Welcome to Ark Victoria

I am delighted and proud to welcome you to Ark Victoria Academy, a family school in the heart of Small Heath, Birmingham. I joined our academy in 2019 and enjoy working with our pupils and staff to make sure our school continues to improve each and every term. We want to provide an excellent education for each and every one of our pupils.  

Our vision is to be the number one school of choice in our community, improving the life chances of all those within our community. To achieve our vision, we work collectively with our Parent Community Forum, our staff, governors, pupils and parents.

As Principal, it is my responsibility to create an environment in which your child can become a confident, articulate, resilient and kind young adult. Our curriculum, enrichment programme and pupil experience days help ensure our pupils learn, thrive and make progress. We are committed to preparing and supporting our pupils to go on to pursue careers they are passionate about, contributing positively to society and living happy, healthy and fulfilled lives. Our school community works hard to ensure our values of being ambitious, resilient and kind underpin our work and are upheld by everyone.  

We believe that all children can and will achieve success, and our dedicated staff nurture our children, providing support and challenge as necessary, in order to make this a reality. We welcome and value the input of carers and parents; by working together, we can realise the dreams and ambitions of our children and their families.

Please take a look around our website to explore what we can offer your child. However, the best way to really understand our school is to experience it. I would love to show you around and answer any questions you may have.  

Please contact my PA, Ms Saerah Chohan (s.chohan@arkvictoria.org)  to arrange a visit. 

Our school is underpinned by both the core Ark schools values and our unique Ark Victoria values:

• Ark schools values: Aim High, Be Brave, Be Kind, Keep Learning
• Ark Victoria values: Ambitious, Resilient, Kind

Our Vision

To be the number one school of choice in our community, improving the life chances of all those within our community.

Our mission

At Ark Victoria Academy we believe that all children can and will achieve success. We aspire to be an excellent school where every pupil leaves our academy confident and secure; has the necessary skills, knowledge, and cultural capital to make informed choices about their future career; is able to lead happy, healthy, fulfilled lives; and is ready to contribute positively to society.

Our School Motto reflects our learning community: ‘Growing, learning, succeeding together’

Ark Victoria Academy's ethos

Our culture enables learning and teaching to flourish and the curriculum to be effectively delivered.

We adopt a warm/strict approach to establish calm, purpose and order. We achieve this through consistency of expectations, showing care and compassion, and using explicit signature strategies to ensure positive behaviour. 

To achieve our mission, all Ark schools follow the same set of underlying principles. We call these the Six Pillars:

1. High expectations – We set very high expectations for all our pupils at every stage of their education at Ark Victoria. We support and nurture every child to realise their full potential, in all areas of the curriculum. We want all our pupils to leave us with the skills and qualifications to continue their journey of life-long learning in a university or career of their choice.
2. Excellent teaching – Rigorous planning and detailed subject knowledge underpin teaching and learning at Ark Victoria, with all staff receiving personalised professional development. Our pupils are confident when discussing their learning, and they demonstrate how much they value their education through active participation in lessons.
3. Exemplary behaviour – Our pupils are self-assured, respectful and confident. They are deeply aware of the importance of their contribution to the world, leading to success both in their academic studies and in later life.
4. Depth before breadth – At Ark Victoria, we ensure that all students secure firm foundations in English and Mathematics, going on to apply these skills in the wider curriculum. By revisiting learning regularly and completing timely assessments, we are able to plan personalised learning; enabling pupils to keep up, not catch up.
5. Knowing every child – Our all-through school provides us with a unique opportunity to build strong relationships with our pupils and families throughout their educational journey. We work relentlessly to develop our understanding of, and our role within, the diverse community which we serve. All adults are aware that they have a shared responsibility for the emotional well-being of pupils.
6. Always learning – We have a culture of learning for staff, supporting them to become experts in their fields and lead effectively across the academy.