Ark Blake Academy
Secondary · Free schools · Mixed · Croydon
6 Morland Road, Croydon, CR0 6NA
–
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 22/02/2023
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
91.5%
25.3% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
759
Capacity used
Has space63%
1,200 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
117 of 117 families who put it first got an offer
157
Places offered
416
Total applications
2.6
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 117 | 117 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 94 | 20 | ● 21% |
| 3rd preference | 78 | 4 | ● 5% |
| Later preferences (4th–6th) | 127 | 4 | ● 3% |
| Total | 416 | 145 | 35% |
1st preference success by year
Croydon lets families list 6 preferences. 10 applications came from outside the council area (3 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Free schools
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Sam Rispoli
- Address
- 6 Morland Road, Croydon, CR0 6NA
- Phone
- 02034439000
- Local authority
- Croydon
- Ward / constituency
- Addiscombe West · Croydon East
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 147832
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 50% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 31% | — | — |
| SEN support | 13% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 4 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: ARK SCHOOLS
759 pupils · 1,200 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
22 February 2023
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessPersonal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 811 pupils
Attendance
91.5%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
8.5%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
25.3%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
2.8%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
3.8%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 45.6 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 50.6% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 63.6% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 58.4% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.28 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 154 | — |
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 151 | 28% | 55% | 69% | |
| English Language | 151 | 15% | 51% | 65% | |
| English Literature | 145 | 22% | 63% | 74% | |
| Combined Science | 117 | 12% | 36% | 54% | |
| Geography | 79 | 16% | 52% | 62% | |
| History | 55 | 36% | 71% | 75% | |
| Spanish | 48 | 29% | 60% | 67% | |
| French | 45 | 13% | 47% | 69% | |
| Social Studies | 41 | 22% | 46% | 51% | |
| Art and Design | 33 | 15% | 39% | 76% | |
| Biology | 31 | 48% | 90% | 94% | |
| Chemistry | 31 | 58% | 94% | 94% |
Oxbridge
No Cambridge applications recorded for this school in 2020–2025.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Croydon council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.