We believe that all scholars can succeed if given outstanding teaching and pastoral care.

Our core belief is that all scholars can succeed if given outstanding teaching and pastoral care. Our mission is to create a school of the highest standards that achieves this through recruiting and training excellent teachers and support staff and in developing a pastoral system that ensures no child is left behind.

Whilst we want all of our scholars to leave the school with the currency they need to access the next stage of their education and place a primacy on hard work, we know that getting great exam results is only half of a good education and we are determined to deliver as many opportunities as we can for every child to flourish outside the classroom.

We organise and deliver all of these experiences as we believe they will help equip all of our scholars with the experiences and habits they need to live a happy and successful life. We will work tirelessly to achieve these goals but we also need the support of all involved with the school, especially our parents. At Ark Greenwich Free School we don’t talk about ability or potential and we certainly don’t label our children, but we do talk about effort and strategies and we expect the same at home.

We will provide the highest quality teaching and resources and ensure we offer support where it is needed and stretch and challenge every scholar. In return we expect every one of our parents to commit to our school day and to uphold the ethos of Ark Greenwich Free School.

Ark Greenwich Free School was founded on a set of values and these inform all that we do. The school is unwavering in its commitment to these values and we expect a great deal from every one of our scholars in ensuring they live up to them every day. Ark Greenwich Free School is not a school where you can take a back seat and drift through your education; as a smaller-than-average school, we are a community of learners and we hold each other to account for our actions and commitment, whether we are a teacher or a scholar.

· Ambition: Reaching for the stars and having sky-high expectations. Believing that top exam grades, places at elite universities and professional careers are achievable for all of our scholars

· Growth: The conviction that improvement is always possible and the determination to continuously develop

· Fellowship: The knowledge that the interests of others are as important as my own and the commitment to act as a positive member of the community

· Scholarship: The recognition that the acquisition of knowledge and skills is intrinsically valuable and the diligence to pursue mastery of them

We are building a great school for Greenwich that will hopefully serve many generations of young people and we look forward to welcoming you in the near future.

Ark Schools Network

Our approach

Our schools follow the same set of underlying principles. We call these the Six Pillars:

1. High Expectations

We believe that every child can achieve great things. So we set exceptionally high expectations for all our scholars, and we do whatever it takes to meet them. Our aspirations are no lower for our most vulnerable scholars.

2. Exemplary Behaviour

Our schools are characterised by a respectful and orderly environment, where teachers can focus on teaching and scholars can focus on learning. We teach, recognise and reinforce good behaviour, and we don't tolerate poor behaviour. We don't accept any excuses, and we don't make any either.

3. Excellent Teaching

A teacher affects a scholar's achievement more than any other factor. We work side-by-side with teaching staff, supporting them with training and development so that they can deliver excellent teaching. To make sure that no scholar is left behind, we've developed data management tools which help teachers to monitor progress - this shows when scholars, or indeed teaching staff, need extra support.

4. Depth Before Breadth

When children build firm foundations in English and maths, they find it easier to do well in other subjects too. That's why we prioritise depth in these subjects, giving our scholars the best chance of success.

We've developed Mathematics Mastery to support our children in maths - this highly-effective approach is inspired by successful teaching methods from around the world, and is also endorsed by Ofsted. As well as being used in all of our primary schools, Mathematics Mastery is being used by over 100 schools outside Ark. We also dedicate more time to literacy and English, to nurture a love of reading and develop fluent communication skills. We train all of our teachers to recognise the barriers children might face in building literacy skills, and show them how to support scholars who need more help.

5. More Time For Learning

To make sure children have enough time both for core subjects and for extra-curricular activities, many of our schools run a longer school day. Others are open at weekends and during school holidays, offering master classes and revision sessions. Many Ark schools offer residential stays, day trips and summer schools. In every school, no time is wasted - every hour of every day is devoted to children learning.

6. Knowing Every Child

We organise our schools so that every child knows and is known well by every adult in the school.

We also recognise that children do best when families and schools work together. We keep parents well informed about children's targets, and we involve families in all aspects of school life.