and IT professional, team leading and management, health and social care. At Level 4 and above, the college offers FdA and BA degrees in business and sports development and coaching, and professional courses in Accountancy (AAT, ACCA and CIMA) and Institute of Leadership and Management course (ILM). There are also short courses in computer skills and bespoke training services.
Sport
Richard Huish College has access to several different sporting facilities, including the Ash Meadows rugby pitch, the playing field and the Sycamore Sports Hall, which comes with an indoor sports hall and a gym which can be accessed through a payment to the college. The college is the home of Huish Tigers basketball teams and academy.
Huish Sport runs a sports enrichment programme. Each year, over 500 students participate in Huish Sport across 19 different sports.
Richard Huish College currently provides several ways to represent the college through sport, including both team and individual sports. The sports included in this are Basketball, Cricket, Cross Country/Athletics, Equestrian, Football, Hockey (for students who own their own horse), Netball, Racquet Sports, Rugby and Volleyball. Many of these teams regularly compete both regionally and on a national level.
There is also the 'Active Huish' scheme which encourages students to take part in sports they previously would not have considered and also provides a more relaxed atmosphere in which to exercise. There are several sports on offer, such as Yoga, Table Tennis, Boccia, 3v3 Basketball, Badminton and Volleyball, alongside the chance to take part in Self Defence courses.
Exam results
The college's A2-Level exam results are as follows:
2003/2004 - 99.3% pass rate
2004/2005 - 99.7% pass rate: A-B: 71%
2005/2006 - 99.8%+ pass rate: A-B: 75%
2006/2007 - 99.2%+ pass rate: A-B: 74%
2007/2008 - 99%+ pass rate: A-B: 55%
2008/2009 - 99%+ pass rate: A-B: 69%
2009/2010 - 99.3% pass rate: A-B: 55.9%
2010/2011 - 99.4% pass rate: A-B: 58.8%
2011/2012 - 99.1% pass rate: A-B: 56.5%
2012/2013 - 99.1% pass rate: A-B: 55.2%
2013/2014 - 98.7% pass rate: A-B: 55%
2014/2015 - 99% pass rate: A-B: 57%
Notable students
Gareth Andrew, cricketer currently playing for Oxfordshire, former player of Worcestershire, Somerset and Hampshire Cricket Clubs
Andrew Castle, former British number one tennis player and television presenter
Matt Chorley, journalist and broadcaster.
Arthur C. Clarke, author and inventor
Stephen Daldry, film and theatre director. His films include Billy Elliot (2000), The Hours (2002), The Reader (2008) and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)
Mike Downey, film producer
Neil Edwards, former Somerset and Nottinghamshire cricketer
Tim Emmett, adventure climber, and one of the world's leading ice climbers.
Carl Gazzard, former County Cricketer for Somerset
William Gibson, professor of ecclesiastical history at Oxford Brookes University
Rebecca Huxtable, producer and co-presenter of The Scott Mills Show on BBC Radio 1
Jack Leach, England international cricketer currently playing for Somerset County Cricket Club
Hannah McKeand, polar explorer who set the record for the fastest journey to the South Pole in 2006
Keith Parsons, cricketer
Michael Parsons, former player of Somerset County Cricket Club