Ark Ayrton Primary Academy

Ark Ayrton Primary Academy is a mixed, non-selective, non-denominational primary school with nursery situated in Portsmouth, Hampshire.The school will provide 450 places to pupils aged 3-11 when fully subscribed. 

We expect all members of our school community to uphold our values, to 'Aim high, Work hard, Play fair'. We believe in the potential of every child who joins ARK Ayrton and strive to ensure that we provide every pupil with the best possible start in life. We want every child at Ark Ayrton to do well enough by the age of 18 to go on to university or to follow the career path of their choice.  

Staff at Ark Ayrton are offered high levels of support throughout the school. In order to deliver the best training and network events, we offer twice as many training days as standard. Our training doesn’t stop once our teachers reach a certain level or learn a certain skill – we support our staff throughout their whole career. Senior leaders have an “open-door policy” and successes and positive feedback are always recognised and celebrated. This support goes beyond the classroom; staff at Ayrton socialise on a regular basis, have team breakfasts and have introduced a “Guardian Angel” system where each staff member is anonymously assigned to look out for another member of team and offer messages of encouragement or treats. 

We believe that for effective teaching and learning to take place, good behaviour in all aspects of academy life is necessary. Ark Ayrton seeks to create a caring learning environment in the academy by enforcing our strict behaviour policy.

Curriculum 

As well as focusing on the key subjects of English, maths and science, we recognise the importance of providing our pupils with an enriched curriculum. An extended school day and specialist teachers mean that our pupils can enjoy lessons such as Music, Art and DT. This allows them to apply their learning across the curriculum, creating a great class atmosphere.

Ofsted

“The school has improved significantly in many areas since its predecessor school was judged to require special measures. Pupils feel safe and recognise the good work of leaders to keep them safe and ensure that they are happy. They speak very positively about the dedicated pastoral support the school provides. Pupils behave well and follow the tight routines for conduct and moving around the school.”

For the full Ofsted report, please see here.

The Ark network 

Ark Ayrton Primary Academy is part of Ark, an international charity transforming lives through education. Ark has 38 schools across the UK in Birmingham, Hastings, London and Portsmouth. Ark exists to give every young person, regardless of their background, a great education and real choices in life. Ark schools are all non-selective and in areas where they can make the biggest difference.  

Read more about Ark: http://arkonline.org/