IB Evaluation Visit Report: Update 

You will have seen from the letter sent earlier in the week, that we have now received the report from our IB Evaluation Visit back in November. The three day visit was very rigorous, with three evaluators considering all aspects of our IB provision.  

We were extremely pleased with the feedback, and to have had 37 of the 40 areas designated as strengths is incredibly unusual, and a reflection of the strength of our IB programmes. The team concluded: 

Impington Village College continues to demonstrate an outstanding commitment to the IB philosophy and programmes and has utilised the evaluation process to effectively reflect on its practice and inform its programme development. The school’s commitment to offering the highest quality of IB programmes to the broadest and most inclusive range of students, as per its mission statement, remains steadfast and has been further supported by the introduction of the MYP into Key Stage 3, and plans to become an IB Continuum School with the introduction of the PYP into some of its Trust primary schools. 

The school has shown a remarkable ability to prioritise the learning and wellbeing of IB students in a very challenging external context by continuing to offer 30 different subjects, including many language options, and exceeding enrolment targets for both DP and CP. The school designed and implemented a programme development plan focussing on ensuring parity of esteem between its CP and DP pathways and many positive examples were shared with the visiting team as evidence of progress towards achieving the school’s goals in this area. Impington Village College shows a commendable and robust commitment to the IB mission and philosophy and is to be commended for its continuous pursuit in achieving the absolute highest standards of IB education in such a challenging external context. 

If you would like to read the full evaluation report, you can do so here IB Evaluation Report 

Term Dates Update 

Earlier this week, you should have received a letter from Lucy Scott confirming the arrangements for the term dates for 2025-26, following the trial approach this year. Thank you to everyone who responded to the ELA survey last half term regarding this trial approach. The evidence shows: 

• Positive feedback from stakeholders, with 75% of all survey responses supporting the amended approach to autumn term dates (59% of parents; 78% of students; 86% of staff) 
• A significant increase in extra-curricular and academic intervention provision on offer each week for students;  
• Improved staff and student autumn term attendance;  
• Very high staff retention statistics (96% compared to a national average of 81% 

The ELA Executive and Trustees therefore confirm a continuation of the disaggregated term dates approach in 2025/26. Term Dates – Impington Village College 

ELA term dates 2025/26: 

AUTUMN TERM: 

• Professional days Monday 1^st & Tuesday 2^nd September 2025 (no students in school) 
• Start of autumn term 1: Wednesday 3^rd September 2025 
• October half term: Thursday 23^rd October – Friday 31^st October 2025  
• Start of autumn term 2: Monday 3^rd November 2025  
• Last day of term: Friday 12^th December 2025 
• Christmas holidays: Monday 15^th December 2025 – Friday 2^nd January 2026 

SPRING TERM: 

• Start of spring term 1: Monday 5^th January 2026 
• February half term: Monday 16^th February – Friday 20^th February 2026 
• Start of spring term 2: Monday 23^rd February 2026 
• Last day of spring term: Friday 27^th March 2026 
• Easter holidays: Monday 30^th March – Friday 10^th April 2026 

SUMMER TERM: 

• Start of summer term 1: Monday 13^th April 2026 
• Early May Bank Holiday: Monday 4^th May 2026 
• May half term: Monday 25^th May – Friday 29^th May 2026 
• Start of summer term 2: Monday 1st June 2026 
• End of academic year: Friday 17th July 2026 

Eureka Trips! 

This week groups of year 9 and 10 students have been on a fantastic visit to the Centre of Mathematical Sciences, at Cambridge University, as part of the Eureka programme, led by the Cambridge Maths School. This visit meant our budding maths enthusiasts could spend a day exploring numbers behind magic with the help of mathematician and Numberphile contributor, Ben Sparks, take part in maths workshops and collaborate with their peers to solve challenging problems. They had a brilliant day- watch out on our social media channels for some pictures soon! 

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Cambridge Junction 

Our Performance School students are very excited about their upcoming production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is coming to J2 at the Junction, Cambridge, on Monday 3 February. We are delighted that the students will have the opportunity to perform in a professional venue, which will be an incredible opportunity for them. If you would like to join us, then a limited number of tickets are available via the Junction box office. 

Coffee Morning: Thank you 

Thank you to those parents who joined us for this term’s coffee morning on Wednesday. It was lovely to talk about some of the priorities in College at the moment, including the redevelopment of the GCSE curricula, and for the parents to go on a tour during morning lessons. If you would like to join us for the next event on Wednesday 12 March, please contact the office to book in.