Kandy · Since 1890
A school onthe hill
One hundred and thirty-six years of educating girls above the Kandy lake.
A school withits own weather
Hillwood sits high above the Kandy lake, and the hill decides a great deal about the place — the mist that comes in over the playing fields, the walk up to chapel, the way the whole school hears the same bell.
We have taught girls here since 1890, when Miss Elizabeth Bellerby opened a schoolroom with fourteen students. The buildings have grown since. The intention has not: to educate girls thoroughly, and to send them out steady.
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- Sections of the school
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Small enoughto be known
Every Hillwood girl has a form teacher who knows her name, her subjects and her family. In the Advanced Level section, classes rarely exceed twenty. That is a deliberate limit, held at some cost, because it is the difference between being taught and being noticed.
Two curricula run side by side — the national syllabus and Cambridge International — and students move between them where it serves them. Beyond the timetable, thirty clubs and eight sports are open from Grade 6, and the Shining Star Unit has been part of the school since 1971.
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- A/L pass rate, 2025
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Two curricula.One standard.
Both pathways are taught by the same faculty, in the same laboratories, to the same expectation. Choose the one that fits where your daughter is going.
Local Curriculum
The national syllabus, taught to the top of it
- G.C.E. Ordinary Level
- G.C.E. Advanced Level
- Sinhala and English media
- Four A/L streams
International Curriculum
Cambridge International, from Checkpoint to A Level
- Cambridge IGCSE
- International AS & A Level
- English medium throughout
- University pathway guidance
Six sections,one school
A Hillwood girl can arrive at three and leave at nineteen. Each section is built for the age it teaches, and hands on to the next.
- Ages 3 – 5
Playschool & Nursery
A gentle, joyful environment where our youngest learners meet school for the first time — through movement, story, water, sand and song.
Explore - Grades 1 – 5
Primary School
Reading, writing and number take hold here, alongside the quieter lessons: how to listen, how to try again, how to work beside someone else.
Explore - Grades 6 – 8
Middle School
The subject range opens up, laboratory work begins, and students start to find the things they are good at — and the things they love.
Explore - Grades 9 – 11
Upper School
Three years of focused preparation for the G.C.E. Ordinary Level and IGCSE examinations, with subject choice and serious academic expectation.
Explore - Grades 12 – 13
A/L Section
Four streams, small classes, and a two-year programme aimed squarely at university admission here and abroad.
Explore - All ages
Shining Star Unit
Established in 1971, the Unit provides individualised education for students with additional learning needs, within the life of the wider school.
Explore
The Collegeat work
Services, meets, exhibitions and open days. Select any card for the full details.
The year,in pictures
What the girlshave done
- 2025Academic
Island First in the Biological Science Stream
Hillwood records its first Island First placement in the Biological Science stream in eleven years.
Read more - 2025Academic
O/L Results: 89% Nine-A Rate
216 of 243 candidates recorded nine A passes at the G.C.E. Ordinary Level examination.
Read more - 2025Academic
Cambridge Top in the World — Chemistry
A Cambridge Outstanding Learner Award for the highest IGCSE Chemistry mark worldwide.
Read more - 2025Academic
IAL Cohort Places at Six Russell Group Universities
Every candidate in the 2025 International A Level cohort secured a first-choice university place.
Read more - 2025Academic
Bronze at the International Mathematical Olympiad
A first Olympiad medal for the College, earned at the Sri Lankan national team trials and the IMO itself.
Read more - 2025Extracurricular
All-Island Schools Netball Champions
The senior netball squad take the All-Island title for a third consecutive season.
Read more - 2025Extracurricular
Four Records at the Kandy District Championship
Hillwood swimmers reset four district records and take the overall girls' championship.
Read more - 2025Extracurricular
Gold at the Sri Lanka Schools Choral Festival
The Senior Choir takes gold in the sacred and secular categories at the national festival.
Read more - 2025Extracurricular
National Schools Debating Championship — Runners-Up
The English Debating Alliance reach the national final for the first time since 2016.
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