Impington Village College, a Cambridge-based state secondary school, is celebrating its listing as East Anglia’s Comprehensive School of the Year by The Sunday Times Parent Power List 2024; the third time the school has been crowned the title.
The award, which ranks schools and Colleges based on examination results, follows a successful year for the College, which saw it become the first UK state secondary school for students aged 11 – 18 years old to offer three International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes for free.
Two of just 25 students in the UK to achieve a perfect point score of 45 in their IB Diploma Programme (DP) results attended the College’s Sixth Form, and the entire 2023 cohort also achieved an average point score of 33; higher than the global average of 30.24. Nearly 100% of its DP students secured places at their first choice of university, while 75% of Oxbridge applicants from the College received offers.
Students also performed significantly higher than the national average in their GCSE examinations, with 16% of all grades achieved by pupils at Grade 9, over 30% at Grade 8 and above, and 45% at Grade 7 and above.
Victoria Hearn, Principal, said: “We are thrilled to have been recognised for our student’s outstanding outcomes, but the award also highlights our commitment to going beyond academic achievements and placing emphasis on the holistic development of our students. Our teachers work tirelessly to blend academic and cocurricular opportunities to ensure our students have access to world-class opportunities and I am proud to have their efforts recognised on a national level.
“This award is the culmination of a hugely successful year for the College, which saw us become the first UK state secondary school authorised to offer three IB programmes. We were also recognised by the British Council for our international education provision, which underscores our commitment to offer students in Cambridgeshire an outstanding education that equips them for an unpredictable future. As we celebrate being recognised as East Anglia’s Comprehensive School of the Year 2024, I am excited that more children in Cambridge will benefit from an IB education for free when our partner school, Girton Glebe Primary School, begins its candidacy process to teach the IB Primary Years Programme from September 2024.”
Together, with Impington Village College, Impington International College and The Cavendish School, Girton Glebe Primary School will be part of the first cluster of state schools in Europe to offer all IB programmes for children aged four to 18 across primary, secondary, sixth form and special education settings.
