iCAS

All students at the College undertake iCAS, which is founded on the Creativity, Activity, Service components of the DP core:

Creativity arts and other experiences that involve creative thinking

Activity physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle, complementing academic work

Service an opportunity to help others, to develop leadership skills and to show respect

The iCAS programme supports students’ personal development and wellbeing, encourages commitment and responsibility, and fosters a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment. The programme also provides an opportunity for learning for pleasure, rather than for examinations; which is extremely important in promoting a balance between academic excellence and wider achievement, and developing students’ love of learning and motivation to succeed.

Students make three enrichment choices each year (one each of creativity, activity and service) that they access on a Wednesday afternoon (during the College day) on a termly rotation. A sample of the activities includes:

iCAS Extra

iCASXtra is IVC’s extra-curricular programme. Like iCAS its purpose is to enable students to enhance their personal and interpersonal development by learning through experience. It provides opportunities for self-determination and collaboration with others, fostering a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment from their work. Our iCAS programme will contain a range of Creativity, Activity and Service experiences which will be published in September. These experiences will run Period 0s and 6s on Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays, with some experiences being offered at lunchtime.

Tutoring and personal development

Tutoring is an essential part of College life at Impington. Our tutoring system mirrors our MYP and GCSE stages, so students will join either a Year 7-9 tutor group, or a 10-11 one.

We are committed to a high-quality tutoring experience, where students and tutors really get to know each other. Our tutor groups have a maximum of 21 students in them to ensure that your child is able to develop a strong and positive relationship with their tutor.

All our tutor groups belong to one of our four Houses: Keller, Parks, Turing and Wallenberg. Each House has a fantastic Head and Deputy Head of House to provide additional support any young person that needs it. Finally, our tutors are responsible for delivering key elements of our Pastoral Curriculum.

These sessions are designed to enable students to develop their understand of the IB Learner Profile through key PSHE/RSHE/E-Safety/Citizenship topics. All these Pastoral Curriculum sessions are further supported by our assemblies, extended assemblies and Pastoral Curriculum workshops (which are delivered throughout the year).

Physical Wellbeing

At Impington Village College, all students have core Physical Education lessons throughout Years 7 to 11 and access to our sporting facilities in the sixth form.

Students are encouraged to keep healthy and stay active throughout their studies, which fits into our whole-College focus on physical and mental wellbeing and encouraging students to find a balance between study and physical activity.

Vertical Tutoring

Tutoring is an essential part of College life at Impington. Our tutoring system mirrors our MYP and GCSE stages, so students will join either a Year 7-9 tutor group, or a 10-11 one. We are committed to a personal tutoring experience, where students and tutors really get to know each other, so all our tutor groups have only 21 students in them. All our tutor groups belong to one of our four Houses: Keller, Parks, Turing and Wallenberg. Not only do our House Inspirations lend their names to our Houses, but key lessons from their lives are regularly revisited through our tutor and assembly programme.

During tutor time, tutors will deliver our wellbeing curriculum, which is built on the work done by the Greater Good Science Centre and the Habits Academy.

Information Technology

At IVC the use of two key platforms forms the basis of our IT provision. The first is EduLink, this can be downloaded as an app or accessed using a web browser. Parents and carers, and students will have access to this system. It gives access to timetables, homework, ‘recognitions’ (College reward points), links to our wellbeing service as well as a way to contact staff.

The second is Office 365, this is a valuable tool that teachers use to enhance the learning experience, share resources and communicate with students. This platform is only accessible to students and teachers, however, would we encourage parents and carers to discuss with their children how they are using Teams (for example) and the benefits it has brought to their learning.

Student Leadership

The success of our curriculum is demonstrated through more than just student outcomes; it was designed to ensure our students are effectively prepared for life beyond the College and are happy, healthy young people. We regularly seek student feedback on the quality of provision at the College, both inside and outside of the classroom. This includes focus groups, our Student Leadership Team (iSLT), and via online surveys. The impeccable conduct of our students, their engagement in College life and their excellent attendance, also evidences the positive impact that our curriculum is having.

As part of our iSLT, we have four Executive Year 11s and 24 House Representatives. Founded in 2018, the iSLT starts with a very exciting election process with students voting for four outstanding candidates after a well fought two weeks of campaigning. Our four Executive members are in charge of leading the other members of the iSLT across three key projects, including:

• Wellbeing
• Curriculum
• Environment

Duke of Edinburgh

The Duke of Edinburgh (D of E) scheme has been facilitated through the College for over 20 years and students are able to complete all three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. Through the scheme, participants complete volunteering, skills, physical and expedition sections and those involved find themselves volunteering in the local community and developing confidence in areas that they may have never experienced before.

Artsmark

Impington Village College is proud to hold the Artsmark Gold Award, which is the only creative quality standard for schools and education settings, accredited by Arts Council England. Through our accreditation, we support our students and build their confidence, character and resilience through arts and cultural education. At the College, we use the framework to embed creativity across the whole curriculum and our SLT uses its messaging to address and update our internal College development strategies.

World Challenge

For over 30 years, World Challenge has enabled transformative travel experiences for students across the world. These experiences complement College teaching and give students the opportunity to become life-learners and global citizens. We are excited to begin our adventure with World Challenge, aiming for our first expedition to go out in summer 2022.

Library Service

The Impington Village College library is a busy, lively environment filled with great books and people who are enthusiastic about reading them and recommending them to others.
There is an excellent variety of non-fiction and reference materials to support both the curriculum and our students’ broader interests. The College is fortunate to have a library large enough to provide enough study space for a whole class at one end of the library and 28 newly upgraded computers with internet access at the other end. There is a black and white printer, a colour printer and a photocopier/printer which may all be used by students. We have easy chairs and beanbags for our students to use for more relaxed reading during breaks and lunch times.