Secondary school in Barnet
Ark Pioneer Academy
Westcombe Drive, Barnet, EN5 2BE
Ofsted
Graded Outstanding at its last graded inspection, on 13 September 2023.
Ofsted stopped awarding single-word overall grades in September 2024. This grade is 2 years old and will not be updated — the school keeps it until its next inspection, which will not produce a replacement grade.
GCSE results 2024/25
Attainment 8 score
The average grade across eight GCSEs, doubling English and maths. 50 is roughly a grade 5 average.
Grade 5+ in English & maths
Grade 4+ in English & maths
EBacc average point score
Entered the EBacc
On Attainment 8 this school is in the top quarter of state-funded secondaries in England.
Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is second most disadvantaged, which is where this one sits, it is in the top 10%.
Progress 8 2023/24
Taking that range into account, pupils made more progress than similar pupils nationally. DfE bands this as well above average.
Progress 8 measures how far pupils moved between the end of primary and their GCSEs, which makes it far fairer than raw attainment. It is shown for 2023/24 because it could not be calculated for 2024/25: that year group would have sat their key stage 2 tests in summer 2020, when the tests were cancelled, so there is no starting point to measure from. Every school in England is affected, not just this one.
Pupils
- Pupils on roll
- 1107
- Places
- 1200
- How full
- 92% full — 1107 of 1200 places taken
- Girls / boys
- 413 / 694
- Overall absence
- 7%
- Persistently absent
- 18%
secondary schools average 8.6%
secondary schools average 23.9% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions
- Free school meals, last 6 years
- 40%
- English as an additional language
- 33%
- With an EHC plan
- 4%
- On SEN support
- 13%
England 25.7%
England 18.7%
England 3.5%
England 15%
The neighbourhood around the school
Census 2021 figures for Barnet 004C, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.
- Adults with a degree
- 46%
- Adults with no qualifications
- 13%
- Households owning their home
- 73%
- Households in social housing
- 12%
- Households with no car
- 19%
- Adults economically inactive
- 35%
England 33.8%
England 18.3%
England 62.7%
England 17%
England 21.9%
England 39.9%
School details
- Type
- Free schools
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- Ages 11–19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Religious character
- None
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Nursery
- No
- Boarding
- Day school
- Trust
- ARK SCHOOLS
- Headteacher
- Headteacher: Su Reddy
- Local authority
- Barnet
- Ward
- Underhill
- Constituency
- Chipping Barnet
- URN
- 147061
The unique reference number used in all official school data.
Nearest secondary schools
| School | Ofsted | Attainment 8 | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queen Elizabeth's Girls' SchoolAcademy converter | No grade | 58.6 | 0.4 mi |
| The Totteridge AcademyAcademy sponsor led | No grade | 58.2 | 0.6 mi |
| Queen Elizabeth's School, BarnetAcademy converter | Outstanding 2022 | 85.6 | 1.1 mi |
| JCoSSVoluntary aided school | Good 2022 | 60.9 | 1.1 mi |
| Mount House SchoolOther independent school | No grade | — | 1.2 mi |
| East Barnet SchoolAcademy converter | No grade | 53 | 1.6 mi |
| Finchley Catholic High SchoolVoluntary aided school | Good 2023 | 62.3 | 1.7 mi |
| The London MechinaOther independent school | No grade | — | 2 mi |
Schools with a similar intake
State-funded secondary schools nationally whose share of disadvantaged pupils is closest to this school's. This is the fairest like-for-like comparison the published data supports.
| School | Ofsted | Attainment 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Kelmscott SchoolCommunity school | No grade | 43.7 |
| Bedford High SchoolCommunity school | Good 2023 | 45.5 |
| Murray Park Community SchoolFoundation school | Good 2022 | 40.6 |
| St Cuthbert Mayne SchoolVoluntary aided school | No grade | 39.7 |
| Walsall AcademyAcademy sponsor led | No grade | 43.9 |
| John Henry Newman Catholic CollegeAcademy sponsor led | No grade | 43.6 |
| Rawmarsh Community SchoolAcademy sponsor led | No grade | 38.8 |
| Futures Institute BanburyStudio schools | Good 2022 | 41.1 |
Where these figures come from
- School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
- Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25, and 2023/24 for Progress 8.
- Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
- Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
- Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.
All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.