Welcome to the Secondary Phase of Ark Victoria Academy
Welcome to the secondary phase of Ark Victoria Academy, for students in Year 7 through to Year 11. We currently admit 180 students per year and welcome students from the local community as well as students from our own primary phase to our vibrant and welcoming school.
There are six tutor groups in each year group, serviced by a Head of Year, Deputy Head of Year and experienced form tutors, enabling us to retain a ‘family’ feel in secondary phase and really get to know our students.
Curriculum
Our curriculum is ambitious and broad at KS3, with pupils studying the full national curriculum, through 14 different subjects, including:
Maths, English, Science, Geography, History, Religious studies, French, Computer Science, PE, Art and Design, Design and Technology, Music, Personal Development and Drama.
Personal Development and Careers
Our curriculum is underpinned by our Personal Development curriculum strands: character, relationships and personal growth, student leadership and building cultural capital through enrichment, visits, trips and events. Our careers programme is comprehensive, ensuring all the Gatsby benchmarks are met and all our students get to visit at least one university, experience the world of work and learn about their own career through our online platform, Unifrog.
Excellent Facilities and Resources
Through partnership with Sport England and BCFC, we are able to provide excellent facilities like our outdoor squash courts and astroturf and host a variety of extra-curricular and after school sports clubs.
Every child receives a free laptop in secondary phase and is able to boost their learning, through responsive apps such as Sparx maths, science and reader, Carousel and Unifrog.
Reading is at the heart of our academy; we dedicate time to high quality teaching of reading on a daily basis, listening to pupils read and developing children’s passion for reading at every opportunity. Our secondary library is well stocked and used; all pupils in KS3 read on a daily basis and enjoy a class reader in tutor time. We use online programmes such as Lexia and Lexonic to support students to improve their reading.
We pride ourselves on knowing every child in our care; our curriculum is planned, sequenced and delivered with our pupils at its heart. We dedicate time to ensuring pupils develop the core knowledge and skills they need in preparation for their continued education, employment and training. We enrich our offer with a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including debate and discussion through our First Give, Citizens UK and Be Her Lead programmes, a vast array of pupil leadership opportunities, sports through our partnership with BCFC, a wide range of after-school clubs and school teams, team building through engagement with Envision and the Duke of Edinburgh scheme.
We understand the importance of working together with parents and have regular opportunities for parents to come into school. We regularly share ways to help children at home, celebrate the work they have been doing and share information about the progress our pupils are making.
We feel privileged to be part of an all through academy, where we can see the journey from Nursery all the way through to Year 11. Staff in Year 7 work very closely with Year 6 staff to ensure a positive transition experience when children move into the next phase of their education with us. We ensure that children’s individual needs are met, families are supported and our high expectations are maintained. We believe in each and every one of our pupils and we are very proud when we hear of their success as they move into post-16 education and beyond.
Please contact my PA, Ms S Chohan (s.chohan@arkvictoria.org) to arrange a visit.