Ark Acton Academy
Gunnersbury Lane, Acton, London, W3 8EY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ARK SCHOOLS
- Headteacher
- Headteacher Sarah Donachy
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- ARK Schools
- Constituency
- Ealing Central and Acton
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,400
- Pupils on roll
- 752
- URN
- 146318
- Local authority
- Ealing
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02031102400
About this school
Ark Acton Academy is a secondary academy in London. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 752 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Ark Acton 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
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
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 137 | 179 | 194 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.6 | 46.2 | 42.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.31 +0.03 to +0.60 | +0.20 -0.03 to +0.44 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 37% | 46.4% | 32.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 59% | 62.6% | 57.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 43% | 53.1% | 58.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 4.2 | 3.9 |
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 Acton 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 | Ealing average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 43.6 | 44.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.2 | 47 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.1 | 44.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 860 |
| 2023/24 | 854 |
| 2024/25 | 804 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ark Acton Academy compares
Ark Acton Academy ranked 15th of 16 secondary schools in Ealing for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 46% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42.1 | 12.5% | 54.5% | 752 | — |
| Ark Soane Academy | — | 7.2% | 54.4% | 874 | 0.2 miles |
| Twyford Church of England High School | 67.1 | 6.9% | 20.1% | 1,682 | 0.3 miles |
| The Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls | 56.5 | 9.1% | 35.1% | 1,315 | 0.8 miles |
| Ada Lovelace Church of England High School | 64.4 | 5.8% | 24.6% | 1,089 | 1.1 miles |
| Ealing Fields Church of England High School | 66.1 | 7.2% | 21.8% | 803 | 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 54.47%
- English as an additional language
- 60.7%
- Overall absence
- 12.46%
- Persistent absence
- 41.27%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ark Soane Academy0.2 miles
Secondary · London
-
Twyford Church of England High School0.3 miles
Secondary · London
-
The Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls0.8 miles
Secondary · London
-
Ada Lovelace Church of England High School1.1 miles
Secondary · London
-
Ealing Fields Church of England High School1.5 miles
Secondary · London
Other schools in London
Ark Acton Academy ranks 222nd 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 All Saints Academy Secondary
- Ark Bolingbroke Academy Secondary
- Ark Burlington Danes Academy Secondary
- Ark Elvin Academy Secondary
- Ark Evelyn Grace Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Ark Acton Academy teach?
- Ark Acton Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in London.
- Who is the headteacher of Ark Acton Academy?
- The headteacher of Ark Acton Academy is Headteacher Sarah Donachy, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Ark Acton Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ark Acton 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 Acton Academy?
- Ark Acton Academy has 752 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Ark Acton Academy full?
- Ark Acton Academy has capacity for 1,400 pupils and 752 on roll (54%), 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 Acton Academy a faith school?
- No. Ark Acton Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Ark Acton Academy a selective school?
- No. Ark Acton Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Ark Acton Academy part of an academy trust?
- Ark Acton 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 Acton Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.6 in 2022/23 and 42.1 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 Acton Academy compare with other schools in Ealing?
- Ark Acton Academy ranked 15th of 16 secondary schools in Ealing for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 46% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% 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 Acton Academy's absence rate?
- Ark Acton Academy's overall absence rate is 12.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ark Acton Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ark Acton 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 10 July 2026.