Ark Dickens Primary Academy
Turner Road, Portsmouth, PO1 4PN
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ARK SCHOOLS
- Headteacher
- Mrs Laura Berry
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- ARK Schools
- Constituency
- Portsmouth South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 480
- Pupils on roll
- 446
- URN
- 141020
- Local authority
- Portsmouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02392826514
About this school
Ark Dickens Primary Academy is a primary academy in Portsmouth. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 446 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Ark Dickens 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
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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 58 | 57 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% | 67% | 67% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 74% | 67% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 79% | 77% | 73% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 69% | 56% | 65% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 103.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.60 | - | - |
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 Dickens 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 | 67% | 48% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 67% | 48.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 67% | 51.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 464 |
| 2023/24 | 446 |
| 2024/25 | 448 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ark Dickens Primary Academy compares
Ark Dickens Primary Academy ranked 6th of 32 primary schools in Portsmouth for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% 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 | 67% | 6.1% | 56.8% | 446 | — |
| Arundel Court Primary Academy and Nursery | 35% | 7.1% | 62.8% | 668 | 0.3 miles |
| Manor Infant and Nursery School | — | 5.5% | 47.2% | 232 | 0.4 miles |
| The Flying Bull Academy | 17% | 7.2% | 55.8% | 415 | 0.4 miles |
| St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School | 83% | 3.4% | 30.1% | 237 | 0.4 miles |
| Penbridge Infant School & Nursery | — | 5.4% | 28% | 207 | 0.6 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
-
Ungraded inspection report2 April 2025
- 12 November 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 56.82%
- English as an additional language
- 30.1%
- Overall absence
- 6.12%
- Persistent absence
- 21.83%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Arundel Court Primary Academy and Nursery0.3 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
Manor Infant and Nursery School0.4 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
The Flying Bull Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
-
Penbridge Infant School & Nursery0.6 miles
Primary · Portsmouth
Other schools in Portsmouth
Ark Dickens Primary Academy ranks 5th of the 28 ranked primary schools in Portsmouth.
- Ark Ayrton 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 Dickens Primary Academy teach?
- Ark Dickens Primary Academy teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Portsmouth.
- Who is the headteacher of Ark Dickens Primary Academy?
- The headteacher of Ark Dickens Primary Academy is Mrs Laura Berry, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Ark Dickens Primary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ark Dickens 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 Dickens Primary Academy?
- Ark Dickens Primary Academy has 446 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Ark Dickens Primary Academy full?
- Ark Dickens Primary Academy has capacity for 480 pupils and 446 on roll (93%), 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 Dickens Primary Academy a faith school?
- No. Ark Dickens Primary Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Ark Dickens Primary Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Ark Dickens Primary Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is Ark Dickens Primary Academy part of an academy trust?
- Ark Dickens 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 Dickens Primary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 67% in 2022/23 and 67% 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 Dickens Primary Academy compare with other schools in Portsmouth?
- Ark Dickens Primary Academy ranked 6th of 32 primary schools in Portsmouth for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% 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 Dickens Primary Academy's absence rate?
- Ark Dickens Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 6.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ark Dickens Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ark Dickens 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.