Welcome to Ark Globe

As Executive Principal for the past 14 years, it is my privilege to welcome you to Ark Globe Academy. We are a mixed all-through school with student age ranging from 4-18 located in Elephant and Castle, Southwark. 

At Ark Globe Academy, we have the highest aspirations for all our children to ensure they are prepared for university and inspired to be leaders in their community. We also recognise that there are high-quality alternatives to university, and we support students to secure these too. 

Central to our mission is our Ark Globe Academy ‘Culture Pyramid’. The pyramid sets out for students, staff and parents our purpose, beliefs and values. It is fundamental to our success. In our most recent Ofsted inspection, inspectors described the school as a “home from home” where pupils “know that they belong here”. Our culture pyramid makes explicit, for all, our expectations in our daily lives at Ark Globe Academy and creates a shared sense of purpose.  

We offer students a first-class education based on excellent teaching in the classroom and enriching experiences outside of it. This ensures our students make remarkable progress from primary through to our Sixth Form. For us, education is much more than a set of qualifications; we aim to empower our children and young people to achieve academic excellence, pursue their passions and make a valuable contribution to wider society. 

We provide access to a wide range of extra-curricular activities, that are free for all, for our students to explore, including the arts, music and sports. Ark Globe Academy is extremely proud of its Elite Player Programme (EPP) where we have supported students to become national champions, Great Britain record holders and secure contracts at Premier League football clubs. This sets us apart as one of London’s leading academies for school sport.

Our academic, pastoral and cultural curriculum has been carefully designed to motivate our students to make the most of the opportunities available to them regardless of their starting points. We are committed to raising aspirations and equipping every student with the knowledge, skills and confidence to secure their next best step in education, employment or training. Whatever path they choose, we want our students to make an informed choice, enabling them to shape their own futures and leave a legacy that inspires the next generation of Ark Globe learners.

Image

Our Culture Pyramid sets out our purpose, our beliefs and our values. This helps to set expectations for learning and behaviour in our daily lives at Globe.

Our purpose

• Social justice - Our purpose is to promote a fair society where everyone will have equal opportunity to determine their own future.

Our beliefs

• Growth mindset - Growth mindset is the belief that your success is determined by hard work, resilience and a positive attitude to failure.
• Professionalism - Professionalism is based on respectful communication, excellent habits and polished presentation.

Our values

• Integrity - We value integrity as the quality of having a strong moral purpose and being honest with our words and actions.
• Relationships - We value relationships that nurture the potential of others based on mutual trust and high levels of respect.
• Independence - We value independence because it empowers the individual to fulfil their own potential.

Mission: Preparing our students for university and to be leaders in their community. 

We expect every Ark Globe student to graduate from our academy with the qualifications, skills and confidence to achieve their ambitions and go on to higher education or their chosen career.

In order to ensure all our students achieve this, we need to do things differently. 

• Small schools form the heart of our model
• Depth before breadth – a commitment to literacy and numeracy
• More time – a longer school day allows more time for learning
• Rigorous assessment – to ensure every student is catered to as an individual

The Small School Model
Ark Globe Academy is structured as four small schools under the leadership of the Executive Principal.

The small school model offers a distinct advantage for students and their education. In a small school each student is known as an individual. Students have an education tailored to their needs, have their achievement tracked and receive interventions if required. The small school model allows all students and parents/carers to know the staff well; it offers security and a family feeling. We have one small school for students aged 4-11, two small schools for students aged 11-14, one small school for students aged 14-16 and a small school for students aged 16-18. 

In Secondary, each Small School has two Deans of Students and a Head of Small School, under the leadership of the Associate Principal and Executive Principal.

History of Ark Globe Academy
Early history (1800s–1900s roots): The school site has a very long education history dating back to 1873, when the London School Board opened a school called Harper Street School. Over time, the site changed and expanded as the local population grew.

In the mid-20th century: A girls’ secondary school called Two Saints School for Girls opened (1958) It was later rebuilt and reorganised as Trinity School for Girls. The boys’ school Paragon School for Boys later merged with it. By the late 1970s, these schools had combined into Geoffrey Chaucer School, which became the main secondary school.

In the early 2000s: Geoffrey Chaucer School became Geoffrey Chaucer Technology College (2001). In 2007–2008, it was reorganised under the Ark Schools trust. The secondary school merged with Joseph Lancaster Primary School. This merger created Ark Globe Academy in 2008, forming an all-through school (primary + secondary).

Recent History (2010–present): In 2010, a new purpose-built campus opened on Harper Road. The school was renamed Ark Globe Academy. It became part of the wider Ark Schools network, a UK academy trust focused on raising academic standards.

Since then, it has grown into an all-through academy including: an Ark Start nursery, a primary, secondary, and sixth form school. Ark Globe Academy is one of Ark’s higher-performing schools, especially at sixth form level. We are a school known for strong university progression rates and sporting achievement. Read our most recent Ofsted report.