Ark Walworth Academy

Ark Walworth Academy continues to maintain its status as a good school, offering a supportive and ambitious educational environment for its students. The school fosters a welcoming community where pupils feel safe and valued, and they demonstrate strong respect for diversity. Their behavior is exemplary, and the school has made significant strides in encouraging a love for learning, as evidenced by improved attendance rates and high levels of engagement in the curriculum. Despite being part of the Ark Schools multi-academy trust, the school operates with support tailored to the specific needs of its students, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy attending the school and feel safe.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well-sequenced.
• Teachers demonstrate strong subject knowledge and provide clear explanations.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported and included in all aspects of school life.
• High percentage of sixth-form students progress to university.
• Positive behavior and high standards of work are evident among students.
• Strong commitment to personal development and extracurricular activities.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment is not consistently used to identify and address misconceptions.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Ark Walworth Academy attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 20.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Ark Walworth Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Ark Walworth Academy had 15.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 16.0% of pupils at Ark Walworth Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Ark Walworth Academy received £11,761 and spent £11,304 for each of its 973 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £860,000 (£884 per pupil).

Across all 48 schools of Ark Schools, income was £9,191 and spending £9,015 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Southwark · Southwark local authority: places and applications

Ark Walworth Academy is part of Ark Schools, which runs 48 schools. The nearest others:

• Ark Globe Academy London
• Ark All Saints Academy London
• Ark Evelyn Grace Academy London
• Ark Bolingbroke Academy London
• ARK John Archer Primary Academy London
• Ark King Solomon Academy London
• Ark Atwood Primary Academy London
• Ark Greenwich Free School London
• Ark Brunel Primary Academy London
• Ark Putney Academy London

What is Ark Walworth Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ark Walworth Academy is Good, from an inspection in December 2023.

When was Ark Walworth Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Ark Walworth Academy was last inspected in December 2023.

How many pupils does Ark Walworth Academy have?

Ark Walworth Academy has 973 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ark Walworth Academy cover?

Ark Walworth Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Ark Walworth Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.0, and 50% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Ark Walworth Academy?

Ark Walworth Academy is at Shorncliffe Road, London, SE1 5UJ.