EDUCATION - RAISING STANDARDS INTERNATIONALLY
Education - Raising standards internationally
Education - Raising standards internationally - United Kingdom 2
Education - Raising standards internationally - United Kingdom 3
Education - Raising standards internationally - United Kingdom 4
Education - Raising standards internationally - United Kingdom 5
Education - Jacob Gentles, Year 11 pupil, Walworth Academy, UK
Education - Raising standards internationally - India 1
Education - Raising standards internationally - India 2
A high quality education enables a child to gain the knowledge, skills and confidence vital to their future success. Too many disadvantaged children are still denied real educational opportunity. In the UK, 73% of children on free school meals (those from the most disadvantaged families) fail to achieve the government’s minimum benchmark of five GCSEs including English and mathematics.
ARK Schools was created in 2004 to work through the UK government’s academies programme to help break the cycle of underachievement in our inner cities by developing outstanding academy schools.
Given the right support, all children can achieve academic success, even in the most difficult inner cities. ARK believes that access to a high quality education is vital for a fair society that affords every child the full range of opportunities.
To achieve this, ARK supports three major programmes in the UK: ARK Schools, Future Leaders and Teaching Leaders; and one in India: School Leaders for India.
Guiding principles
Typically, more than 60% of the 11 year olds joining ARK secondary academies are more than a year behind their expected attainment in reading and writing. ARK’s goal is for every pupil to leave school with the academic qualifications and skills they need to have real choice at 18, whether to continue their education or to pursue a career.
To achieve this, ARK has established a number of guiding principles for its schools:
- high aspirations and an absolute focus on achievement for every pupil
- an intense early focus on the core subjects of English and mathematics which are the foundation for all subjects and critical to success in school and in life
- a ‘small schools’ structure that ensures that every pupil knows and is known by every teacher‘all-through schools’ where the local structure allows, providing classes from nursery to sixth form, ensuring stability and continuity during the transition from primary to secondary
“Through its academies, ARK is creating opportunities for some of the most disadvantaged children in our inner cities.
“As a sponsor ARK not only plays a vital role in turning round under-performing schools, but is a catalyst for driving up achievement in their own and surrounding schools.
“Since I introduced the academies programme, I’ve been delighted to support their work, and I look forward to their continued success for many years to come.”