Ark academies see GCSE results rise

Thursday 29 January 2015

Ark schools, of which King Solomon Academy is part, has defied the national drop in GCSE results this year, with another improved set of scores, making the network one of the strongest school groups in the country.

The proportion of Ark students getting 5 A*-C GCSE grades including maths and English rose from 57% to 59% in our 11 secondary schools. Nationally, the percentage of students achieving the same measure fell from 61% to 57%. Ark was also the only one of the 10 largest academy networks to see its GCSE results improve this year.

Lucy Heller, Chief Executive of Ark, said: “We are delighted that so many of our students achieved results that give them a passport to the future. Our aim is to provide a world-class education for children, whatever their background. The fact that Ark is competing with schools who are known to have consistently high results is a huge credit to our teachers’ and students’ hard work.”

King SOlomon academy achieves the best results for pupils on free school meals (and top 2% of comprehensives)

King Solomon Academy has achieved 93% of pupils got 5 good GCSEs including English and maths, and 76% of pupils passed the EBacc, compared to just 23% nationally.

These results put KSA in the top 2% of comprehensive state schools in the country. The results also make it the best school in the country that has an intake of more than 30% of pupils on free school meals. Two-fifths of students got the top A* or A grades, outstripping the performance of many top private schools in England. In addition, 76% of pupils passed the EBacc, a basket of academic subjects that is prized by employers and top universities.

The school has been twice rated outstanding by Ofsted. These results are all the more impressive given the fact that more than 50% of students at King Solomon are eligible for free school meals. The curriculum is academically rigorous, preparing students for success at A-level and university study.  KSA was also rated fourth in the country for ‘Best 8 value added’ – a measure of how pupils progress between primary school and their GCSEs, counting their best 8 grades.

Details of the school's results can be found on the DfE's wesbite here.

Max Haimendorf, Secondary Head of KSA, said: “Everyone is really proud to now get this official recognition – this shows what can be achieved for our ambitious pupils, whatever their circumstances. This is an impressive set of results made possible through the hard work of all our staff and students. Our challenge now is to maintain and strengthen this record of excellence.”

 

 

If you are a teacher reading this and interested in working in King Solomon Academy, we are always looking for exceptional people to join the team. Current roles, including roles at Primary and Secondary can be found at http://kingsolomonacademy.org/vacancies.