Driving into Ivybridge has a subtle allure. Nestled against the southern slopes of Dartmoor, this small town in Devon is surrounded by the kind of countryside that makes you forget that England has a population problem. Nevertheless, this is one of the biggest secondary schools in the nation, drawing pupils from about 100 square miles of South Hams.
More than 2,400 students are enrolled at Ivybridge Community College. Just that figure raises an eyebrow. Rather than a market town on the outskirts of a national park, most people associate that scale with urban comprehensives in Manchester or Birmingham. It’s possible that the school’s sheer size contributes to its success by generating enough critical mass to support specialized staff and facilities that smaller rural schools are just unable to afford.
You notice things as you stroll through the hallways. rooms with senses. lifts for wheelchairs. Four committed team members are assigned to a SEND department specifically for students with disabilities. In many schools, this kind of provision is subtly disregarded in practice while being assumed in theory. It seems to be truly working here. The infrastructure appears to be built around the fact that a sizable portion of the student body—roughly 14%—has special educational needs, rather than being added as an afterthought.
It is difficult to dispute the academic record. The college received an outstanding rating from Ofsted in 2006, 2011, and 2013. It is not fortunate to have three consecutive outstanding inspections. Between 2002 and 2005, the average percentage of students who received five or more A* to C GCSE grades was 78%, which was 22 points higher than the national average at the time. These numbers point to something more consistent than a lucky year or cohort.
The history of leadership at the school is fascinating in and of itself. Before retiring in December 2009 with a CBE for services to education, Geoffrey Rees held the position of principal for 22 years, which was long enough to create an institutional culture rather than merely oversee one. Rob Haring, his successor, came from a specialist language college in Worcestershire and changed the uniform and PE kit almost immediately. These are the kinds of outward signs that a new principal wants to change the atmosphere. No official record captures whether students quietly opposed those changes or embraced them.
Then, in September 2016, former Team GB gymnast Rachel Hutchinson assumed the role of principal. Her continued employment as of 2025 points to either true stability or an organization that values perseverance. Most likely both. Ivybridge seems to have escaped the revolving-door leadership that plagues so many English schools, possibly due to its location.
More attention should be paid to the sports record than is usually the case. At the Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament in Japan in 2011, the college rugby team played for England. Michaela Breeze, a school weightlifting instructor, represented Wales with gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2002 and 2006. These are not footnotes; rather, they are signs of a school that values physical education just as much as it does A-level chemistry.
For a school this size operating this far from an urban center, the ceiling is still unknown. However, from the outside, Ivybridge Community College appears to have long since stopped considering its location to be a constraint.
