Ark Greenwich Free School
403 Shooters Hill Road, London, SE18 4LH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- ARK SCHOOLS
- Headteacher
- Mr James MacNaughton
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- ARK Schools
- Constituency
- Greenwich and Woolwich
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 600
- Pupils on roll
- 615
- URN
- 138245
- Local authority
- Greenwich
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02083193692
About this school
Ark Greenwich Free School is a secondary academy in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 615 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 110 | 107 | 102 |
| Attainment 8 score | 59.0 | 63.6 | 68.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +1.10 +0.82 to +1.39 | +1.43 +1.16 to +1.71 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 67% | 76.6% | 90.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 85% | 93.5% | 98% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 86% | 73.8% | 70.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.6 | 6.0 | 6.5 |
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 Greenwich Free School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Greenwich average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 59 | 35.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 63.6 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 68.2 | 37.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 595 |
| 2023/24 | 599 |
| 2024/25 | 601 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ark Greenwich Free School compares
Ark Greenwich Free School ranked 1st of 16 secondary schools in Greenwich for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 97% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 68.2 | 5.2% | 40.1% | 615 | — |
| Leigh Academy Halley | 48.4 | 6.6% | 42.9% | 987 | 0.5 miles |
| Leigh Academy Blackheath | 55 | 6% | 28.8% | 1,060 | 1.1 miles |
| Thomas Tallis School | 45.6 | 10% | 35.1% | 2,092 | 1.2 miles |
| Royal Greenwich Trust School | 37.4 | 9.4% | 53.3% | 871 | 1.5 miles |
| Eltham Hill School | 52.3 | 6.5% | 25.8% | 1,350 | 1.5 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
- 25 April 2023
-
Ungraded inspection report12 February 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 40.1%
- English as an additional language
- 20.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.15%
- Persistent absence
- 13.51%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Leigh Academy Halley0.5 miles
Secondary · London
-
Leigh Academy Blackheath1.1 miles
Secondary · London
-
Thomas Tallis School1.2 miles
Secondary · London
-
Royal Greenwich Trust School1.5 miles
Secondary · London
-
Eltham Hill School1.5 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
Ark Greenwich Free School ranks 6th 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 year groups does Ark Greenwich Free School teach?
- Ark Greenwich Free School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of Ark Greenwich Free School?
- The headteacher of Ark Greenwich Free School is Mr James MacNaughton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Ark Greenwich Free School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ark Greenwich Free School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Ark Greenwich Free School?
- Ark Greenwich Free School has 615 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Ark Greenwich Free School full?
- Ark Greenwich Free School has capacity for 600 pupils and 615 on roll (102%), so it is at or above 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 Greenwich Free School a faith school?
- No. Ark Greenwich Free School has no designated religious character.
- Is Ark Greenwich Free School a selective school?
- No. Ark Greenwich Free School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Ark Greenwich Free School?
- Ark Greenwich Free School 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 Greenwich Free School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 59 in 2022/23 and 68.2 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 Greenwich Free School rank locally?
- Ark Greenwich Free School ranked 1st of 16 secondary schools in Greenwich for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 97% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 56% 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 Greenwich Free School's absence rate?
- Ark Greenwich Free School's overall absence rate is 5.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ark Greenwich Free School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ark Greenwich Free School'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.