Welcome from the Headteacher

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to our website and to St Ivo School. We are an inclusive 11-18 academy which for the last 60 years has been privileged to serve the community of St Ives and its surrounding area.

As a school we want all of our students to be successful in the following ways:

Academically; we want students to achieve highly in courses that prepare them for adult life,

Socially; we want students to become confident young adults who mix well, take on leadership and care for those around them,

Emotionally; in an ever changing world we want students to develop resilience and maturity to cope with life's challenges,

In extra-curricular activities; we believe that learning goes beyond the classroom and want all of our students to develop new skills and friendships through the huge range of additional activities and visits we offer.

I believe that St Ivo School offers a unique mix of academic success and care for the individual. It is a great place to learn and to work. I am very proud to lead a school which is constantly evolving and adapting to provide the best education for the young people of St Ives.

You will find key information about the school on this site or for more regular updates use our Facebook or Twitter accounts. You are, of course, very welcome to arrange a visit to see for yourself what St Ivo School has to offer.

I look forward to welcoming you to the school

Sam Griffin
Headteacher

Facilities

St Ivo is a large school with extensive facilities for students to enjoy.

A light, bright dining hall is available for students to enjoy hot or cold school dinners or packed lunches. Breakfast is available between 7.30 and 8.30am and snacks are served at breaktime.

Each subject has its own suite of teaching rooms, and the science department has 14 well-equipped laboratories. A large art and design block houses specialist accommodation for art and technology, including food technology rooms, a kiln and a photographic dark room.

Sports facilities are of the highest quality. On site, these include a large sports hall, weights room, rugby and football pitches, a well-equipped gymnasium, floodlit tennis courts, and an artificial cricket wicket. The school also has use of a synthetic athletics track and all-weather hockey pitch at the nearby Outdoor Centre, plus the swimming pool at the Leisure Centre. By arrangement with the local authority, the school can use these facilities until 3.00pm, after which they are available for community use.

Performing arts are well provided for, with a purpose-built drama studio in the Leisure Centre, dance studios and a music suite including practice rooms and a performance space.

Sixth Form students benefit from dedicated use of two study areas, for quiet and silent study, which include ICT facilities and study materials. The Sixth Form also have exclusive access to the common room and a number of classrooms in the Keep building.

The Resource Centre is open daily from 8.00am until 5.30pm (5.00pm on Friday). Students will find a bright, spacious area where they can do research, prepare homework, borrow and return resources. The Resource Centre is much more than just a library, with just over 16,000 resources, including books, audio CDs and DVDs available to borrow plus newspapers and a growing selection of journals and magazines. There are 16 computers that can be used by students during lesson times, break and lunchtimes and before and after school. Educational games and quiz books are available at lunchtime. All the applications on the school network are available in the Resource Centre, and students can use a designated computer to search the database of all items held in the Resource Centre.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) facilities are developing all the time. The whole-school PC network, shared with Adult and Community Education, can be accessed from 8 ICT suites as well as the Resource Centre. Many departments also have laptops, mobile devices and other computers in their teaching areas. Items of ICT equipment, including interactive whiteboards, digital cameras and multimedia projectors, are available for use throughout the school to enhance teaching and learning, including some public areas such as the main hall. All suitable classrooms have a data projector, and interactive whiteboard. Wifi is available across the school for use by staff and students in Years 8 and above.

Awards

OFSTED - following inspection in July 2016, the school is currently judged as good in all areas:

Effectiveness of leadership and management - Good
Quality of teaching, learning and assessment - Good
Outcomes for pupils - Good
16 to 19 study programmes - Good
Overall effectiveness - Good

You can access the full report here.

St Ivo School is proud to have also been presented with a number of national awards:

UK PARLIAMENT TEACHER AMBASSADOR - Mr Hedges, Head of Politics has been accredited with this role. As a Parliament Teacher Ambassador there is a commitment to deliver an assembly on Parliament and democracy to at least three year groups each year and to host an event within school using the Parliament Education Service resources. In 2016, St Ivo School held a mock EU referendum which led to Mr Hedges' accreditation by the end of that year. This year we are holding a mock election to coincide with the 2017 General Election. Both events have included assemblies to four year groups together with accompanying tutor time resources. Parliament's Education Service is committed to provide ambassadors with materials to support school assemblies, CPD evens and invitations for ambassadors to attend events in Parliament.

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS AWARD - over the last four years the geography department has been working towards securing the full International Schools Award as part of a whole school initiative. It is a scheme organised by the British Council and requires schools to audit and celebrate their international work across all departments. The full award was gained in October 2012 in recognition of work carried out with schools overseas such as the geography dept bi-ennial visit to a primary school in Soweto and their 'Japan Week'. Similarly, the work of the RE dept is acknowledged with their link with a school in Pakistan, their Holocaust Day and visit to Auschwitz , the Modern Languages dept celebration of European Lanuages Day & theatre visits as well as the history department's annual visit to the Somme each November. These are just some of the international projects that St Ivo are involved in and reflect the British Council's ethos of promoting international understanding and breaking down cultural stereotypes.

SECONDARY GEOGRAPHY QUALITY MARK (SGQM) (Geographical Association) - awarded to St Ivo School in 2014 by the Geographical Association. The award process encourages and supports schools to reflect on their work and strive for the highest quality in their teaching. In order to achieve the award the geography department underwent a rigorous moderation process and the team of assessors were hugely impressed by the manner in which they are continuing to embrace new and innovative approaches to teaching geography. The award recognises student attainment, progress and achievement in areas such as geographical knowledge, understanding, values, skills and concepts and sets expectations about the quality of teaching in geography.
CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE (Geographical Association) - the Geography Department at St Ivo were delighted to be one of only 10 schools nationally to be awarded the coveted Centre of Excellence status by the GA in 2014. This status is awarded to geography departments which are seen as hubs of excellence and recognises the school's contribution to disseminating quality approaches to the teaching of geography as well as valuing the important contribution that geography makes to the curriculum throughout the school.

PRINCES TEACHING INSTITUTE MARK GEOGRAPHY AND SCIENCE 2016 - The Geography and Science Departments have been awarded the Princes Teaching Institute (PTI) Mark of Excellence for 2016. The PTI is supported by the Prince of Wales and recognises and rewards school departments that develop inspirational ideas and activities which enhance the teaching in a number areas, regardless of pupils' background or abilities. Both the Geography and Science Departments have taken part in the schools programme this year and have been awarded the prestigious mark in recognition of the departments’ achievements and new initiatives inspired by membership of the Schools Programme. This is the third year the Geography department has been awarded the mark.

ARTSMARK SILVER AWARD - This is a prestigious award that aims to recognise the high quality work done in departments such as dance, drama, music and art. Artsmark schools are committed to giving young people a wide range of arts experiences both in the classroom and in after-school clubs, and to provide visits or partnerships with artists and arts organisations. As a school we are very proud of this achievement, as confirmation of designation recognises the high profile that these departments have in the school and the contribution they make to the school as a whole.

EUROPEAN AWARD FOR LANGUAGES 2006 WINNER - This award recognises creative ways to improve the quality of language teaching, motivate students and make the best of available resources. Award-winning projects provide a potential source of inspiration for others, in different languages, contexts and even different countries, and have an international dimension. St Ivo School has received this award as part of our participation in the Junior CULP - Cambridge University Language Programme, which enables students to learn a new language through intensive all day and twilight sessions, which are held at either the university or school.