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Our curriculum sits at the very heart of the College’s ethos and offers our students the opportunities, knowledge and confidence to ensure that they are fully equipped to be highly successful and effective independent thinkers, with a genuine passion for learning.

Inclusive:

We offer a completely inclusive programme of qualifications, from entry level and vocational subjects to more traditional GCSE subjects, the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) and the IB Career-related Programme (CP). From September 2020, we will begin our journey to offering the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP). This wide choice of subjects allows for a tailored curriculum, which ensures all of our students succeed and are prepared for the next stage of their studies.

Inspirational:

Our curriculum combines academic excellence with enrichment and personal development. It prepares our students for a world beyond the classroom, and through their learning, they become well-rounded, caring and highly motivated individuals, set for success. Our staff pledge to deliver inspiring and engaging lessons, leading to outstanding achievement for all.

International:

As an IB World School, the IB’s philosophy is at the centre of our academic curriculum. This, alongside the ‘IVC Core’, develops learners who are inquiring, knowledgeable, caring and motivated to succeed. As part of our commitment to being a truly international College, we are also one of few colleges to offer five different languages at GCSE, including: Modern European, Japanese and Latin.

The academic curriculum

Years 7 and 8: the Impington Curriculum Experience Programme
Students in Years 7 and 8 follow a carefully designed thematic curriculum: the Impington Curriculum Experience (ICE Programme). Each half term is based around a ‘big question’ which students explore in all of their subjects.

Years 7 to 9: the MYP
From September 2020, we will begin our journey to offering the MYP, training our staff members and piloting the curriculum, ready to launch in September 2021. The MYP will prepare our students to study the DP and the CP at our sixth form, Impington International College.

Years 9 to 11: exploring GCSEs in-depth
At the College, students are given careful guidance to choose their GCSE options in Year 8. We offer a wide range of subject choices, and believe that a three-year preparation for GCSEs allows students to be well-equipped for the demands of the qualifications, while not having been taught to test.
This preparation also involves the students in the ‘IVC Core’, which sits at the heart of our curriculum, and ensures that students have access to the Arts, Sport, Languages and Humanities throughout their GCSE courses.
Our Year 8 options book for 2019/2020 can be viewed here.

Years 12 and 13: the DP and CP
We offer two main pathways for Years 12 and 13 students at Impington International College: the DP and the CP. These two pathways are academically rigorous, encourage both personal and academic achievement and incorporate best practice from research and a global community of IB World Schools.
The programmes encourage students to think critically and become global citizens, and equips them with the skills and knowledge that they need for the next stages of their life journey.

In practice

At Impington Village College, we publish termly overviews for all subject areas, which include topics and content, skills covered and assessed tasks, as well as links to careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG), personal, social and health education (PSHE) and spiritual, moral, social and cultural learning (SMSC). These can be found on our subject curriculum overview page and on our sixth form website.

Years 7 and 8: The ICE Programme
The ICE strands for Years 7 and 8 can be found here. The programme of study for students is consistent throughout KS3, KS4 and KS5, with students studying six core groups of subjects which are based around those in the DP:

In Years 7 and 8, students are taught the following subjects, in addition to their weekly enrichment lesson (iCAS):

Years 9 to 11: GCSEs and technical awards
For GCSEs, students are able to make two free choices, alongside a humanities and languages option. A typical curriculum for a KS4 student looks like:

Booster programme and foundation learning
Throughout Years 7 to 11, we run a booster programme with additional English and Maths support for students who are not on track to achieve at least a grade 4 in English and Maths at GCSE. This is taught at KS3 in place of one of the languages and, if students continue in the booster programme throughout their GCSEs, they do not study a language.
The College also offers a fully bespoke curriculum for our foundation learning students, including students with more complex Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) who access enhanced resource placements. This can include Award Scheme Development and Accreditation (ASDAN) qualifications, Arts Award, entry level courses and other vocational qualifications alongside a reduced programme of GCSE and technical awards.

Subjects

At Impington Village College, we offer subjects in the key areas outlined below:

How do we measure the impact of the curriculum at the College?

Across all key stages, progress data is very important in monitoring the knowledge and understanding of our students. Formative and summative assessments are used and students complete all assessed work in their bespoke assessment books across Years 7 to 13. We have very clear systems in place for tracking students’ progress, and intervening where they fall short of their aspirational targets.
At KS3, student progress is tracked using a clear flight path system, with bespoke assessment criteria that have been designed by our Lead Practitioners and that utilise the different assessment objectives from the new GCSE specifications. There is a significant emphasis on formative feedback, with students and parents receiving formative comments five times per year, to ensure that students are clear on how to improve their knowledge and skills.
Students track their own progress against the IB learner profile in their iCAS portfolios. These are monitored by tutors and form part of the progress conversations that happen in tutor time during academic mentoring sessions. They are also reviewed in approaches to learning lessons, where students are given the chance to reflect on how they are developing the attributes of the IB learner profile. Students also track their own academic progress both in lessons and in tutor time, where they keep a log of their progress and set targets for improvement.