Ark Charter Academy
Hyde Park Road, Southsea, PO5 4HLOpen in maps (opens in a new tab)
Ark Charter Academy is a secondary school in Southsea for ages 11 to 16. It is one of the 65 schools in Portsmouth. It ranks 7th of 10 secondary schools in Portsmouth. Its latest Ofsted inspection, in December 2024, graded each key judgement and gave no overall Ofsted rating.
Ofsted inspection
Inspected 10 December 2024, report published 28 January 2025
This inspection graded each key judgement and gave no overall effectiveness grade.
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Met
What Ofsted said
From the inspection on 10 December 2024
Staff, pupils, parents and carers welcome the considerable improvements to Ark Charter Academy. The school has instigated a culture shift so that pupils are now proud to attend this school. Pupils feel safe here. The atmosphere is typically happy, kind, respectful and calm. Behaviour is much improved. Bullying and discrimination have reduced considerably. Pupils know adults will help if they have a problem. Pupils appreciate leaders' high expectations for their achievement and try hard to meet them. They know that last year's GCSE results were much better than in previous years. Pupils are proud that, consequently, more pupils were able to go on to study the courses they wanted to at college. Current pupils are ambitious and aim to do even better. The school helps pupils to understand and accept each other's differences. Representatives from the multi-academy trust, the Diocese of Portsmouth and the local authority all reflected that the school feels much more a part of its local community than it has done in the past. For example, pupils enjoyed the recent cultural day and are looking forward to the new student leadership group arranging more such experiences.
What the school should improve
- Some pupils have gaps in their knowledge. This means that they are not achieving as highly as they should in some subjects. The school should ensure that learning is well adapted so that these gaps are filled and more pupils achieve the ambition of the curriculum.
- Despite highly successful work to improve the school's culture, a few pupils are not fully on board with the school's values. As a result, their behaviour and attitudes do not always reflect the school's high standards, and some do not attend regularly enough. The school should continue to promote the values that the school community has decided on, so that all pupils adopt them, suspensions decrease and attendance improves.
Exam results
GCSE results (key stage 4), 2024/25
181 pupils in the year group
Pupil numbers and mix
883 pupils on roll, with places for 900
Schools near Ark Charter Academy
| School | Distance | Ofsted | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Edmund's Catholic School | 0.2 miles | Ofsted: Outstanding | Attainment 8: 58.9 |
| Priory School | 0.5 miles | Ofsted: Good | Attainment 8: 44.7 |
| The Portsmouth Grammar School | 0.6 miles | No Ofsted inspection | Attainment 8: 41.5 |
| Portsmouth High School GDST | 0.6 miles | No Ofsted inspection | Attainment 8: 12.4 |
| Madani Academy | 0.8 miles | Ofsted: Good | Not published |
School details
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Sector
- Academy
- Trust
- ARK SCHOOLS
- Age range
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Sixth form
- No
- Headteacher
- Mr Christian Down
- Phone
- 02392824204
- Address
- Hyde Park Road, Southsea, PO5 4HL
- Local authority
- Portsmouth
- URN
- 135965
School details from Get Information about Schools, 17 September 2026. Ofsted outcomes published to 31 August 2026. Exam results for 2024/25 from the Department for Education. Pupil mix from the school census, 2025/26.