Figures released this week show that several of Ark’s secondary schools are already showing some of the best published results for new performance measures due to be rolled out nationally next year.
Ark is pleased to announce that Venessa Willms, Ark's Director of Primary and Founding Headteacher of King Solomon Academy Primary, has been awarded an OBE in the 2016 New Year's Honours List.
Venessa, who led the primary stage of Ark's first all-through academy from its opening in 2007 through to 2013, was one of just 27 educational professionals to be awarded an OBE for services to education this year.
Schools from across the Ark network have been celebrating the festive season with music and dramatic performances - raising an impressive amount of money for vital causes. King Solomon Academy's student orchestra performed outside Piccadilly Circus' iconic advertisements:
David Laws, the former MP and Schools minister, has joined Ark as an adviser to our international programmes. He will be advising Ark on the development of global education systems, including quality assurance and value add programmes.
Eleven year old pupils at Ark schools have posted their best ever key stage 2 results (sometimes known as SATs) this year. 72% of Ark pupils achieved the benchmark ‘level 4’ in reading, writing and mathematics combined. This represents a five point rise on last year’s average of 67%.
There was also a five point rise for those getting Level 5 – above the expected benchmark, demonstrating better outcomes for the most talented students.
BBC Radio 4's The Educators went to meet the two new headteachers of one of Ark's secondary schools in Birmingham for a special programme on the challenges of turning a school around.
One of the biggest challenges in schools across the world is to ensure that students in lower income communities have access to the same quality of teaching and learning as those from more affluent backgrounds. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) in South Africa is piloting a new model
Two Ark schools have been celebrating world culture by hosting their first ever assembly together - despite being over 4,000 miles away.
Children at Ark Atwood Primary Academy, started their International Day with live video assembly over Skype with Lajpat Nagar III, a new primary school in South Delhi which is Ark's first ever school abroad.
Over the last couple of weeks, 11 of our London schools and two of our Portsmouth schools participated in the Shakespeare Schools Festival 2015. From a 1940s themed Queen Lear to Much Ado About Nothing set to a Madonna soundtrack, to a Twelfth Night involving Space Hoppers, we witnessed fantastic performances from our talented students.
Sarah from Ark Brunel played Lady Macbeth, she said “it was scary, but when we got on stage, the lights meant that you couldn't see beyond the first row. I'm glad that I did it and am proud of myself."
The first ever school outside of the UK supported by an academy network held a special celebration assembly today, four months after opening. The school, Lajpat-Nagar III Primary School in South Delhi, India was established through a new partnership between Ark and the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), the local government, and is free to attend.
We’d love to stay in touch in with you and keep you informed about Ark. By filling out this form, you consent to Ark storing your details and using them for the purposes outlined below. We’ll always treat your details with the utmost care and will never sell them to other companies for marketing purposes.
You can see how your data is used and stored by viewing our updated privacy notice.
If you're interested in the Ark Teacher Training programme, please visit our website to find out more www.arkteachertraining.org
