NEWSLETTER Summer term 2019 MESSAGE FROM THE HEADTEACHER


BECOMING THE BEST SCHOOL IN LONDON


Dear Friends of Ark Greenwich Free School,


I


am delighted to report that our first year as an Ark school has been a huge success. There are many benefits to being part of the trust, with our staff gaining from enhanced networking and professional development opportunities. This has helped to ensure that the school’s already exceptional GCSE examination results are on track to increase further still this summer.


The AGFS culture of respect and good discipline is now renowned up and down the country. Members of the public frequently write to me about the excellent conduct of our students on public transport and we regularly welcome visitors to the school, keen to learn from what we are doing. One such visitor was Department for Education behaviour expert, Tom Bennett, who toured the school earlier this year as part of the Timpson Review. Tom described AGFS as “fantastic and extraordinary.” He went on to say that lessons were calm and students were happy and focused on learning because they were receiving “masses of support” from staff.


The outstanding academic outcomes


achieved by our students are only part of the work that we do. We aim to provide the very best all round education in order to prepare our students for the modern world. Our extensive extra-curricular and drop down day programme has provided so many highlights this year. From the wonderful school show and the art exhibition, the hugely successful Year 10 careers and Aspirations evening to the important community volunteering work in local primary schools and care homes; we are immensely proud of this programme and all the benefits it brings to our young people.


Thank you to the record 350 parents who took the time to complete the annual parent survey earlier this term. The results of which have been incredibly encouraging and valuable as we seek to refine our approach for next year. The survey shows that 9/10 parents would recommend or strongly recommend AGFS to another parent and this has coincided with the highest ever number of students applying to join the school this year.


We would not be where we are as a school unless we constantly sought to reflect and raise standards year on year. Next year we will be launching our new home-school agreement, which aims to empower parents to support their child’s education in


a much more meaningful way from home. Students will be trained to demonstrate higher levels of independence, similar to what you might typically expect to see in the private sector. We will also be further tightening our expectations around school uniform with a particular focus on the length of skirts. We will also be extending our curriculum offer to include religious studies and photography as additional option subjects. Following feedback in the recent parent survey, we are also revisiting the way in which the school communicates with home when a detention is issued.


I would like to take this opportunity to thank all AGFS staff for their hard work and professionalism over the course of the academic year. Our dedicated teachers and support staff have achieved so much and their determination to ensure every pupil succeeds, is what really drives this place.


I wish you a relaxing summer and look forward to seeing you again in September, when we expect to be celebrating another amazing set of academic outcomes.


Rhys Spiers Headteacher


AMBITION GROWTH FELLOWSHIP SCHOLARSHIP


ARK GREENWICH FREE SCHOOL


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