Havant and South Downs College
Claim this school or college profileCollege Road, Waterlooville, PO7 8AA
02393879999
Welcome Message
One leading college with three campuses at Alton, Havant and South Downs (Waterlooville).
HSDC is ranked highest in our area for academic and vocational excellence and we are also leading after being selected as the only provider in South Hampshire to deliver all three of the new and exciting T Level qualifications from 2020.
Our decades of experience, superb links with employers and excellent vocational education and training have been nationally recognised, confirming us as a leading provider for technical skills.
Through our two A Level Centres of Excellence, we are reinforcing our A Level offering with outstanding progression to Oxbridge and Russell group universities and indeed planning the expansion of our own Higher Education programmes.
This means even more opportunities for our students. With our high level of student success, it’s no wonder over one third of all 16-18 year olds in the region attend our college.
From A Level, T Level and other Vocational provision to Apprenticeships, we have the course for you.
All of our study programmes are designed to prepare you for the world of work and, in many cases, our students progress to university level study as part of their career plan. However, if Higher Education is not the path you want to take, our outstanding employer links mean we can offer you Traineeships, Apprenticeships and valuable work experience to strengthen your CV.
We were recently recorded as second nationally for positive destinations for 16-18 year olds in the Government’s performance tables.
We can give you a student experience that you will find nowhere else; it is absolutely unique.
Thanks to the professionalism and dedication of our staff, as well as first-class facilities, we can help you embrace the new challenges post-16 education can present.
Among other things, you will learn to take more responsibility for your learning and development, which will prepare you for the exciting choices that lie ahead.
However, your studies aren’t the only focus of college life. We have a host of extra-curricular opportunities that can include social, enrichment and sporting endeavours for you to get involved with to maximise your student experience.
We are committed to providing you with the highest level of teaching and learning possible and whatever your age, background or qualifications, we can help you to reach your fullest potential. With significant further investments planned in our estate, the future is bright for HSDC.
We welcome all students whatever your aspirations and we encourage diversity at HSDC, offering extensive professional support to all students with disability, special learning needs or other requirements.
Whether you want to progress onto university, are keen to enter the world of work or want to start your own business, we can be the platform to help you succeed.
I look forward to welcoming you to the College.
Mike Gaston
Principal & CEO of HSDC
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A detailed admissions process on ApplicaaOne is coming soon.
Please see our website for more information on our admissions process.
Admissions Process
Start ApplicationKey Dates & Deadlines
18/10/2025
Open Morning at Alton College
08/11/2025
Open Morning at South Downs & Havant Campus
Alumni Stories
Show all storiesKitty Turner
September 2015
Employed
HSDC offers a wide variety of artistic courses across all three of its campuses, ensuring that young creatives can truly flourish during their time at college. One of these artists is Kitty Turner, who studied A Levels in Fine Art, Graphics and Computer Science at HSDC Havant from 2015 to 2017. After leaving college, Kitty studied illustration at the University of Portsmouth, allowing her to truly embrace her creative interests. Kitty's artwork on display at Hotwalls. Kitty credits much of her success to the skills she developed whilst at Havant. For her graduate project, Kitty was able to use skills she had developed at college and university to make a stop-motion film called Drawn to Light. This project won Kitty various awards at film festivals, including Best Student Film at Worcester Film Festival, and Best Low Budget Film at Margate Bookie Film Festival. Since graduating from university, Kitty’s art career has gone from strength to strength. Recently, she was offered to be a guest artist at Hotwalls Studios, a major art studio located in Portsmouth. Kitty’s exhibition was held in the historic Round Tower, making it a truly special showcase of her work. Kitty's artwork on display at Hotwalls. Kitty’s artwork on display at Hotwalls. Speaking about the exhibition, Kitty said: “It was a really exciting opportunity to be the guest artist at Hotwalls Studios. To be given the chance to display and demonstrate my artwork at the historic venue was really special. The team was able to create such a friendly, supportive and creative atmosphere.” Kitty’s exhibition was a showcase of her colourful nature-inspired work, which she often sells as prints through her business. She also creates 3D puppets and models whilst continuing to experiment with multidisciplinary techniques. Her work is often displayed in small businesses and markets in the local area.
Eden Gains
September 2021
University
Eden Gains, who studied a UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Music Performance from 2021 – 2023 at HSDC’s South Downs Campus, has landed some incredible music-focused work placements alongside her studies. Eden, who is currently studying Music Business at Southampton Solent University and hopes to pursue a career within the music industry began building connections within the industry whilst studying at HSDC. With the help of her lecturers, Eden was introduced to a range of industry professionals, including Victorious Festival co-founder Ben Miles who then offered Eden the opportunity to work at the popular South Coast festival. In turn, this enabled her to gain hands-on experience within the industry alongside the chance to network with a range of professionals. Eden was then invited back to work at Victorious again this year where she did an array of tasks including running supplies to the stage, picking up riders, conducting site walks ensuring each stage had everything they needed for the day and artist liaison work. In addition to this, Eden has also been offered a number of other incredible opportunities within the industry including at SONY Records and Glastonbury Festival to name a few!
Tom Hooker
September 2021
Employed
Tom Hooker, who previously studied Creative Media (Journalism & Communications) at HSDC’s South Downs Campus, has recently completed his undergraduate Journalism degree at the University of Winchester. Alongside this commendable achievement, Tom has also been lucky enough to work at well-known establishments such as ITV Meridian and presented for radio station Voice FM based in Southampton.
Enrichment Activities
Show all activitiesExpand your interests and connect with others. That’s why we run a variety of extracurricular clubs and societies to help you engage with people, interests and issues you care about. From sports teams to college musicals, debating societies to board games clubs, we offer a huge variety of extracurricular clubs and societies to enable you to make the most out of your time at college, the chance to try something new, develop your interests and hobbies and make life-long friends in the process. You will have the opportunity to discover a new passion or take part in the activities you love during your time at college – HSDC aims to offer something to suit each and every student.
We know that a well-rounded learning experience includes an understanding of what lies beyond our gates. That’s why we work hard to provide a wealth of field trip and travel opportunities every year. Most trips are in the UK. However, some will take you abroad to engage with things we simply don’t get to experience here at home. This international dimension is all part of our wider global outlook that seeks to give you with a greater awareness of our global situation.
Whether you’re playing for fun and fitness or aiming to compete at the highest level, we offer you a wide range of high-quality extracurricular sporting opportunities through our sports teams. Importantly, you don’t have to be studying a sports-related course to take part in our sporting provision. Team trials are held before you start with us, so you’ll be ready to start training and playing as soon as you enrol.
About Education Provider
| Region | South East |
| Local Authority | Hampshire |
| Ofsted Rating | Good |
| Gender Type | Co-Educational |
| Address | College Road, Waterlooville, PO7 8AA |