Citizenship - North London Citizens

Ark Academy will be founder members of North London Citizens. This Initiative addresses the challenges facing London’s schools making sure teachers, parents, and children, work collaboratively for the common good. This project has got three main purposes. Firstly, it wishes to transform the culture of schools by building and developing trust between all adults and children in the school. Secondly, it wishes to engage with issues that affect what goes on in the classroom (e.g. living conditions, environmental conditions, and safety). Thirdly, more generally and in order to make sure that its first two goals are reached effectively, it wishes to train school members to take action together for change.

London Citizens will develop skills and leadership capacity through hands-on experience of taking action for change, through formal training of parents, teachers, and children. This will be in collaboration with professional organisers. When we identify an issue requiring change, we will look together at who can make it happen, and how we can enter into a constructive relationship with them. Those involved in this exciting initiative will develop confidence, public speaking skills and the ability to persuade and develop arguments in a coherent and inclusive fashion.

Mathematics Specialism

Our vision:

We aim to ensure that every ARK student achieves highly enough by age 18 to have real options: to go to university or college or to follow the career path of their choice. Achieving GCSE mathematics at Grade C or above, by age 16 or earlier, is a necessity for this aim to become a reality.

In order to achieve our aim, we have developed ambitious and coherent mathematics curricula taught through fertile questions. Every maths lesson engages our learners, developing curious and persistent mathematicians from a young age.

Our provision stretches well beyond mathematics lessons: we have built a school-wide commitment to both equity and excellence in mathematics. The teaching of mathematics across the curriculum is not a bolt on, it is built in.

Across the Academy, we have developed

  • Consistent approaches to support all students’ (mental) numeracy development
  • Consistent mathematics practices
  • Celebration of problem solving involving mathematical methods

Examples of this include the Mathematics Enrichment Programme, the half termly House Mathematics Competitions and Academy Achievement Awards each year.

Above all, we believe that together, mathematics education in ARK Academy will develop, at all ages, confident and competent learners with the capacity to aim high.