Impington Village College

Impington Village College is performing at an exceptionally high level. Inspectors found pupils thrive in a calm, purposeful and inclusive community, with outstanding behaviour and a strong sense of belonging. The school combines academic ambition with a broad range of creative, service and extracurricular opportunities, and pupils achieve very well whatever their starting point. Students in the sixth form are also exceptionally well prepared for their next steps. The curriculum is ambitious and guided by International Baccalaureate principles, and teaching is highly skilled. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are quickly identified and well supported, including through the school's specially resourced provision, and they access the full curriculum and achieve well. Personal development is exemplary, reading and vocabulary are prioritised, and parents are very positive about the school. Leadership is strong, staff workload and wellbeing are carefully managed, and the trust and local governing body are highly active in supporting high standards. Safeguarding is effective. No notable areas of weakness were identified in this inspection. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first graded inspection under section 5; it is part of the Eastern Learning Alliance and has a high number of pupils with SEND. Under current arrangements, no overall effectiveness grade was given, but every evaluated area was judged outstanding.

Strengths

• Pupils thrive in a strong, inclusive sense of community
• Ambitious, broad and challenging International Baccalaureate-guided curriculum
• Pupils achieve exceptionally well from their starting points
• Teachers have excellent subject knowledge and receive high-quality training
• Pupils with SEND are quickly identified and effectively supported to access the full curriculum
• Pupils behave exceptionally well in lessons and around the school
• Personal development provision is exemplary
• Strong reading culture with effective support for early readers
• Wide range of clubs, trips and international opportunities with no barriers to participation
• Sixth-form students are exceptionally well prepared for future opportunities
• Leaders prioritise staff wellbeing and workload
• Parents are very positive and engagement is strong
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Impington Village College attended 93.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 15.3% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 2.6% of pupils at Impington Village College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Impington Village College had 15.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.2% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 8.8% of pupils at Impington Village College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 8.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Impington Village College received £8,605 and spent £8,887 for each of its 1,452 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £645,000 (£444 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of Eastern Learning Alliance, income was £9,220 and spending £9,179 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Cambridge · Cambridgeshire local authority: places and applications

Impington Village College is part of Eastern Learning Alliance, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• The Cavendish School Impington
• Girton Glebe Primary School Cambridge
• Chesterton Community College Cambridge
• Cambridge Maths School Cambridge
• Witchford Village College Ely
• Vista Academy Littleport Ely
• Downham Market Academy Downham Market

What is Impington Village College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Impington Village College is Outstanding, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Impington Village College last inspected by Ofsted?

Impington Village College was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Impington Village College have?

Impington Village College has 1,446 pupils on roll.

What age range does Impington Village College cover?

Impington Village College for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Impington Village College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 61.4, and 72% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Impington Village College?

Impington Village College is at New Road, Impington, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB24 9LX.