Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not

Ark works to make sure that all children, regardless of their background, have access to a great education and real choices in life.

2024 Impact Report

Pupils at Ark White City Primary loving their brand new playground

Changing over five million young lives since 2002

30k

We currently serve 30,000 students in our network of 39 schools.

300k+

Ark-designed curricula support more than 300,000 pupils across the country.

5.5m+

Through our independent ventures, we’ve reached over 5.5 million young people across the UK.

Closing the achievement gap by working where we can make the biggest difference

90%

Ninety percent of Ark schools are in areas with above average deprivation. Half of our students are from disadvantaged backgrounds, compared to 26 percent nationally.

72%

Seventy-two percent of children from disadvantaged backgrounds leave an Ark primary school on track in their maths and English, compared to 47 percent nationally.

Ark students from disadvantaged backgrounds are at least five times more likely to attend a top third university than their peers nationally (71% vs an estimated 13%).

Pupils during a lesson at Ark Castledown in Hastings

A top performing primary multi-academy trust

Despite operating in areas of high need, our primary schools achieve results well above national averages and we are among the top performing large multi-academy trusts.

Turning around underachievement in Hastings

Ark students are twice as likely to go to university

85%

Eighty-five percent of our sixth form graduates progress to university compared to 37 percent nationally.

74%

Of those progressing to university, 74 percent go to a top third university compared to 41 percent nationally.

Students on our BTEC programme are around six times more likely to progress to a top third university than BTEC students nationally.

A strong track record for school improvement

Most Ark schools were existing schools that joined the network to improve – often from difficult circumstances. Ninety-four percent of schools rated Inadequate or in Special Measures before joining Ark, are now Good or Outstanding according to Ofsted.

Ark’s new schools are nearly four times more likely to be rated Outstanding than schools nationally (69 vs 16 percent).

Principal Matt Neuberger with students at Ark Soane Academy

Ark Soane rated Outstanding three years after opening

Ark’s newest school, Ark Soane, opened in Acton, London, in 2021. It provides high-quality, non-selective, non-denominational education in an area of high deprivation, and was rated Outstanding in a recent Ofsted inspection.

Ark Soane rated Outstanding

4,000

students across the network performed with Ark Music in the past year

Ark Music

2,750

students competed in network-wide sporting events

Ark Sport

4,700

students in Hastings and Portsmouth have had increased access to the arts in school

Arts and Culture

Sporting success at Ark Globe

Through Ark Sport Scholarships, we are providing free training and development for high ability students, so that every child has a genuine chance of success. Three scholars at Ark Globe have met with success at a national level.

Ark athletes triumph on the national stage

Ark Start John Archer in south west London was one of the first Ark Start nurseries to open

High quality, affordable early years education

Our nursery programme, Ark Start, seeks to solve the inequity that exists in the early years. The network is growing, with new nurseries being added both within and external to Ark’s network of primary schools.

Firm foundations: Ark Start

Subject mastery programmes benefitting 300,000 children nationally

12.5k

teachers in more than 700 schools use the Ark Curriculum Plus online platform for resources and training

2+ mo

Pupils on our Mathematics Mastery primary programme gain up to two months’ additional progress

Ark Curriculum Plus

The EdCity development, as viewed from South Africa Road in White City

£150 million investment in the heart of White City

Our partnership with Hammersmith and Fulham Council creates an education hub, 132 affordable new homes, office space and a youth zone for the local community.

More about EdCity

Our impact in 2024

Download our latest impact report to find out more

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