Ark Evelyn Grace Academy

Ark Evelyn Grace Academy is an 11-16 mixed secondary school, located at the heart of the London Borough of Lambeth. We are a community school, with high aspirations, working with and for our families to empower our students to be the voice of their future.

Through providing a nurturing environment, a high-quality education and a wide range of experiences and opportunities, we enable all our young people to have choices over the direction of their lives. It is my role as Principal to ensure that all students, attending Ark Evelyn Grace Academy, can be heard, be seen and be their best, making significant progress in school and securing high quality destinations so that they reach their full potential.

Our mission statement is based on the belief each young person is different and difference should be embraced. It is based on the belief each young person has a unique contribution to make and should be given a voice. Through finding their voice, young people can lead empowered lives where they have choice, agency and influence. We are focused on the future as we want our young people, to be the face of it.

Supporting our mission is our Culture Compass which sets out the values that drive the work that we do creating a shared sense of purpose.

Our core purpose is to educate and teach our students so that they become cleverer and kinder and leave this academy, ready to become the solutions and not the symptoms of any disadvantage that may be found in the community or wider society.

Teaching is indeed a noble profession and to teach in a disadvantaged context is nobler still. However, to simply turn up and teach is never enough. Education is only transformational if every student has a consistent diet of six great lessons every single day. Great schools develop great teachers so that all students might secure the very best outcomes in their chosen subjects. Only then will our students be able to leave this school and compete for the very best positions in their chosen career.

Therefore, it is my job and that of the senior team to create the conditions where every teacher can teach without fear of interruption and to provide the opportunities for every teacher to grow. Great schools should be communities of learners, where no one ever thinks they have arrived and are continuously seeking to improve and advance. No teacher can grow without being observed and observing others as we learn from one another. You would not allow a surgeon to operate on you without being assured that they had years of practice and had observed numerous experts in their field. Teaching may not be life or death, but education can be the difference between great life chances and poor ones. Therefore, we have a duty to be the very best that we can be and provide an equality of opportunity for all our students. The best way to achieve this is through observation, feedback, reading and practice.

Ultimately, we learn best when we learn together and this means that we train, plan, teach, reflect and share together. There can be no secret gardens where excellent resources or practice is hidden from view. If we are all committed to building the understanding of every student, then we all work together and are consistent in all that we do. That means we are keen to observe and be observed and model the kind of learning dispositions we expect in our students, where they are hungry for advice and guidance on how to get better and gain greater understanding. After all, an outstanding school is simply one that does what it says it does. A policy or handbook should never just sit on a shelf and gather dust, it is a working document that all staff must understand and routinely apply.

Great organizations are consistent, coherent and transparent, where everyone understands their role and their contribution to the whole. There is no substitute for hard work and this, above all else, will help our students understand and achieve excellence. We will help each student gain a firm knowledge and understanding so that the passion for their subjects grows and matches that of every one of us.

Schools are not just a place of learning; they are a journey of self-discovery, intellectual enquiry and growth. That should be as true for every member of staff as it our students. However, this goal is only possible if we work consistently and in harmony.

We provide a transformational education that enables our students to live happy and fulfilling personal and professional lives. We intend for Ark Evelyn Grace academy to be the school of choice in the local community, whose reputation is centred on great teaching, exemplary behaviour and unrivalled opportunities beyond the classroom.

Our commitment is that we will work tirelessly in teaching, guiding and supporting all our students, so that they may go on to secure a place at a good university and ultimately compete for the very best positions in their chosen career.