Ark Academy
Forty Avenue, Wembley, HA9 9JR
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ARK SCHOOLS
- Principal
- Ms Delia Smith
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- ARK Schools
- Constituency
- Brent West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,650
- Pupils on roll
- 1,639
- URN
- 135600
- Local authority
- Brent
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02083854370
About this school
Ark Academy is an all-through academy in Wembley. It teaches children aged 3 to 18 and has 1,639 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Ark Academy, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Exceptional
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 57 | 55 | 56 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 82% | 78% | 82% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 14% | 9% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 84% | 82% | 86% |
| Expected standard in maths | 88% | 91% | 89% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 70% | 80% | 80% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 107.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.00 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 164 | 181 | 168 |
| Attainment 8 score | 54.5 | 52.7 | 51.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.59 +0.36 to +0.81 | +0.45 +0.24 to +0.66 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 61% | 58% | 50.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 82% | 72.9% | 73.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 79% | 82.3% | 83.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.2 | 5.0 | 4.9 |
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 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 | Brent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 82% | 60.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 78% | 61.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 82% | 64.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Brent average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 54.5 | 46.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 52.7 | 47.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51.5 | 44.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,640 |
| 2023/24 | 1,642 |
| 2024/25 | 1,642 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ark Academy compares
Ark Academy ranked 6th of 15 secondary schools in Brent for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 80% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 61% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51.5 | 4.9% | 35.7% | 1,639 | — |
| Preston Manor School | 46.2 | 8.2% | 31.3% | 1,902 | 0.4 miles |
| St Mary's and St John's CofE School | — | — | — | 1,651 | 2.9 miles |
| Whitefriars School | 43 | 8.3% | 31.8% | 1,419 | 3.4 miles |
| London Academy | 51.7 | 7% | 44.5% | 1,749 | 4.0 miles |
| Alec Reed Academy | 45.1 | 8.2% | 44.5% | 1,639 | 4.7 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report14 April 2026
- 22 February 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 35.67%
- English as an additional language
- 48.4%
- Overall absence
- 4.91%
- Persistent absence
- 11.23%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Preston Manor School0.4 miles
All-through · Wembley
-
St Mary's and St John's CofE School2.9 miles
All-through · London
-
Whitefriars School3.4 miles
All-through · Harrow
-
London Academy4.0 miles
All-through · Edgware
-
Alec Reed Academy4.7 miles
All-through · Northolt
Other schools in Wembley
Ark Academy ranks 3rd of the 15 ranked primary schools in Wembley.
- Preston Manor School All-through
- Barham Primary School Primary
- Chalkhill Primary School Primary
- East Lane Primary School Primary
- Elsley Primary School Primary
- Harris Primary Academy South Kenton Primary
- Lyon Park Primary School Primary
- Oakington Manor Primary School Primary
- Park Lane Primary School Primary
- Preston Park Primary School Primary
- St Joseph's Catholic Infant School Primary
- St Joseph's Catholic Junior School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Ark Academy teach?
- Ark Academy teaches children aged 3 to 18. It is an all-through school in Wembley.
- Who is the principal of Ark Academy?
- The principal of Ark Academy is Ms Delia Smith, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Ark Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ark 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 Academy?
- Ark Academy has 1,639 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 18.
- Is Ark Academy full?
- Ark Academy has capacity for 1,650 pupils and 1,639 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Ark Academy a faith school?
- No. Ark Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Ark Academy a selective school?
- No. Ark Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does Ark Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Ark Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is Ark Academy part of an academy trust?
- Ark 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 Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 82% in 2022/23 and 82% 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 Academy compare with other schools in Brent?
- Ark Academy ranked 6th of 15 secondary schools in Brent for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 80% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 61% 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 Academy's absence rate?
- Ark Academy's overall absence rate is 4.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ark Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ark 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.