The Sunday Times award ranks schools and colleges based on examination results and IVC’s latest accolade follows a successful year for the College, in which it became the first UK state secondary school for students aged 11–18 years to offer three International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes.
(L-R) The winning students from Impington International College: Anjali S., James W., Izzy H.
IVC’s Principal Victoria Hearn described the Sunday Times award as “the culmination of a hugely successful year for the College”, saying it “highlights our commitment to going beyond academic achievements and placing emphasis on the holistic development of our students.”
A recent example of students’ non academic achievements was just last month, when Year 12 students from Impington International College were crowned the winners of the annual Rotary Youth Speaks public speaking competition, beating teams from The Leys, Chesterton Community College and Netherhall School. The team will go on to compete in the district final in March 2024.
Commenting on the win, Victoria Hearn, said: “Debate and discussion are nurtured by the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and our students are looking forward to showcasing their skills at the district final next year.”
Former Histon resident Carlton Morris will be playing Premier League football next season following Luton Town’s triumphant win against Coventry City in the Championship play-off finals at Wembley stadium in front of an 85,000-strong crowd. The win means Luton will return to top-flight football for the first time since 1991/92 – before the Premier League was founded.
Luton’s top goal scorer of the season, he only signed for the club last year having played for Barnsley the previous year. He contributed to an emotional conclusion to the tense Wembley match, which went to penalties after a 1-1 full-time draw. Carlton was the first player to face the Coventry goalie in a shoot-out that ended in a 6-5 win for ‘the Hatters’.
Lucy Fraser the new hyperlink
Other drama saw Carlton’s close friend and Luton captain Tom Lockyer collapsing on pitch and taken to hospital just 8 minutes into the game. “Locks, I love you mate we’ve done it” he said, as the players finally paraded their captain’s shirt around the pitch after the game. And on social media he said: “Your shirt’s a bit small for me brother. But we done it… Luton are in the premier league.”
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The two players have been jointly named ‘Players’ Player of the Season’. Their club tweeted: “Their team-mates can’t split them…congratulations Tom Lockyer and Carlton Morris!” Carlton has also been nominated as PFA Vertu Motors Championship Fans’ Player of the Year.
Local tributes
Histon & Impington residents have also reacted with huge pride and respect on hearing that the ‘local lad’ had hit the big time.
His mum [name], dad John and brother and sister Owen and Ellie?? still live in the village. [name] told HI HUB: “………..”
The tension for them during the match was clear. One of Owen’s friends tweeted: “Owen said a really funny thing – that during the game his Apple watch couldn’t work out why his heart rate was so high when he wasn’t engaged in actual activity”!
Other tributes poured in on social media. More than 200 people reacted to the news of Carlton’s stellar performance, one predicting that he is “definitely destined for great things”. Other reminisced about his time playing as a junior in the village. Richard Rose shared a 2007 photo of Carlton, taken when he took a team from the junior school to the Cambridge City penalty shootout at their Milton Road ground. “Good to see him using those skills tonight!”, he commented.
Looking back – and forward Carlton began his footballing career with Histon Hornets when dad John got him into football as a young lad. “To be fair, I didn’t love it early on”, Carlton revealed in a 2020 interview. “He made me stick with it and it turned out, I was alright!” A midfielder growing up, he eventually “gravitated towards scoring goals”, he said.
Aged 10 he was signed into Norwich City’s Academy – which has since joined forces with Impington International College in a Football & Education Scholarship scheme. “My Mum and Dad had to take me there three or four times a week and I owe so much to them for that” he said. Ten years ago this month he went on to become part of the Canaries’ FA Youth Cup winning squad.
Hope Tree School in Impington, which teaches autistic girls, has been given an Ofsted rating of ‘requires improvement’ after its first inspection in November last year.
The school, located on Manor Farm on the outskirts of Impington, was inspected between 22-24 November 2022, just 15 teaching weeks after becoming operational, despite Ofsted guidance suggesting an inspection was unlikely to happen for approximately 12 months.
The full Ofsted report, which has been seen by HI HUB, rated the the school’s overall effectiveness as ‘requires improvement’, with the category of quality of education, also rated as ‘requires improvement’. Other categories of behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management were all rated ‘good’. The school was also found to have met Ofsted’s standard for independent schools.
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Ofsted found ‘the curriculum does not provide all the specific information that staff require to meet pupils’ complex needs’ and that, as a result, ‘pupils do not progress as quickly as they should’. The report also states that, ‘teachers do not have all the information they need to deliver leaders’ subject plans well’, adding that ‘where subject knowledge is not as strong, some key content of the curriculum is not taught well’. The school has just one full-time teacher, Rebecca Sands, who is also Head of Learning and co-founder of the school with Fiona D’Arcy.
Staff share disappointment
Responding to the report, Fiona D’Arcy, the school’s Head of Pastoral care, told HI HUB, “It is a shame and we are disappointed. Not necessarily with ourselves but with a system that does not consider how long a school has been operational but only when the computer says a school must be inspected. As it turned out quite a lot of what we had done in those 15 weeks did, in fact, meet the criteria in three out of four of Ofsted’s categories. In fact, three ‘goods’ after only 15 weeks is something to be very proud of.”
The report does acknowledge the school’s short history, noting ‘over a short period, leaders have successfully created a welcoming and safe school environment’. The school’s strengths in other areas were also praised. ‘Staff are caring and take time to understand pupils’ complex social and emotional needs. This helps pupils to feel safe and settled.’ Many of the school’s pupils have had negative experiences of school prior to attending Hope Tree, with some having spent time outside of education.
Students are the priority
Fiona describes meeting the “understandably strict criteria for Quality of Education”, while also reintroducing students to education at their preferred pace and allowing them to develop safe and secure relationships with staff as “an almost impossible task.” She said that by “prioritising students over sequencing the curriculum, by prioritising relationship development over curriculum coverage at that very early stage in our school’s development, it just wasn’t possible to get to that elusive ‘good’ that we would have liked to have.
“It is interesting that Ofsted agreed with our approach and the decisions we had made, however when it comes to criteria – that box didn’t get ticked.”
Ofsted’s views of the school appear not to be shared universally, as one parent, quoted anonymously in the report, said that ‘ “Hope Tree is quite simply amazing in every aspect possible”.’
Data captured by the electronic speed sign on the B1049 at the entrance to the village confirms that many vehicles are driving at speeds well in excess of the speed limit.
The Mobile Vehicle Activated Sign (MVAS) sign has been in situ on the B1049 heading into the village from the A14 for just under a month. It recorded one vehicle driving at an eye-watering 86mph, as well as 250 vehicles doing more than 55mph, and 31 travelling at 70mph or more.
The average speed of vehicles passing is 32mph. This is markedly below the road’s 40mph limit, meaning that no specific police action would be triggered. However the top speeds reached by some of the 2,883 drivers who pass it daily, remain a cause of concern for Impington residents.
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Speed concerns
The early data backs up the feelings of some residents of The Coppice, who have been disturbed by persistent speeding at quiet times along the B1049, adjacent to their homes. It is hoped that the sign will have a positive impact on drivers’ speeds.
Stuart Norris, who was involved in the consultation that led to the speed camera installation, said: “Coppice residents are hoping the sign will make those who speed on the road think twice about exceeding the 40mph limit. I’ve noticed a decrease in the speed of vehicles since the sign was installed.”
Drivers in the village may also have noticed that the sign will light up with the words ‘Thank You’ if they are clocked travelling under the 40mph speed limit.
Previously used by the local volunteer-led Speedwatchgroup, the MVAS was positioned by the roadside on a tripod. Its purpose in its current location is to improve safety by reminding road users of the speed limit as they drive past it. The sign shows the speed of individual vehicles as they pass.
Next steps
In the next few weeks the electronic sign will be run in ‘stealth mode’ – meaning that it will continue to record data, but the sign will not flash or display anything. This will then allow for data comparison to see how effective the sign has been at slowing traffic.
As previously reported in HI HUB, there are also plans in place to relocate the MVAS sign to the Cottenham end of the B1049, with the focus there being on reminding drivers of the speed limit as they approach the Park Primary School. Subject to County Council permission, future locations may include Park Lane entering Histon; New Road, south of IVC; and Cambridge Road opposite The Crescent.
Andy Boylett, Area Coordinator for South Cambs Speedwatch, said: “So far the camera has proved to be a very effective reminder to drivers of the need to stay at the correct speed limit, which makes for a safer environment for all.”
New trees that have died alongside the A14 won’t be replaced until autumn 2023 at the earliest, Councillor Ros Hathorn has discovered.
More than 800,000 trees were planted during construction work to improve the A14, which included the widening of the section between Histon & Impington and Milton.
The road upgrade involved the highly controversial loss of woodland and felling of mature trees at junction 32, the ‘green gateway’ to the village, and National Highways promised a ‘two for one’ replacement of felled trees in an attempt to make good the loss. But around 70% of the new trees that they planted have since died, and residents are still waiting for them to make good on their promise.
There has been no visible progress so far. Ros is challenging National Highways for explanations and a firm commitment to a new timetable. A National Highways spokesperson has apologised, saying: “I fully understand that concerns raised about previous delays and indeed historic timescales not being met must be incredibly frustrating not only for yourselves but to the local residents you represent.”
Time running out
Before work can start National Highways must complete a replanting strategy, aiming to ensure a similar failure rate doesn’t arise again. They have assured Ros that “funding is available to ensure the replanting is a success” and made a commitment to keep her regularly updated on progress.
Further delays are inevitable though. There is currently up to a four-month national wait for certain species of trees; and the annual planting season runs from September to March, meaning that work to replace the dead trees won’t begin until September 2023 at the earliest.
The National Highways spokesperson commented: “If the weather conditions are favourable this might start slightly earlier. We need to be in a position to act quickly and appropriately should conditions allow/change. We also need to plant the right species, in the right areas, at the right time which is a different approach to previous re-planting.”
Ros has written to National Highways saying she is “deeply disappointed” the work has been so slow to get going, and pointed out that Councillors raised these problems with them in the first half of 2022.
The situation is particularly worrying, as National Highways’ contractual responsibility for the trees lasts only 5 years. Effectively delaying by a whole calendar year means less opportunity for further top-up planting if any of the new trees fail to thrive, as their obligation to the community has less time before it expires.
Expert view
Local residents have also been demanding action. Their questions have prompted National Highways to reveal they have no record of how many trees were initially chopped down. They commented: “The ‘two trees planted for every one tree felled’ slogan that was widely used by National Highways is a little hard to stomach with 70 percent failure rates.”
Holiday Inn field before preparation for planting. Photo Dan Mace
These residents also point out that the land near the Holiday Inn left as a legacy project for Histon and Impington’s own tree planting by HI Trees was seriously compacted by A14 equipment. They said: “The land given back by National Highways is bare and cracked around the saplings compared to the land immediately adjacent which is green, with other plants around the saplings.”
But their request for National Highways to come back and rectify the situation has been rejected, with National Highways saying: “…this is consistent [with] the rest of scheme where planting into newly topsoiled areas especially on the clay rich soils on this scheme. No further work will take place in this area.”
National Highways have, though committed to listening to “as many local views as realistically possible” as the re-planting project continues. They told Ros they would “welcome further comments from yourself and other Councillors, especially if any of your residents are interested in the strategy”, including preferences for species that are most likely to be successful.
A national initiative aimed at raising awareness of the importance of children and young people’s mental health is being embraced by Histon & Impington organisations wanting to give their support.
The theme of this year’s Children’s Mental Health Weekis Let’s Connect, and organisers Place2Be have chosen this to highlight the role that communities can play in making positive connections for children. They are offering free resources that can be used by organisations and parents to explore mental health and wellbeing with the children and young people.
Histon Library, St Andrew’s Church Histon, Histon and Impington Brook and Park primary schools and Impington Village College are all taking part.
Histon Library
Books to encourage healthy conversations are available to H&I children and teens in Histon Library.
At the library, books to encourage healthy conversations are being presented for local children and teens. Young visitors will find displays called Reading Well for Teens and Reading well for Children in the Junior Non-Fiction area. Here, children and young people can borrow a range of helpful titles encouraging them to engage with, and explore their feelings.
Anna McMahon, Library Development Officer for South Cambs said: “We are keen to help children understand their feelings and sustain good mental health. The books in our Reading Well collections can encourage children and young people to find the confidence, or maybe just the words they need, to make those meaningful connections.”
Primary-aged children
Histon and Impington Brook and Park primary schools are making Children’s Mental Health Week fun with a special assembly, aimed at finding ways the school community can help support each other. There are also daily fun activities for the children, based around the theme of Let’s Connect. Staff and pupils will even learn a dance routine around the theme and will perform together at the end of the week.
Tim Blake, Children’s Team Leader at Saint Andrews Church Histon, is also thinking about connections this week. He said: “A lot of the coaching work we do in schools is about connecting to each other, to the world around us, and to our own emotions, in terms of recognising and understanding them.”
Youth wellbeing first
Impington Village College is highlighting Children’s Mental Health Week in its communications with students, and on its social media platforms. A group of pupils who are part of the student leadership team are scheduled to receive a full day of wellbeing training, so that they can support their peers in the future.
Principal Victoria Hearn said: “With one in six children and young people listed as having a diagnosable mental health condition, Children’s Mental Health Week has never been more important. We are proud to offer our students a supportive wellbeing programme all year round.”
Supporting mental health at home
For parents and carers wanting a starting point for conversations with their child about their mental health, Place2Be has free resources on its website. These include art activities for younger children with CBBC’s Art Ninja Ricky Martin, and more reflective activities for teens, led by UK Youth Mental Health Ambassador, Dr Alex George.
Lucy Frazer, MP for the South East Cambridgeshire constituency that includes Histon & Impington, has joined The Cabinet for the first time. She succeeds Michelle Donelan as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and will be the 8th holder of this post in the last 5 years.
In her new role, she will have responsibility for strategy and policy in a slimmed-down Department that has been renamed the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Affectionately known as the ‘Ministry of Fun’, its portfolio will now include the arts, the BBC, sport and tourism. The digital role that was previously part of its brief has been moved into a new ministry focusing on science and technology.
A Newnham College graduate and former President of the Cambridge Union, Lucy Frazer was first elected as an MP at the 2015 general election, following the retirement of Jim Paice as the village’s representative in parliament. She has held less senior Government posts since 2018, when she became Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Justice.
The Culture Secretary role will be her 6th ministerial position in less than two years. Her most recent roles have been as:
Acting Solicitor General for England and Wales (2 March 2021 – 10 September 2021)
Minister of State for Prisons and Probation (10 September 2021 – 16 September 2021)
Financial Secretary to the Treasury (16 September 2021 – 7 September 2022)
Minister of State for Transport (8 September 2022 – 26 October 2022)
Minister of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (26 October 2022 – 7 February 2023)
Proposals for a new busway and active travel route connecting Waterbeach and Cambridge include two potential route options, both of which would pass through Histon & Impington to join up with the existing Guided Busway.
This would be one of four new busways around the city linking Cambridge with the surrounding areas, all aiming to take buses off the road network to avoid congestion. The need for this is particularly pressing around Waterbeach New Town, where planned employment and housing growth will see around 9000 new homes in the coming years.
The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) is running a consultation on their busway proposals, including an in-person event in Histon on 21 February, for residents to learn more about the proposals and ask questions of the project team.
The two route options for the busway both start at a relocated Waterbeach Railway Station, which will serve Waterbeach New Town as well as the existing village. They would then head across the A10, potentially to a new Park & Ride site.
The ‘Western Option’ busway would then run south west, significantly to the west of the Mere Way boundary that marks the border between Histon & Impington and Milton.
The route would cross fields to the west of Landbeach to reach a signalled crossing at Milton Road, Impington. After that it would pass behind the residential properties around St Andrew’s Way, and cross fields again to connect with the existing Guided Busway. A new junction would be created on the Busway to the east of the Impington bus stops on Station Road.
Buses could then continue on into Cambridge via Histon Road or Milton Road.
Busway option – Revised central route. Image: Greater Cambridge Partnership
The ‘Revised Central Option’ would start on the same route from Waterbeach, but continue to the east of the Mere Way boundary and east of Landbeach, until it reaches the Milton Park & Ride site.
At that point some buses heading south towards Cambridge would turn onto Butt Lane and continue towards Impington on Milton Road.
Before reaching the residential edge of the village, the route would turn off south towards Cambridge, across fields, to meet the existing Guided Busway.
Common characteristics
For both options the route would be mainly off road, only interacting with other traffic at junctions and a short section along Butt Lane/ Milton Road. These roads would be widened and improved to make space for the buses and become more suitable for active travel.
Junctions with Butt Lane/Milton Road – Revised central route. Image: Greater Cambridge Partnership
Junctions between existing roads and the new Busway would be controlled by traffic lights, with bus priority built in.
New bus stops bus could be provided around Landbeach and on Butt Lane.
GCP envisages that both routes would be integrated with existing bus services to provide good connections, including through the Darwin Green development.
Duplication
Both of the proposed busway routes would run very close to Mere Way, where controversial improvements to this Public Right of Way were due to begin last year.
Safety concerns about the plans for Mere Way – especially the absence of lighting – were raised by County Councillor Ros Hathorn, but no resolution was found. So given that new infrastructure for walking and cycling would be developed alongside both busway options being considered, is there still a need to convert this rural route to be used for active travel rather than leisure?
Mere Way. Photo: Brian Whitehead
HI HUB asked GCP about plans for lighting the active travel route. A spokeperson said: “We are in discussions with Cambridgeshire County Council’s Street Lighting Team to confirm the lighting strategy for the busway.
“The current assumptions are the busway will be lit at junctions and that the active travel route may have some form of lighting, such as solar studs, along its length. The nature of the lighting is to be confirmed at the next stage of the study.”
As for plans for a joined-up approach to the use of Mere Way and the Busway, they said: “This is not a GCP scheme, but we have had regular engagement with Urban and Civic as they have developed their plans for Mere Way. We see the two projects as both compatible and complementary to each other.”
Have your say
The consultation is now live and will run to midday on Friday 24 March. The findings from this will go back to GCP’s Executive Board in June, together with recommendation for a preferred route option.
Histon & Impington residents are being encouraged to take part in the consultation by reading the consultation proposals, attending an event – either online or in person – and completing an online survey.
The Histon & Impington event will take place at the St Andrew’s Centre on Tuesday 21 February from 4.30pm – 7.30pm.
Other related documents, including detailed technical drawings of the proposed routes through Histon & Impington, can be found here . (See the Revised central corridor and Western corridors sections 1 and 2)
Anyone wanting to complete a hard copy of the survey, rather than the online version, should call 01223 699906.
An electronic sign displaying approaching drivers’ speeds has been positioned on the B1049 at the entrance to the villages of Histon and Impington.
The Mobile Vehicle Activated Sign (MVAS) sign was originally purchased in 2018 by the Parish Council for use by the local volunteer led Speedwatchgroup, and has, until now, only been used for short periods at the roadside, mounted on a tripod.
The County Council has now given permission to position the MVAS sign on lampposts at various locations throughout the villages. The first installation is on the B1049 next to The Coppice, as speeding on this stretch of road has been the subject of many complaints from local residents.
The purpose of the MVAS is to improve safety by reminding road users of the speed limit as they drive past it. The speed of an approaching vehicle is lit up in white if it’s within the speed limit and in red if the limit is exceeded.
Data Collection
The sign is currently set to record the speed of approaching traffic and can also provide data on the number of vehicles passing and their speeds in both directions.
The MVAS also continues to collect data with the speed display turned off, so it will be possible to see how effective it has been it slowing traffic. Data collected cannot be used as enforcement evidence, but it can be shared with the Police and the County Highway Authority in order to suggest enforcement action such as speed cameras, lower speed limits or other traffic control measures.
The sign will be moved after a few weeks, with the next location being Cottenham Road, where traffic comes into the village from the north. The focus there will be to remind drivers of the speed limit as they approach The Park School. Future locations include Park Lane entering Histon; New Road, south of IVC and Cambridge Road opposite The Crescent.
Andy Boylett, Area Coordinator for South Cambs Speedwatch, said: “This is a helpful addition to our work. We’re always looking for volunteers which will allow us to run more roadside sessions. We particularly need a coordinator with the passion and time to organise and run sessions here in Histon & Impington with other group volunteers. Do get in touch if you think you can help”.
Histon & Impington Parish Council will be bucking the trend and capping its Council Tax increase at just 2.86% for 2023/4.
Despite costs that are estimated to rise by around 14 per cent, this increase has been set at marginally less than last year’s 3%. It will amount to an extra £3.33 for a Band D household and will mean the Parish Council can raise an estimated £411,744 to spend next year. This move is likely to mean dipping into reserves to the tune of around £46,000.
Parish Council Chair Denis Payne explained: “The Council is well aware of the money pressures on everyone and is able to take money from general reserves to help this year. We plan to do the same over the next few years as well, taking our reserves down to a lower, but still safe, level.
“There may be a bigger increase at the end of this in three or four years, but hopefully by then everyone will be in a better financial position and inflation will be under control.”
New charge to pay for buses
The move puts the Parish Council out of step with the other public bodies that benefit from residents’ Council Tax payments.
The revenue from this tax has historically been shared by the County, District and Parish Councils, as well as police and fire services. But for the first time this year, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) are making a claim on residents.
Regional Mayor Nik Johnson has proposed a brand new charge that will embed £12 into the 2023/4 bills for Band D homes.
The new CPCA charge will be ringfenced for passenger transport services in the area, and in particular, to support bus services that were withdrawn by Stagecoach at short notice last year. Contracts were hastily negotiated with other bus companies, but this left a £3.5m gap in the budget.
Jon Alsop, CPCA’s Chief Finance Officer, explained: “The cost of the new services is considerably higher than those they replace, reflecting the substantial increase in fuel, energy and driver costs that are facing the public transport industry at large. This pressure is expected to continue into the new year…”
In balancing their budget, he rejected making cuts to existing Combined Authority commitments or using one-off reserves, saying: “both these responses are inherently short term – they would provide funding in 2023-24 but do nothing to enable the Combined Authority to continue those services in 2024-25 and beyond.”
Other increases
While final decisions are yet to be voted on at Cambridgeshire County Council, the indications are that the cash-strapped County Council is, like last year, likely to add a further 4.99% to its bill, amounting to around £73 extra for a Band D property.
Cambridgeshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner has consulted on increasing the policing element of Council Tax by 5.8% – up from 4% last year. This would mean an additional annual charge of £14.94 for a Band D property.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority is proposing 6.6% rise – compared with just 2% last year – adding a further £4.95 a year for Band D properties.
More information about the South Cambs District Council Council Tax proposals will be available following their budget meeting on 6 February.
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