Ark Ayrton Primary Academy
Somers Road, Southsea, Portsmouth, PO5 4LS
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ARK SCHOOLS
- Primary Principal
- Mrs Sophie Bennett-Acres
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- ARK Schools
- Constituency
- Portsmouth South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 510
- Pupils on roll
- 495
- URN
- 139713
- Local authority
- Portsmouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02392824828
About this school
Ark Ayrton Primary Academy is a primary academy in Portsmouth. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 495 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Ark Ayrton Primary 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 11 July 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good and saw signs of improvement; a full inspection will follow. 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 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 57 | 60 | 59 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 58% | 80% | 78% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 5% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 60% | 83% | 78% |
| Expected standard in maths | 81% | 87% | 81% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 58% | 78% | 76% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 107.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.80 | - | - |
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.
Trends over time
How Ark Ayrton Primary 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 | Portsmouth average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 58% | 48% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 80% | 48.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 78% | 51.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 418 |
| 2023/24 | 411 |
| 2024/25 | 501 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ark Ayrton Primary Academy compares
Ark Ayrton Primary Academy ranked 2nd of 32 primary schools in Portsmouth for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 78% | 6.2% | 63.3% | 495 | — |
| St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School | 83% | 3.4% | 30.1% | 237 | 0.3 miles |
| Arundel Court Primary Academy and Nursery | 35% | 7.1% | 62.8% | 668 | 0.4 miles |
| Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery | 53% | 5.5% | 46% | 462 | 0.4 miles |
| Penbridge Infant School & Nursery | — | 5.4% | 28% | 207 | 0.4 miles |
| Bramble Infant School and Nursery | — | 4.9% | 16.1% | 162 | 0.5 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 63.29%
- English as an additional language
- 39.1%
- Overall absence
- 6.18%
- Persistent absence
- 19.09%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
Arundel Court Primary Academy and Nursery0.4 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery0.4 miles
Primary · Southsea
-
Penbridge Infant School & Nursery0.4 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
Bramble Infant School and Nursery0.5 miles
Primary · Southsea
Other schools in Portsmouth
Ark Ayrton Primary Academy ranks 2nd of the 28 ranked primary schools in Portsmouth.
- Ark Dickens Primary Academy Primary
- Arundel Court Primary Academy and Nursery Primary
- Beacon View Primary Academy Primary
- Copnor Primary School Primary
- Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School Primary
- Court Lane Infant Academy Primary
- Court Lane Junior Academy Primary
- Gatcombe Park Primary School Primary
- Highbury Primary School Primary
- King's Academy College Park (Infant) Primary
- King's Academy College Park (Junior) Primary
- King's Academy Northern Parade (Infant) Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Ark Ayrton Primary Academy teach?
- Ark Ayrton Primary Academy teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Portsmouth.
- Who is the primary principal of Ark Ayrton Primary Academy?
- The primary principal of Ark Ayrton Primary Academy is Mrs Sophie Bennett-Acres, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Ark Ayrton Primary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ark Ayrton Primary 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 Ayrton Primary Academy?
- Ark Ayrton Primary Academy has 495 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Ark Ayrton Primary Academy full?
- Ark Ayrton Primary Academy has capacity for 510 pupils and 495 on roll (97%), 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 Ayrton Primary Academy a faith school?
- No. Ark Ayrton Primary Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Ark Ayrton Primary Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Ark Ayrton Primary Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is Ark Ayrton Primary Academy part of an academy trust?
- Ark Ayrton Primary 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 Ayrton Primary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 58% in 2022/23 and 78% 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 Ayrton Primary Academy compare with other schools in Portsmouth?
- Ark Ayrton Primary Academy ranked 2nd of 32 primary schools in Portsmouth for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 84% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 36% 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 Ayrton Primary Academy's absence rate?
- Ark Ayrton Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 6.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ark Ayrton Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ark Ayrton Primary 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.