Head of Year at Ark Soane Academy

Welcome to Ark Soane Academy.

We are a brand new, non-selective, non-denominational secondary school which opened in Ealing in September 2021.

Ark Soane, like all Ark schools, is designed around six core ideas: excellent behaviour; a curriculum that enables student mastery of learning so all students can achieve exceptional results; high quality teaching; development of student character and forming strong habits; raising student aspirations so they seek to achieve to their fullest potential; and developing our teachers to become leaders in education.

We are proud to be named after John Soane – the great architect and educator who is closely associated with the area. He believed that architecture students of his day needed to be well versed in literature, mathematics, classics and history among other subjects and that they should explain their ideas with “clearness, correctness and effect”. We aim to provide that standard of education to all our students: a challenging curriculum taught with kindness and with the opportunity for students to express themselves with pride and with the highest standards of speaking and literacy.

We know that every child can succeed and we will insist on their success by expecting the highest standards from them: a commitment to work hard at all times; a commitment to learn from every opportunity; and a commitment to behave impeccably to maximise time for learning. We also know that children encounter barriers to their learning and we work with children and their families to overcome these. We know that high expectations combined with kind support provides Ark Soane students with every opportunity to succeed.

We know that children are curious and that they deserve to be stretched with a challenging curriculum that demands effort and resilience. Our curriculum provides a strong foundation to develop students’ knowledge and provokes their curiosity and interest in further study. Our students know why what they are learning is important and are prepared to work relentlessly to master that knowledge. We know that struggle is an essential part of learning and we provide additional lessons and support for those who struggle in any topic so that we leave no child behind.

We know that children who love school will be able to access the university and career of their choice. We have recruited an outstanding, passionate and committed team of founding teachers who are experts in their fields and are determined to foster a love for their subject to enable our children to be successful. Our teachers know individual students’ strengths and areas for development and work tirelessly for their success.

We know that children can learn from every activity and every encounter. All Ark Soane children participate in carefully chosen extra-curricular activities designed to grow their independence, their academic skills and their compassion. All children have opportunities to attend universities and meet employers from Year 7 upwards and will be supported to meet their high aspirations.

In September 2021 we opened our doors to 180 year 7 students who have the privilege of being the only year group in the school and the opportunity to shape Ark Soane for future generations. In September 2022 we are delighted to be welcoming our second cohort of students to the school and to be opening our full premises.

We are committed to delivering a highly challenging curriculum in a calm and purposeful environment with great teaching, outstanding behaviour, kindness and respect for all our students.

We look forward to welcoming you to our school.