Ark Charter Academy

Academy sponsor led·Secondary school Southsea, Portsmouth·PO5 4HL
Composite score
48.6
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#2,659
National rank
#388
In South East
#6
In Portsmouth
Top 84%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
38.9
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
36%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
52%
% EBacc grade 5+
16%
EBacc average points score
3.49

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
98%
133 first choices, 180 places
First choices per place
0.74
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
377
any preference, for 180 places
Last place offered lived
1.10 mi
straight line, 2026 intake · 1777 m
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.16
00.511.5
1 per place
0.5920220.5920230.4520240.5820250.742026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

The cut-off distance is how far the last child offered a place lived, not a catchment boundary: it moves every year with the number of applicants. Published by the council in its 2026 allocation figures, and checked against that document before we show it.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
917
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
61.7%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
38.7%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
18.4%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
2.8%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
11.1%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
28.6%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
14.0
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£9,612
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
83%
165 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
78%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
5%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About Ark Charter Academy

Ark Charter Academy is a secondary school in Southsea, Portsmouth, classified by the DfE as a sponsor-led academy with a Church of England religious character. Around 917 pupils aged 11 to 16 attend the school. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 38.9 — below the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has fallen by 1.7 points compared with the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

36% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, below the national average of about 45%. 52% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. 98% of the families who made Ark Charter Academy their first choice were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026, even though the school made at least as many offers as it had first choices - the rest withdrew, moved or fell outside a priority group. In 2026 the furthest child offered a place lived 1.10 miles from the school in a straight line, according to the council's published allocation figures; the distance changes every year with demand. After Year 11, 83% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 11.1%. There are about 14.0 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 62% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, compared with roughly 24% nationally — useful context when reading the results above. Ark Charter Academy does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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