Ark Pioneer Academy
Secondary · Free schools · Mixed · Barnet
Westcombe Drive, Barnet, EN5 2BE
78
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Outstanding
Graded 13/09/2023
Application demand
66%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
93.2%
17.7% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,107
Capacity used
Nearly full92%
1,200 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
66%
1st preference success rate
142 of 216 families who put it first got an offer
177
Places offered
879
Total applications
5.0
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 216 | 142 | ● 66% |
| 2nd preference | 223 | 26 | ● 12% |
| 3rd preference | 146 | 6 | ● 4% |
| Later preferences (4th–6th) | 294 | 3 | ● 1% |
| Total | 879 | 177 | 20% |
1st preference success by year
Barnet lets families list 6 preferences. 107 applications came from outside the council area (5 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Free schools
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Su Reddy
- Address
- Westcombe Drive, Barnet, EN5 2BE
- Phone
- 02037874090
- Local authority
- Barnet
- Ward / constituency
- Underhill · Chipping Barnet
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 147061
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 39% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 34% | — | — |
| SEN support | 13% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 3 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: ARK SCHOOLS
1,107 pupils · 1,200 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
13 September 2023
Full graded inspection
Outstanding overall effectivenessPersonal development Outstanding Quality of education Outstanding Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 915 pupils
Attendance
93.2%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
6.8%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
17.7%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
2.2%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
3.0%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 54.3 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.57 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 66% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 82% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 5.36 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 56 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 61.6% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 79.7% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 86.4% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 5.56 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 177 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 177 | 35% | 67% | 84% | |
| English Language | 176 | 28% | 65% | 81% | |
| English Literature | 175 | 30% | 76% | 89% | |
| French | 146 | 34% | 65% | 79% | |
| Combined Science | 122 | 7% | 57% | 75% | |
| Geography | 118 | 48% | 68% | 80% | |
| History | 83 | 41% | 67% | 77% | |
| Computer Science | 54 | 39% | 61% | 67% | |
| Physical Education | 54 | 11% | 43% | 54% | |
| Biology | 53 | 89% | 100% | 100% | |
| Physics | 53 | 94% | 100% | 100% | |
| Chemistry | 53 | 94% | 100% | 100% |
Oxbridge
No Cambridge applications recorded for this school in 2020–2025.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Barnet council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.