In this Newsletter:
- Welcome from Principal, Jess Pearce
- Student drop off
- Careers and Aspirations Fair
- Year 10 Parents Evening
- UCAS Deadline and Information Evening
- Lost Property
- New Club Timetable
- WEX Launch
- Allergen update
- Guinness World Record Holders
- Free One Leisure Sports Sessions
- St Ives Town Council Playground Feedback Form
- English Adult Courses with Cambridgeshire County Council
Welcome from Ms Pearce
“It is great to be writing my first contribution to our weekly newsletter, and it has been a busy week already. I have been well reminded this week that while it is Week 1 at St Ivo for me, it is of course Week 1 of Term 2 for everyone else and it has been really lovely to be hitting the ground running: saying good luck to Year 7, 8 and 9 as they sit their assessments, and visiting Period 6 Year 11 lessons to see students working hard and making the most of the additional lesson time with teachers as we enter the run up to the exam period.
I have been really impressed with the resilience shown by the students’ in attending school and moving quickly between lessons in the cold this week. I would also like to make a point about how friendly and polite students have been this week in saying ‘hello’ as they have seen me around the school. I hope everyone has a restful weekend.”
Ms Jessica Pearce
Principal
Important Dates from this Newsletter
12th January – Year 10 Parents Evening bookings open
14th January – UCAS Deadline
19th January – Year 10 Work Experience Information Evening
20th January – Careers and Aspirations Fair
21st January – Information Evening with ARU (student finance and university accommodation)
22nd January – Year 10 Parents Evening
Student drop off locations
We would like to reminder parent/ carers to kindly refrain from dropping off or picking up your child using the High Leys entrance and staff car park. This is to prevent traffic congestion and ensure safety. Where possible, please use the One Leisure car park.
Where students walk to school, please remind them to use designated road crossing points. Cyclists should wear helmets, ensure regular safety checks of bikes and again be aware of traffic.
General Updates
Careers and Aspirations Fair – 20th January
We are running our successful Careers and Aspirations Fair again this year in the Burgess Hall. Each year group will have the opportunity to visit the fair and the timings for each year group are stated below. We will have over 30 different businesses/sectors for our young people to engage with. Our full list of attendees will be published closer to the event but it will include businesses from education, engineering, aerospace, finance, government organisations, insurance and many more.
Forward warning of the schedule for this event on Tuesday 20 January:
Timings
8.30 – 8.55 Year 12 & 13
8.55 – 9.50 Year 9
9.50 – 10.45 Year 7
10.45 – 11.05 Break
11.05 – 12.00 Year 11
12.00 – 1.10 Lunch
1.10 – 2.05 Year 10
2.05 – 3.00 Year 8
Year 10 Parents/ Carers’ Evening
We would like to invite Year 10 parents/ carers to meet with subject teachers. This will be a great opportunity to discuss your child’s progress in this vital year.
Meetings will take place online, on Thursday 22 January from 4.00pm to 7.30pm.
Bookings open on Monday 12 January at 6am. To book an appointment, please go to https://stivo.schoolcloud.co.uk and enter the details required. Please note that only priority 1 and 2 contacts with parental responsibility will be able to logon. If you have any issues booking an appointment please contact the school office.
Please note that appointments will close on Tuesday 20 January at 8am. Please also be aware that for science there will be one appointment offered, with that member of staff feeding back on progress across biology, chemistry and physics.
UCAS Deadline and Information Evening
We would like to remind you that the deadline for UCAS applications is Wednesday 14th January. Students need to ensure that their personal statement is completed well in advance of this date so it can be checked by the sixth form team and any feedback discussed. Students also need to discuss applications with their form tutor as a reference is required to be written and added.
May I also take this opportunity to invite you to an information evening all about student finance and university accommodation. This evening will be led by a representative from Anglia Ruskin University, but is generic information that is applicable to a wide range of universities across the country. The evening will consist of a broad overview, with time for group and individual questions at the end.
It will start at 6.00pm on Wednesday 21st January, in the sixth form common room and should last no longer than 1 hour.
YR10 Parent/Carer Work Experience Information Evening – Monday 19 January 6:00pm
Year 10 students will have the opportunity to complete work experience during the week 29 June 2026, and we would like to invite parents/carers of Year 10 Students to attend a Work Experience information evening on Monday 19 January at 6:00pm We want to emphasise the importance of students securing their own placements with support from parents/carers. This meeting will outline expectations, process, key dates, and support with finding a suitable placement. We strongly encourage parents/carers to attend with their child and expect it to last no longer than 45 minutes. Any questions please contact Mrs Parks, Careers Leader. Helen.parks@astreastivo.org
Allergen Updates
To keep students safe at mealtimes, it is essential that the school holds accurate allergy and dietary information. These details are linked to students at the till and automatically trigger an alert for our catering team, which must be followed at all times.
If any information is incorrect, or if there are new or removed allergies, please contact the school office immediately so records can be updated.
Thank you for your support.
Lost Property
The school lost property cupboards are overflowing with clothing, water bottles, PE kits and much more – including warm coats! If your child has lost something, please do encourage them to come to reception and have a look through the lost property. After Friday 16th January, any remaining items will be disposed of.
New Spring Term Clubs Timetable
Guinness World Record Holders!
We can finally share with you that on July 1st we took part in a Guinness World Record with Jamie Oliver to break the record for the largest cookery lesson and with 10,500+ people from across the world dialling into Jamie’s live stream cookery class, WE DID IT! As record breakers we cooked up fresh pasta and easy no-cook tomato sauce and we finally received our official Guinness World Record Certificate! Thank you to our staff and students who participated/organised this amazing opportunity!
Community News
Free One Leisure sports sessions Monday afterschool
St Ives Town Council Feedback Form
“St Ives Town Council are looking for feedback on our play areas, to help us shape decisions we make about these areas over the next few years.
We would be grateful if you could share the following link to the questionnaire with your families: St Ives Town Council There is also a copy attached.
The questionnaire is open until 23rd January 2026.
Many thanks
Libby White“
English Adult Courses with Cambridgeshire County Council
Cambridgeshire County Council have a fully funded Functional Skills English course starting in St Ives at the Broad Leas centre for adults.