Ofsted: Requires improvement trending_up Popular emoji_events #13 in East Sussex public Top 31% UK

Ark Alexandra Academy

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMr Mark Rankin Mr Alex Birks-Agnew

corporate_fareARK SCHOOLS

location_onHASTINGS, TN34 2PG

language Visit Website phone 1424439888

verified

Ofsted

Requires improvement

Inspected 2024

groups

Students

1,557

trending_up

Attainment 8

42.6

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GCSE Rank

#14 in East Sussex

#2,157 of 3,216 nationally

summarize

Ark Alexandra Academy is a Academy sponsor led secondary school in HASTINGS, serving ages 11-16. Currently Requires Improvement according to Ofsted — the school is working to raise standards. Demand is above capacity (1.2×) — apply through your local authority on time.

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School Summary

Ark Alexandra Academy is an academy sponsor led in HASTINGS, East Sussex, admitting pupils aged 11-16. It has a sixth form offering post-16 education. It is part of ARK SCHOOLS. The school has approximately 1,431 pupils on roll, of whom 34% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, pupils achieved an Attainment 8 score of 42.6, placing the school #14 in East Sussex and #2,157 of 3,216 nationally. 40.70% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and Maths. 16.9% of all GCSE entries were graded 9–7.

A-level value added: +0.53 — students made above-average progress at sixth form.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2024. The school's current overall rating is Requires improvement. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement, personal development Good, and leadership and management Good.

The school is oversubscribed — in the most recent cycle, there were 1.2× as many applications as places, making a successful application competitive.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 14.7:1. There is 1 teaching vacancy.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there was 1 permanent exclusion. The average suspension rate was 26.6 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

analytics

Secondary Performance Trends (KS4)

2025

Progress 8 Score

Attainment 8

42.6

Grade 5+ E&M

40.70%

Grade 9–7 (all GCSEs)16.9%

Entering EBacc19.90%

EBacc APS3.68

2024

Progress 8 Score

-0.79

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

38.4

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc22.50%

EBacc APS3.4

2023

Progress 8 Score

-0.87

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

38.4

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc17%

EBacc APS3.23

2022

Progress 8 Score

-0.55

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

39.9

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc22%

EBacc APS3.38

2021

Progress 8 Score

Attainment 8

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc60%

EBacc APS-

2019

Progress 8 Score

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc29%

EBacc APS3.64

2018

Progress 8 Score

-0.54

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

38.5

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc18%

EBacc APS3.12

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Student Destinations (After Secondary)

This module shows what students did after finishing Key Stage 4 (GCSEs). It reflects how well the school prepares pupils for the real world.

2025

Stayed in Education / Employment

89%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)86%

Apprenticeships2%

Employment1%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)8%

2024

Stayed in Education / Employment

85%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)81%

Apprenticeships1%

Employment2%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)14%

2023

Stayed in Education / Employment

89%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)81%

Apprenticeships3%

Employment5%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)11%

2022

Stayed in Education / Employment

93%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)89%

Apprenticeships2%

Employment2%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)7%

2021

Stayed in Education / Employment

88%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)79%

Apprenticeships4%

Employment4%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)11%

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Sixth Form (A-Level) Performance

A-level results for students who stayed in sixth form at this school. Value added measures how much progress students made relative to their GCSE starting point.

2024

A-Level Value Added

+0.53

vs expected from GCSEs

Pupils do significantly better than expected at A-level.

Avg Grade

B-

Students

Retention rate75.70%

2023

Avg Grade

C+

Students

Retention rate88.20%

2022

Avg Grade

B-

Students

Retention rate97.5%

Source: DfE A Level and Other 16-18 Results

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

20 February 2024

Inspection Report

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03 November 2021

Inspection Report

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13 July 2021

Inspection Report

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02 March 2021

Inspection Report

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17 December 2018

Inspection Report

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17 October 2017

Inspection Report

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07 March 2016

Inspection Report

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08 July 2015

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

6 Evaluations

2024-02-20

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 3 EIF

Requires improvement

Education

Good

Behaviour

Requires improvement

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2021-11-03

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 2 EIF

Requires improvement

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2018-12-17

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2017-10-17

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

2016-03-07

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2015-07-08

None Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

29.6%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 7.3% for this term (secondary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

13.0%(186 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

1pupils

gavel Exclusion recorded

National average: 7.398% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 1,431 pupils. During this period, there were 423 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 29.6%, which is above the termly national average of 7.3%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	1,431	423	29.6%	7.3%	1
2024/25 (Autumn term)	1,475	348	23.6%	7.8%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	1,491	464	31.1%	7.4%	4
2023/24 (Spring term)	1,552	606	39.0%	7.1%	5
2023/24 (Autumn term)	1,570	555	35.4%	8.2%	7
2022/23 (Summer term)	1,535	238	15.5%	6.6%	2
2022/23 (Spring term)	1,557	256	16.4%	6.4%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	1,571	168	10.7%	5.9%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	1,429	97	6.8%	4.7%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	1,454	88	6.1%	4.9%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	1,459	184	12.6%	4.4%	3
2020/21 (Summer term)	1,375	128	9.3%	3.6%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	1,393	31	2.2%	1.0%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	1,382	116	8.4%	3.9%	2
2019/20 (Summer term)	1,339	4	0.3%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	1,339	304	22.7%	3.2%	1
2019/20 (Autumn term)	1,345	204	15.2%	4.2%	3
2018/19 (Summer term)	554	17	3.1%	3.1%	1
2018/19 (Spring term)	557	15	2.7%	3.8%	3
2018/19 (Autumn term)	567	33	5.8%	3.8%	3
2017/18 (Summer term)	585	84	14.4%	3.4%	4
2017/18 (Spring term)	604	68	11.3%	3.0%	4
2017/18 (Autumn term)	617	68	11.0%	3.7%	4
2016/17 (Summer term)	692	53	7.7%	3.0%	3
2016/17 (Spring term)	702	44	6.3%	3.3%	2
2016/17 (Autumn term)	702	58	8.3%	3.1%	2

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 50 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 42 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 34 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 33 pupils

Physical Disability 25 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 17 pupils

Hearing Impairment 4 pupils

Visual Impairment 4 pupils

Multi-Sensory Impairment 1 pupils

health_and_safety

Parent View on Pastoral Care

Results from the official Ofsted Parent View survey, reflecting direct parent sentiment regarding the school environment.

My child is happy at this school.

46.0%Positive

My child feels safe at this school.

55.0%Positive

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

15.0%Positive

View All Survey Responseskeyboard_arrow_down

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

strongly agree21%

agree37%

disagree23%

strongly disagree14%

don't know4%

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

strongly agree9%

agree29%

disagree33%

strongly disagree24%

don't know5%

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

strongly agree12%

agree18%

disagree16%

strongly disagree35%

don't know2%

not applicable17%

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

yes28%

no72%

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

strongly agree4%

agree14%

disagree16%

strongly disagree60%

dont know5%

The school has high expectations for my child.

strongly agree33%

agree34%

disagree12%

strongly disagree12%

don't know10%

My child does well at this school.

strongly agree17%

agree41%

disagree16%

strongly disagree18%

don't know7%

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

strongly agree10%

agree34%

disagree26%

strongly disagree27%

don't know3%

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

strongly agree13%

agree51%

disagree19%

strongly disagree11%

don't know6%

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

strongly agree28%

agree51%

disagree8%

strongly disagree8%

don't know5%

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

strongly agree12%

agree25%

disagree21%

strongly disagree34%

don't know9%

I would recommend this school to another parent.

yes42%

no58%

Top Secondary Schools in East Sussex

Other highly-ranked schools in the same local authority

View all arrow_forward

Claverham Community College

Good

location_on Battle, TN33 0HT

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Heathfield Community College

Good

location_on Heathfield, TN21 8RJ

emoji_events #2 in LA

Beacon Academy

Outstanding

location_on Crowborough, TN6 2AS

emoji_events #3 in LA

Chailey School

Good

location_on Lewes, BN8 4PU

emoji_events #4 in LA

Seaford Head School

Outstanding

location_on Seaford, BN25 4LX

emoji_events #5 in LA

King's Academy Ringmer

Good

location_on Lewes, BN8 5RB

emoji_events #6 in LA

View all schools in East Sussex arrow_forward

School Summary

Academic Performance

Secondary Performance Trends (KS4)

Student Destinations (After Secondary)

Sixth Form (A-Level) Performance

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Faith Priority (Church of England)

Distance to School

School Capacity

Secondary Admission Trends

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Parent View on Pastoral Care

My child is happy at this school.

My child feels safe at this school.

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

The school has high expectations for my child.

My child does well at this school.

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

I would recommend this school to another parent.

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Secondary Schools in East Sussex

Claverham Community College

Heathfield Community College

Beacon Academy

Chailey School

Seaford Head School

King's Academy Ringmer