Ark Walworth Academy
Shorncliffe Road, London, SE1 5UJ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ARK SCHOOLS
- Principal
- Ms Jessica West
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- ARK Schools
- Constituency
- Peckham
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 973
- URN
- 135315
- Local authority
- Southwark
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02074509570
About this school
Ark Walworth Academy is a secondary academy in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 973 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Ark Walworth Academy, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 3 November 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 173 | 155 | 156 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.1 | 41.5 | 43.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.12 -0.09 to +0.33 | +0.18 -0.05 to +0.40 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 46% | 41.3% | 43.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 68% | 67.7% | 66.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 51% | 49% | 73.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.0 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Ark Walworth Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Southwark average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44.1 | 48.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.5 | 45.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.3 | 44 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,026 |
| 2023/24 | 989 |
| 2024/25 | 971 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ark Walworth Academy compares
Ark Walworth Academy ranked 16th of 20 secondary schools in Southwark for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 50% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.3 | 6.9% | 72.2% | 973 | — |
| South Bank University Academy | 41.5 | 10.6% | 55.3% | 405 | 0.4 miles |
| Harris Academy Bermondsey | 54.6 | 6.5% | 58.2% | 781 | 0.6 miles |
| City of London Academy (Southwark) | 52.9 | 7.9% | 55.5% | 1,589 | 0.6 miles |
| St Saviour's and St Olave's Church of England School | 52.7 | 7.5% | 54.8% | 620 | 0.6 miles |
| The Charter School Bermondsey | 40.9 | 11.3% | 63.6% | 497 | 1.0 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 72.15%
- English as an additional language
- 49.6%
- Overall absence
- 6.94%
- Persistent absence
- 20.05%
Location
Nearby schools
-
South Bank University Academy0.4 miles
Secondary · London
-
Harris Academy Bermondsey0.6 miles
Secondary · London
-
City of London Academy (Southwark)0.6 miles
Secondary · London
-
St Saviour's and St Olave's Church of England School0.6 miles
Secondary · London
-
The Charter School Bermondsey1.0 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
Ark Walworth Academy ranks 213th of the 258 ranked secondary schools in London.
- Acland Burghley School Secondary
- Ada Lovelace Church of England High School Secondary
- Addey and Stanhope School Secondary
- AIM Academy North London Secondary
- Alexandra Park School Secondary
- All Saints Catholic College Secondary
- All Saints Catholic High School Secondary
- Ark Acton Academy Secondary
- Ark All Saints Academy Secondary
- Ark Bolingbroke Academy Secondary
- Ark Burlington Danes Academy Secondary
- Ark Elvin Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Ark Walworth Academy teach?
- Ark Walworth Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the principal of Ark Walworth Academy?
- The principal of Ark Walworth Academy is Ms Jessica West, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Ark Walworth Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ark Walworth Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Ark Walworth Academy?
- Ark Walworth Academy has 973 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Ark Walworth Academy full?
- Ark Walworth Academy has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 973 on roll (81%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Ark Walworth Academy a faith school?
- No. Ark Walworth Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Ark Walworth Academy a selective school?
- No. Ark Walworth Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Ark Walworth Academy part of an academy trust?
- Ark Walworth Academy is part of ARK SCHOOLS. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Ark Walworth Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.1 in 2022/23 and 43.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ark Walworth Academy compare with other schools in Southwark?
- Ark Walworth Academy ranked 16th of 20 secondary schools in Southwark for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 50% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ark Walworth Academy's absence rate?
- Ark Walworth Academy's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ark Walworth Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ark Walworth Academy's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.