Latest blogs

“My mum can’t believe I’m a teacher” A personal reflection for National Dyslexia Week.

Tuesday 6th October 2015

Phil Perkins teaches business studies at Ark Burlington Danes Academy in west London. He’s a graduate of Bournemouth University and the Ark Teacher Training programme. He’s also dyslexic. Undiagnosed for many years, he struggled not only in his studies, but even just to stay in school. For National Dyslexia Week, he shared with us some thoughts on his struggles and how he works to help his students avoid mistakes he made himself.

Swapping South Africa for the south coast – one teacher’s story

Monday 5th October 2015

Katrien Snyman is a teacher at Ark Little Ridge, a primary school in Hastings. Originally from South Africa, she moved to the UK nearly a decade ago and started teaching again. To mark World Teachers Day, she shares her story.

From a building site to building futures: Ark India

Friday 14th August 2015

In this blog post, Urmila Chowdhury, the Principal of Ark's new primary school in India reflects on the challenges and triumphs from the school’s opening month:

A personal and a national challenge: Finding transformational teachers in India

Thursday 28th May 2015

Later this year, Ark will be opening a new primary school in India, the first of several planned for impoverished neighbourhoods in South Delhi over the next five years. Ankita Dubey is an Ark project manager. In this blog, she discusses growing up in India, and how she is searching for teachers like those who inspired her early in her life.

Seven reasons to choose a teaching job in an Ark school

Sunday 17th May 2015

May is a hectic time for teachers. Not only are they preparing students for end of year exams, it's also one of the busiest times of the year for recruitment, as teachers seek to explore their career options.

Mountains to climb: An Ark Fellow in South Africa

Friday 20th February 2015

Guy Rimmer is an English teacher from Ark’s King Solomon Academy. He was selected as part of the Ark Global Teaching Fellowship Programme and spent two weeks in South Africa this summer, sharing knowledge with Ark partner organisation SPARK Schools. He has written a blog about his experiences, and his thoughts on how to improve schools in the developing world:

Ark Fellows leverage their leadership skills in Uganda

Wednesday 18th February 2015

Hayley Francis is a classroom teacher from Ark Oval Primary Academy and Mark Critchard is Ark Schools’ Network Lead for Mathematics and former Head of Maths at Evelyn Grace Academy. Both were selected as part of the Ark Global Teaching Fellowship Programme and spent two weeks in Uganda this summer, sharing knowledge with Ark partner organisation Promoting Equality in African Schools (PEAS).

Sparking improved teaching through better data: An Ark Fellow in South Africa

Monday 16th February 2015

Daniella Grasso is the inclusion manager at Ark Bentworth Primary Academy in West London. She was selected as part of the Ark Global Teaching Fellowship Programme and spent two weeks in South Africa in August 2014, sharing knowledge with one of Ark’s partners, SPARK Schools.

Sweet home Transylvania: Reuniting families in Romania

Tuesday 13th January 2015

To meet the Cosma family at their home in rural Romania, you wouldn't know that they had only recently been reunited after years of painful separation.

Transforming students' lives through high expectations

Wednesday 29th October 2014

Matt Jones is the head teacher of Ark’s Globe Academy. 56% of pupils at the school are on free school meals and 38% speak English as an additional language, both well above the national average. Here, Matt writes about how he’s managed to turn the former Geoffrey Chaucer Technology College from a school in special measures to one with consistently strong Ofsted and exam results.