Ark Blake Academy

URN 147832·Secondary·Free schools·Ark Schools·Compare

Flags

2

0 high

Requires improvement — Behaviour & attitudesOverall absence at 8.5%
Finance: 2024/25Ofsted: Feb 2023Performance: 2025/26Workforce: 2025/26Attendance: 2025/26

Per-pupil income

£8,798.19

2023/24

Staff costs % of income

66.3%

DfE considers above 78% a concern

Reserves

-14.6%

of income

In-year balance

+3.8%

of income

Key indicators

Requires improvement — Behaviour & attitudes

Most recent Ofsted rated Requires Improvement in: Behaviour & attitudes.

Overall absence at 8.5%

National average is approximately 6.2%. Current level: 8.5%.

Latest Ofsted inspection

Good

22 February 2023 · S5 Inspection

Quality of education

Good

Behaviour & attitudes

Requires improvement

Personal development

Good

Leadership & management

Good
SafeguardingEffective

Performance snapshot

Progress 8Measures how much progress pupils make between KS2 and KS4, compared to pupils with similar starting points. 0 is average; positive means above average.
Attainment 8Average score across 8 GCSE-equivalent subjects. Higher is better. National average is around 46.45.6
Basics 9–4 (Eng & Maths)Percentage of pupils achieving grade 4 or above in both English and maths GCSEs.63.6%
Basics 9–5 (Eng & Maths)50.6%
EBacc entryPercentage of pupils entered for the English Baccalaureate: English, maths, sciences, a language, and history or geography.58.4%

2024/25 · KS4

School demographics

Pupils on roll

782

Capacity

1,200 (65%)

Free school meals

46.1%

English additional lang.

33.9%

Ethnicity

White British 16.6%Asian 9.1%Black 25.8%Mixed 20.9%Chinese 0.5%Other 5.2%

Age range: 1118

Workforce

FTE teachersFull-time equivalent: a measure of workforce size where part-time staff are counted proportionally.

45.0

Pupil:teacher ratioNumber of pupils per full-time equivalent teacher. Lower generally indicates smaller class sizes.

17.4

Mean salary

£56,130

Turnover

Vacancy rate

0.0%

Sickness (days)

Attendance

Overall absence

8.5%

National avg: 6.2%

Persistent absencePupils missing 10% or more of school sessions. A key DfE attendance measure.

25.3%

10%+ sessions missed

Authorised absence

4.7%

Unauthorised absence

3.8%

2024/25 · 811 pupils