OFSTED
22 February 2023
Latest graded inspection
Latest published outcome
Good
OEIF
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour & attitudes
Requires improvement
Personal development
Good
Leadership & management
Good
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Free schools
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Croydon
Trust
ARK SCHOOLS
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
759
759 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
384
50.6% of pupils
Male pupils
375
49.4% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
25.4 pts
above England
School
50.2%
Croydon
27.2%
London
26.3%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
14.1 pts
above England
School
34.4%
Croydon
29.6%
London
39.2%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
0.3 pts
above England
School
1.3%
Croydon
0.4%
London
0.5%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
15.9%
121
African
12.6%
96
Caribbean
11.5%
87
Any other White background
11.1%
84
Unclassified
10.4%
79
Any other Mixed background
7.5%
57
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
16.9%
128 of
759 pupils
4.0 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
1.3 pts
below
England
6.0%
2.6 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
2024/25
Key stage 4 outcomes
Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.
ATTAINMENT 8
Average attainment score
45.6
6.4 pts
above England
Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
8.46%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
2.24 pts
higher than
England
School
8.46%
Croydon
6.77%
London
6.38%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
25.28%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
9.46 pts
higher than
England
School
25.28%
Croydon
19.05%
London
17.60%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
2.84%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
1.03 pts
higher than
England
School
2.84%
Croydon
2.11%
London
1.67%
England
1.80%
Council, regional and national
comparisons are averages of published
school-level percentages rather than
pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
School context
Comparison with open secondary schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
63.3%
29.1 pts
below England
Ark Blake Academy
63.3%
Croydon
79.6%
London
91.3%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.