Our Year 9 Pioneers – End of Year Overview
25th June 25
Last September Abbey College Cambridge welcomed Year 9 students, our pioneers, for the first time.
As the academic year comes to a close, we have reflected on Year 9’s first year in our community and celebrated their success. While the school had been predominantly known for welcoming international students to Cambridge, this is very much no longer the case. 70% of the Year 9 cohort of 19 students (split across two classes) are local day students from Cambridge and the surrounding area, who integrate with students from around the world for their daily lessons.
Whilst the Year 9 cohort follow the national curriculum, they have also benefitted from taking part in a number of international initiatives designed to help them understand and embrace different cultures and ensure that they are prepared for a global workplace in the future.
Very early in the year they embarked on an inter-continental project, partnering with students from ESCA, a South African Independent School, working on a project based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Each pupil picked one goal and worked in conjunction with a South African student partner on a thought-provoking research project. In April 2025, students presented their research at our student-led Sustainability Conference in front of an audience of visiting students from a host of local Cambridgeshire schools.
Year 9 have also enjoyed a school exchange to a partner school in Italy, Arturo Malignani State Institute of Higher Education. They lived with local host families and attended lessons in a language which was entirely new to them. Alongside being an amazing cultural opportunity, this experience also allowed them to develop their resilience, teamwork and adaptability.
In the weekly timetable, Wednesday afternoons are dedicated to Enrichment, where students get to choose from a range of extra-curricular activities divided into six categories; Active, Community, Thinking, Science and Technology, Music and Creative Arts. Examples of some of the activities Year 9 students have been getting stuck into this year include Football, Drama, STEM Club, Rowing, Walking and Volunteering.
Year 9s have also been enthusiastically learning about potential future study and career paths, alongside getting some useful practical experience by attending clubs such as Young Medics, Python/Coding Clubs, Young Enterprise and Journalism.
Alongside their weekly enrichment sessions Year 9 students have also taken part in a wide range of exciting ‘out of school’ activities, such as a variety of trips, sports events, the Duke of Edinburgh Award, and recently taking part in a Shakespearean acting workshop and tour at the Globe Theatre, London.
We are so proud of our ‘pioneering’ cohort and cannot wait to see them flourish even more as they progress to Year 10, and help us welcome in the new cohort of Year 9 students starting in September!
Hear from our current Year 9 students about their experience at Abbey College Cambridge this year:
“What surprised me the most about the teaching here is how supportive they are, as if I don’t understand something that they’re teaching, they can do a small one-on-one with me as part of the lesson and help me get a better understanding.”
“For me, outside of lessons, the thing I’ve most enjoyed has been Volleyball Club, because it gives me the opportunity to meet more people from other local schools and also students from other years at Abbey as well.”
“The boarding house is really good…we have good facilities and also very supportive house parents, so I have really enjoyed it here.”
“The thing I’ve enjoyed most outside of my lessons is definitely going on trips as I’ve had the opportunity to go to both Iceland and Italy.”
“The class size is way smaller than at my previous school and so the teachers can give me more support and they pay more attention to you. So it has really helped me improve my subjects that I wasn’t really good at before.”
“We appreciate that the school is very supportive of us, and that’s the thing that creates the sense of family and community here.”
“We’re encouraged to take control of our learning… [to prospective students] I would say just come and try, I mean I think it’s one of the best opportunities I’ve had.”
Click here to read an article written by one of our current Year 9 students about the reasons why she would recommend Abbey College Cambridge to others.
Below are some examples of what our Year 9 students have been up to this year outside of the standard curriculum:
CSA Weekend Activity Programme (mandatory for boarders, optional for day students)
- Cambridge City walks
- Craft and food fair
- Clip and Climb
- Board Games Cafe
- Zoology Museum
- Botanical Gardens – Apple Day
- Christmas Village (Parkers Piece)
- Botanical Gardens – Christmas Lights
- Mini Golf
- Shepreth Wildflie Park
- British Museum and Shopping (London)
- Spy Missions
- Zorb Football
- Battle Archery
- Rowing Race (spectating Lent Bumps – a famous Cambridge rowing race)
- Anglesey Abbey visit
- Sealife Centre and Shopping (London)
- Outdoor Laser Tag
Other Trips, Activities & Opportunities
- E-sports Competition (regional + national + international finalists)
- Iceland Trip
- Italy exchange trip (+ Italian lessons in the weeks leading up to the trip)
- Sports Day
- DofE Bronze (Practice, expedition, skills development)
- Swimming competition
- Abbey House Sleepover
- Assisting with Open Days
- Biology Challenge
- Sustainability conference
- Cambridge Festival – How antibodies save lives
- Globe Theatre – Western interpretation of Romeo and Juliet + drama workshop
- International project (South African school)
- Fitzbillies Trip
- Market research project (with Y10 and Pre-sessional)
- PE classes (kickboxing, athletics, hockey, etc)
Interested in joining our Abbey College Community in Year 9 and unlocking a world of opportunities for your child?
Enquire now to speak to our admissions team or book a private tour of the campus today!
