Latest blogs

Stepping out of the classroom brings fresh perspective to teaching

Wednesday 1st March 2023

Laura Stone is Vice Principal for Culture and Ethos at Ark Putney. She also worked in Ark's Central team before returning to the classroom. Here, she shares her experiences working in different positions across the network. Laura's story is part of our #ArkPeople series.
From the classroom to the office

Championing girls in science

Friday 10th February 2023

We're celebrating International Day of Girls and Women in Science by looking at the work Ark is doing to broaden the horizons and raise the aspirations of young girls to develop a passion for the sciences.
This blog comes from Erika Nabeshima, Project Lead for Primary Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance.

“Music is not just an ‘add on’... it is a wonderful and essential part of life”

Wednesday 25th January 2023

Music plays a vibrant role in the life of Ark’s schools. Designed to build confidence, ability and harness a life-long love of a variety of music, the Ark Music Programme offers a wealth of experience for all students at all levels. Thanks to the hard work of our dedicated team of music teachers, we’ve seen creative and talented musical communities develop across our network. The subject has grown in popularity, so much so that approximately eleven percent of Ark students take music at GCSE, compared to just five percent nationally.

Ark partners with charities to launch a national baby bank network

Wednesday 25th January 2023

Ark has joined forces with Little Village, Baby Bank Network Bristol, and Save the Children to develop and support a network for more than 200 local baby banks operating across the UK.
Aisha Washington, Ark Venture Partner, explains how the network will support the UK baby banks that act as lifelines to thousands of families by providing clothes, toys and equipment for babies and children.

Supporting Ark's ambitious and talented students

Wednesday 21st December 2022

Our Sixth Form and Destinations team helps our students to achieve the results they need for the university or career of their choice. They work with partners to give students access to incredible resources and organise conferences, webinars and workshops.
Sarah Taunton, our Head of Programmes, shares what the team has been up to this term and their exciting plans for 2023.

Progress 8 success shows Ark Greenwich students can dream big

Wednesday 30th November 2022

Ark Greenwich Free School Principal, Rhys Spiers, has spoken of his pride in the children, staff and parent community as it now ranks in the top 1% of state schools nationally following exceptional Progress 8 scores. He shares the school's journey to this success.

Ark marks the global day of giving

Tuesday 29th November 2022

This Giving Tuesday is a time to show support for the causes we care about and, for Ark, a moment to celebrate the generosity of our partners and donors.
Holly Mumford, Ark's Head of Development, reflects on the progress and successes we've seen thanks to this fantastic support.

Supporting our children and encouraging the magic of stories

Friday 25th November 2022

Ellie Whitehorn joined Ark in March 2020 as Network Lead for Primary English. She is also a governor at Ark Franklin, holding the Safeguarding Link Governor role. As part of our #ArkPeople series, we asked Ellie to tell us about her varied role and the strategies in place to support teachers get the best from their children.

Ark teachers share learnings from their experience in Nairobi

Thursday 24th November 2022

The Global Schools Forum (GSF) and Ark Fellowship programme was launched to help foster peer learning and professional development for Ark staff and some of GSF’s member organisations.

Ensuring equitable education for our youngest learners

Wednesday 23rd November 2022

Katie Oliver, formerly Ark's Director of Operations, now heads up Ark Start, our pilot programme to broaden and extend work in early years education. The first nursery at Ark John Archer opened in 2020 and the second at Ark Oval in 2021. With expansion plans in the pipeline, Katie updates us on how our young learners are doing and on campaign work.