The Sixth Form College, Colchester is situated on North Hill in central Colchester, Essex, England. Established in 1987, it provides further education in the north Essex area. The College has consistently ranked highly on the AS/A-level performance tables in which the results have been above the national average and the average for Essex. The College was assessed as 'outstanding' by OFSTED in 2007/08, including 'outstanding' assessments in all 11 inspection categories. The College is located on the former site of the Gilberd School. Parts of the building constructed in the last ten years were designed by local architects Martin Wilesmith and Bob Ward of the Roff Marsh Partnership.. In 1994 Blur played a show at the college - three out of four members of Blur have links with Colchester, with drummer Dave Rowntree having attended the Gilberd School. The College offers courses and qualifications to more than 3100 students - including a large range of AS-Levels and A-Levels; GCSEs; and since 2003, the International Baccalaureate. It is mandatory for students studying AS/A-levels to take at least 5 academic subjects; most A-level courses have six lessons per week.