We believe students should have opportunities to build friendships, spend time with others and feel part of a genuine school community. As Ivy High grows, our community programme is being designed to combine the flexibility of online education with real human connection — for students and their families.
We understand that families considering online education can have questions about friendship, social interaction and whether their child will feel part of a community. That's why we're building social opportunities into the Ivy High experience rather than treating them as an afterthought.
Our community programme will include optional in-person meet-ups, giving students opportunities to meet classmates away from the screen, build friendships and enjoy activities together. We plan to develop days out, educational visits, activity days and informal social events.
We plan to create opportunities for parents and guardians to connect, share experiences and ask questions — including online parent coffee mornings, Q&A sessions and, where appropriate, optional meet-ups.
Alongside lessons, we are developing supervised opportunities for students to interact socially, share interests and get to know the people they learn alongside, with safeguarding built into how these spaces operate.
Our community plans include optional online clubs shaped around student interests — from books, art and debate to chess, coding and creative activities — creating more ways to meet students with shared interests.
We plan to introduce special optional Ivy Days: opportunities for workshops, trips, challenges, careers activities and other experiences outside the normal online timetable.
New students will be welcomed into Ivy High with opportunities to understand how school works, meet others and begin feeling part of the community from the start.
Our aim is to give students more ways to interact, make friends, explore their interests and spend time together — online and, where appropriate, in person. Every community activity will be developed with student wellbeing and appropriate safeguarding in mind.
Explore Student Voices →If friendship, community or staying connected is one of your concerns, we'd be happy to talk through the experience we're building for Ivy High families.