Impington Music Society is holding a concert on Friday 6th June from 7.30pm at Impington Village College.
Piano duets performed by Thanea and Maurice Hodges will end our season with a perfect ‘Summer Soirée’.
Concerts take place in the Brackenbury Room and are open to the public.
Impington Music Society is holding a concert on Friday 16th May from 7.30pm at Impington Village College.
‘A Taste of Gilbert and Sullivan’, provided by the Girton Musical Theatre / Gilbert and Sullivan Society.
Concerts take place in the Brackenbury Room and are open to the public.
Impington Village College (IVC) Principal, Victoria Hearn, is stepping down from her role, and is set to leave the school at the end of the 2024/25 academic year.
Ms Hearn, who first joined the school as an Assistant Principal over a decade ago and who has been Principal since 2020, is leaving to take up a new post at Comberton Village College which comes under Cam Academy Trust.
Her move comes shortly after the school received positive feedback from a recent IB Evaluation, as well as an Outstanding Ofsted report. The college, part of the Eastern Learning Alliance, was also recently named ‘UK Comprehensive School of the Year’ by the Sunday Times for 2025.
On her time at IVC, Ms Hearn said: “It has been an absolute privilege to be a part of this truly unique school. I am incredibly proud of all that the leadership team, staff and students have achieved during my time at the College.”
She continued: “The [school’s] achievements belong to our entire College community, and especially the incredible senior leadership team with whom it has been a joy to work during my tenure as Principal.
“Thank you all for your support during my time as a senior leader at the College, and for your enthusiasm and belief in our unique approach to education”.
Ms Hearn will continue as Principal until the end of August. HI HUB will bring news of her successor when available.
READ ALSO: IVC rated ‘outstanding’ in full Ofsted inspection | HI HUB
A second all-weather football facility will be available to the Histon & Impington community after South Cambs District Council’s Planning Committee unanimously gave approval for a ‘3g’ football pitch at Impington Village College. The permission includes associated lighting and facilities including a toilet block and a storage container.
Councillors conceded that an informal car park being used by visitors to IVC should have been returned to green space as a condition of the planning application for the Cavendish School, but they have now approved retrospective permission for a formal car park there.
Ryan Kelsall, Deputy CEO of Eastern Learning Alliance, which runs IVC, told HI HUB: “ELA are thrilled that the planning application for the 3G pitch has been approved.
“We firmly believe that the new facility will support the education, health and wellbeing of young people and the community. Furthermore the formalisation of the car park will support traffic and parking management in and around the IVC site.”
More community use
The new pitch will be a further addition to the football facilities available in the village, which already include grass pitches at the Rec and an all-weather pitch constructed during the development of Brook Primary school.
Like the primary school, IVC will be required to make its pitch available to the public. A community use agreement will have to be prepared in consultation with Sport England and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority before the development work can begin.
This will have to cover the pitch, car parking and the toilet block, and include details of pricing policy, hours of use, access by non-educational establishment users, management responsibilities and a mechanism for review.
Cambridgeshire FA, who are supporting the development, have identified at least 38 local football teams – including from Histon Hornets and Milton Colts – that would benefit from the use of the pitch for both training and matches.
Continuing liaison
The IVC football project has proved controversial from the start, with an earlier planning application being withdrawn after the impact of the scheme on local residents was recognised.
As the new plans for sports facilities at IVC were developed – including netball courts and associated floodlights – a Community Liaison Group involving IVC, residents, Councillors and other stakeholders formed to address concerns. These include the management of traffic and parking on and around the site, and landscaping to screen the residential homes there from the expected increase in activity there.
The planning committee has recommended that liaison between IVC and residents continues, to ensure the impact of the traffic management plan is monitored. Ryan Kelsall has endorsed the importance of this group.
He said: “We are keen to build on recent work to ensure collaboration through the residents group led by the Parish, County and District Councillors. We are therefore pleased that The Planning Committee has formally recognised this group by designating it an ‘informative’ group for this project.”
Ros Hathorn, County Councillor for Histon & Impington, is also hopeful that the group has the potential to be effective at protecting residents’ interests. She told HI HUB: “The facilitation of a liaison group… has led to open discussion and has already delivered a commitment to a number of agreed improvements namely an application for double yellow lines and radical changes to youth football parking behaviours.
“There are future verbal commitments for more compromise and review of planning conditions in response to residents’ concerns.
“We have a planning system which is supportive of development and growth. It is almost impossible to stop development even when some people find it upsetting. By bringing people together in the same room we can find practical solutions, understand core concerns and find ways to make things better.
“We cannot stop development but through collaboration and a rigorous Neighbourhood Plan we can make sure development is as good as possible, particularly for site neighbours.”
READ ALSO: Council recommends approval of IVC sports plans but neighbours fear problems ahead and Council to debate plans for IVC sports facilities and Renewed IVC sports applications spark neighbours’ fury and 3g pitch application withdrawn following new objections and Residents concerns drive objections to 3g pitch proposals and Plans progress for artificial grass pitch at IVC and 3g pitch “provides more public benefit than harm” say planners
Planning officers are recommending that Councillors give the go-ahead for a full-size artificial grass football pitch and a permanent parking area on Impington Village College (IVC) land.
They report “significant third-party support for the provision of the proposed 3G pitch” and note “significant objection on matters such as traffic, parking pressure, visual amenity and noise”. But there were no objections from any statutory consultees, and ultimately the planners conclude that the development “…when weighed in the planning balance provides more public benefit than harm.”
Facilities
The South Cambs Planning Committee, due to meet on 9 April, will be asked to approve the creation of the 3G pitch with perimeter fencing, floodlights, hardstanding areas, a storage container, an embankment, an access footpath and a toilet block.
They will also be asked to give retrospective approval for a permanent car park on an area that was previously green space but has been used as an informal car park since the Cavendish School was built.
Traffic mitigation
Local residents have consistently put forward objections to the 3g pitch facility, citing the impact additional traffic to the site would have – especially in light of the recent approval for a major netball facility there.
But planning officers believe that, by creating an area within the car park for taxis to queue off New Road and introducing a Parking Management Plan – “factoring in the recently approved netball application” – will improve current traffic problems on New Road and also offset the impact of additional traffic to the new facilities.
They recommend that the situation is kept under review, monitored by the Local Planning Authority and Highway Authority, and that adjustments are made if the traffic problems persist.
Open all hours
Although IVC has asked for permission to operate floodlights from 8am until 10pm on weekdays and until 6pm at weekends, officers are recommending approval of the new application for longer, until 7pm on Saturdays and 8pm on Sundays and public holidays. They justify this as balancing “illuminating the sports facility for maximum use and benefit to sport with the interest of amenity and sustainability”.
They propose the condition that automatic floodlight controls are installed. These would ensure all artificial lighting turns off automatically at the permitted curfew hours, during daylight hours and when the pitch is not in use.
Other conditions
As well as traffic management and limits to opening hours, planners are asking for details of features including the design of the storage container and toilet block, and lighting of the access path, to be approved as a condition of approving the whole scheme.
They also say details of hard and soft landscape works should be submitted to the planning authority and approved in writing. Then if, in the first five years, any trees and shrubs are removed, uprooted, destroyed, die or become damaged or diseased, replacement trees and shrubs of the same size and species as originally planted would have to replace them.
READ ALSO: Council recommends approval of IVC sports plans but neighbours fear problems ahead and Council to debate plans for IVC sports facilities and Renewed IVC sports applications spark neighbours’ fury and 3g pitch application withdrawn following new objections and Residents concerns drive objections to 3g pitch proposals and Plans progress for artificial grass pitch at IVC
Residents wishing to attend the South Cambridge Planning Committee where the 3g pitch proposal is on the agenda can do so in person or online. See the agenda here . Anyone wishing to speak at the meeting can find further details here .
Impington Village College has been rated as ‘outstanding’ in all areas following its recent full Ofsted inspection report.
The inspection, which took place on 11-12 February 2025, saw five inspectors assessing the college over two days on its quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, personal development and sixth form. They graded the school ‘outstanding’ in all of these areas.
Inspectors sat in on lessons, clubs and student panels and their report – released this week – highlighted that the school “emphasises the importance and love of reading” as well as its “ambitious, broad and challenging curriculum” and “exemplary” personal development provision.
The report also found that IVC pupils are “diligent”, have “a strong sense of community” and access to a wide range of experiences without barriers to participation.
This was the first full Ofsted inspection the school has had since November 2019.
“Overwhelmingly positive feedback”
Principal Victoria Hearn said: “We are delighted with the judgements made by the inspection team, but are especially pleased with their overwhelmingly positive feedback, which captures our unique vision for education and the positive impact this is having on our students, academically and personally”.
She continued that its “ambitious vision” as an IB World School, involves a commitment to “academic excellence, a broad, balanced, inclusive curriculum, exceptional opportunities, and pastoral care”. Victoria added: “It’s never about delivering a particular Ofsted judgement, but because we believe it gives our students the very best education. It is, however, fantastic to see the unrelenting efforts of staff and leaders at all levels recognised in the report”.
The line of mature trees that was due to be cut down under plans to improve the netball courts at Impington Village College (IVC) could now be saved.
The trees form a 60m hedge that creates a natural screen between the courts and neighbouring residential properties.
Fence approved
Despite objections from neighbours, including those living on Park Drive, immediately in front of the courts, the planning application for upgrading the facilities included replacing the trees with an acoustic fence.
This was approved by the planning authority when they gave permission for the development in December 2024. They said: “the use of the courts shall not commence until the acoustic fence has been installed in accordance with the approved details. It shall be retained as such thereafter.”
But the Decision Notice also allows for variation of the permission if there is local agreement.
Change of heart
At a meeting with residents and other stakeholder last week, Ryan Kelsall, Deputy CEO of Eastern Learning Alliance (ELA), the academy trust that runs IVC, confirmed that they had listened to residents’ objections and that the trust’s preferred option was now to retain the trees.
He told HI HUB: “We can’t confirm that we can keep the trees until we get confirmation from Planning that this is supported…
“The Parish Council are following up with the Planning Department to seek confirmation/clarification; once we have this we can confirm either way.”
Courts to open
The IVC Liaison Group will now be considering whether the trees alone or a combination of both the trees and a fence would mitigate the expected levels of noise and light pollution.
Whatever the outcome, ELA is not in a position to put floodlights in place yet, as they are prioritizing progress on creating an all-weather 3G football pitch elsewhere on the IVC site.
But the resurfacing of courts has now been completed, with top dressing and lines due to be added in March. IVC students will be able to use the courts shortly, and when all the work has been completed, the public and clubs will be able to use them on a pay-and-play basis during daylight hours.
READ ALSO: Decision time for IVC netball development | HI HUB
Eastern Learning Alliance (ELA), which runs Impington Village College, are recommending that the shorter calendar of teaching days introduced in 2024/5 should continue next year.
In a trial during the current academic year, October half term was extended by two days and the Christmas holiday began mid-December. A survey across the Academy Trust’s schools saw 86% of staff and 78% of students support the changes, but only 59% of parents.
In 2025/6, half term will run from 23 October to 3 November and the autumn term will end 12 December. ELA say they have “plans in place to ensure that they work with parents to provide age-appropriate childcare opportunities for those who need support with this.”
Replacement
ELA’s vision is that the teaching hours lost due to the changes – described as “disaggregated” time – will be used to provide “enhanced extra-curricular and intervention offers” outside of the normal school day, spread across the school year. Each school in the Trust is developing its own plans as to how best to use this time.
“Academic interventions” in the form of one-to-one and small group provision to boost the core curriculum outside of the school day, will be part of the programme.
ELA explains: “As these taught sessions do not currently form part of teachers’ directed time, we rely on teaching staff volunteering to run them.”
This means the schools are unable to “consistently staff the sessions, guarantee the provision to those who need it, or robustly monitor the delivery of these sessions.”
ELA has also “committed to offering sector-leading [extra-curricular] programmes”, including sport, and to making these offers as inclusive as possible.
Final decision
The trial will run for the full academic year 2024/25.
As well as looking at staff, student and parental feedback, it will include analysis of student and staff attendance, staff recruitment and retention, Governor monitoring reports, the nature and extent of academic interventions and extra-curricular activity, and student outcomes – based on data to be collated in August 2025.
Following the publication of those student outcomes, a decision will be made with regards to future academic years.
Impington Music Society is holding its next concert on Friday 22nd March from 7.30pm at Impington Village College.
This Spring Term, the IMS offers local music students a performance platform. For some it will be an opportunity to rehearse their graded exam pieces; for some others it will be a taster of what life might be like as a professional musician. This concert is the turn of some of Thanea Hodges’ senior piano students.
Concerts take place in the Brackenbury Room and are open to the public. Pick and choose which concerts to come to (adult tickets are usually £10), or, better still, get a season ticket for just £40 and support live, local music.
Impington Music Society is holding its next concert on Friday 16th February from 7.30pm at Impington Village College.
This Spring Term, the IMS offers local music students a performance platform. For some it will be an opportunity to rehearse their graded exam pieces; for some others it will be a taster of what life might be like as a professional musician. This concert will be students of the Stephen Perse Foundation schools.
Concerts take place in the Brackenbury Room and are open to the public. Pick and choose which concerts to come to (adult tickets are usually £10), or, better still, get a season ticket for just £40 and support live, local music.