ARK Schools today reported the network’s seventh GCSE results for the eight ARK academies which have GCSE students. Across the network, 58% of pupils achieved five A*-C grades including English and mathematics, with attainment in both mathematics and English outperforming national attainment. Across the network:
- 65% of students achieved A*-C in English (national attainment 63.6%) with 31% achieving A*-B
- 75% of students achieved A*-C in mathematics (national 57.6%) with 39% achieving A*-B
- 71% of students made three levels of progress between KS2 and KS4 in English (national 2012, 69%)
- 78% of students made three levels of progress between KS2 and KS4 in mathematics (national 2012, 70%)
ARK’s aim is that all its students will have a choice at 18 of going on to university. That means moving schools to an increasingly academically rigorous curriculum. All but one ARK academy reported growth in the number of students achieving the English Baccalaureate standard of five GCSEs at A*-C including English, maths, a humanity, a modern language and a science, with 37% of Burlington Danes students achieving this standard and 19% at St Albans Academy in Birmingham and Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton.
Percentage of pupils passing five GCSEs at A*-C including English and mathematics
| School | Year opened | Final result previous school | 2012 result % | 2013 result % | Change 2012 – 13 (percentage points) | English Baccalaureate 2013% (2012) |
| Burlington Danes Academy | 2006 | 31 | 66 | 77 | +11 | 37 (21) |
| Walworth Academy | 2007 | 27 | 60 | 60 | 11 (10) | |
| Evelyn Grace Academy | 2008 | - | - | 58 | - | 19 (-) |
| ARK Globe Academy | 2008 | 26 | 45 | 52 | +7 | 15 (5) |
| Charter Academy | 2009 | 21 | 48 | 68 | +20 | 2 (5) |
| St Albans Academy | 2009 | 31 | 51 | 56 | +5 | 19 (0) |
| ARK Kings Academy | 2012 | 41 | 41 | 24 | -17 | 5 (5) |
| ARK Putney Academy | 2012 | 62 | 62 | 58 | -4 | 13 (11) |
| Network average | 58 | 17% |
Highlights
In mathematics
- 82% of St Albans Academy students achieved A*-C in mathematics, up 29 percentage points since the school opened as an academy (53%), with 29% gaining A*-A grades.
- 82% of Evelyn Grace Academy students achieved A*-C in mathematics and 22% achieved A*-A
At Burlington Danes Academy 19% of students achieved 5 A*/A grades
St Alban’s Academy
- 56% passed at least 5 GCSEs at A*-C including English and mathematics (2009, 31%).
- 60% gained A*-C in a modern foreign language and 19% achieved the English Baccalaureate, an impressive achievement as the school taught neither history nor geography when it became an academy (2009).
In Evelyn Grace Academy‘s first set of GCSEs
- 21% of students achieved A*-A in English
Charter Academy
- 68% of students passed at least 5 GCSEs at A*-C including English and mathematics, a remarkable achievement at a schools where only 21% achieved the same qualification before it became an ARK academy in 2009.
ARK Schools Director of Education, Sophy Blakeway, said: “Our aim is that every ARK student gains the qualifications that will set them on a course for university. As we move to an increasingly academic curriculum we are pleased to see continued strong progress in core subjects, particularly in mathematics, an exceptional achievement at our longest standing academy.”
Celebrating the success of ARK students across the network »