Consider the story of Lady Katherine Conway. Ark Conway Primary Academy is named in her honor. Who was this woman whose legacy lives on in this school?
Ark Conway Primary Academy opened its doors in September 2011. The school is located on Hemlock Road in Hammersmith London. It stands on the site of the former Wormholt Library.
Ark Conway is a non-denominational and non-selective school. It welcomes children of all abilities from the local area. The school has one form of entry ensuring that every child and family are known. This helps to build a thriving close-knit community.
The school’s capacity is 210 pupils. Currently 203 pupils attend Ark Conway Primary Academy. The school caters to children aged 3 to 11.
ARK Conway Primary School was graded as outstanding in every category by Ofsted. It was the first Free School to achieve this highest rating. Ofsted commended the school for its high-quality teaching. This teaching inspires and motivates all pupils to try their very best.
The school prides itself on having the highest expectations for all pupils. This results in high achievement for all. Ark Conway’s values-based culture creates a happy and respectful environment. Children develop self-awareness and embrace learning from their mistakes.
Ark Conway Primary Academy aims for each child to leave with a strong foundation for secondary learning. The school wants them to have gained the skills to be life-long learners. They should have the knowledge and confidence to question. Most of all they should have a true love of learning.
Every member of staff is vital at Ark Conway Primary Academy. Through outstanding leadership teaching and pastoral support the school provides an inspirational environment. This environment celebrates success and encourages pupils to strive for excellence.
The school is part of ARK Schools. This is a leading education charity. It is one of the country’s top-performing academy operators. ARK Schools has a shared mission to transform lives through education.
Lady Katherine Conway lived in London in the 1600s. She is buried nearby in St Mary’s Church. Upon her death she left much of her wealth to support local people. Local records state that she left twenty pounds per annum to the Parish. Ten pounds was to be distributed to the poor at Christmas and Midsummer. The other ten pounds was allocated to teaching six poor children to read. It also provided bread to twenty-one poor people every Sunday. She also left twenty pounds per annum towards apprenticing children.
The teaching of six poor children to read continued until the 19th Century. This gave hundreds of children a better start in life. It dramatically improved their life prospects.
Ark Conway Academy is characterized by its core values. These values are aspiration respect perseverance honesty and courage. The school’s vision is to inspire excellence. They inspire pupils to learn to achieve and to succeed. Staff understand what excellence looks like. They model it celebrate it and do whatever it takes to ensure that pupils achieve it. The strong parent community also plays a vital role.