Ark Greenwich Free School

AGFS was my first choice for my child, and based on speaking to other parents, I found 95% of the feedback to be positive. One cited it as "the best move ever," noting that the smaller school size makes the transition from primary school less daunting, providing a familial and secure environment. Many parents also appreciated that in-school support meant they didn't need external tutoring.
The negative feedback I received was about one child struggling with the behavioural policies, the others knew what to do to stay out of trouble.

My child has been at AGFS for nearly a year, and she is truly enjoying it. She has made great friends, they laugh a lot and have all the silly moments year 7 pupils have. She finds the majority of teachers to be nice—some even amazing—and while they are strict, they are not mean. While high standards of behavior are expected in class, they have a lot a laughs and great time.

I’d like to list some of the things we particularly enjoy at AGFS:
• The shows/concerts/performances: My daughter, her younger siblings who are still in primary school, and I really enjoy the art performances from AGFS pupils. They are so talented and you can tell they enjoy performing. We like how excited/crazy the other students get when cheering their peers. My younger children can’t wait to go to Ark as they say the children are so cool and happy.

• The school family dining: My child wasn’t keen at the beginning, as no one really talked to each other, but after a few weeks, she started to bond and laugh with her dining mates. She eventually said that she was grateful for those seating plans, otherwise, she could have been on her own. As they rotate regularly, she gets to sit with her friends or close to them. She meets new people and always has a good time.

• The food: According to my child, the food at school is extremely good.

• The Behavioural Policy:
o Dress code and makeup: Although it is a bit stricter than other schools, as a parent, I am happy that my child wears a skirt that is not too short and doesn’t wear makeup at school (I don’t find that necessary). I felt that when they focus less on their appearance, there is less competition, bullying, and peer pressure to look a certain way.

o No phones: Both of us were a bit worried at first, but I realized that when I went to secondary school, I didn’t have a phone and I was fine. I have put a tracker on her, and she knows what to do if anything goes wrong: either return to school or ask one of our neighbours to call me.

o No-touching policy: This sounded extreme to us at the beginning, but it means that there is no fighting or pushing whatsoever. One of her friends in another school showed her a video she had filmed on her phone of two boys fighting on the playground. My daughter was shocked and told me she is lucky that this would never happen at AGFS because there is no fighting, and there would definitely be no phone to record it.

Interventions: she had three interventions in a year, but she now knows how to avoid them; besides, some of her friends at Leigh Academy had more interventions than her. Once, she felt an intervention was unfair, so she challenged the form teacher. The teacher listened to her, verified it with the teacher who issued it, and while the intervention was upheld, I called the form teacher to discuss the decision. She took the time to listen and explain, after which I understood the decision was fair. She reassured me that my child is a happy student who brings joy and laughter to the classroom and that the whole teaching team appreciates her. She added that my daughter shouldn’t let it discourage her and that it would not change their positive view of her. She confirmed I could call anytime to discuss concerns and that my daughter could speak with her directly. The issue was resolved, and my daughter was her happy self again.

If you’re looking for a school that feels more like a boot camp than an actual place of education, then congratulations you’ve found it.

This place is ridiculously strict to the point where it borders on absurd. Students get punished for the tiniest things forget a pen? Detention. Sit slightly wrong? Detention. Exist slightly outside their robotic expectations you guessed it detention. It’s like the school’s main goal isn’t education, but seeing how quickly they can hand out punishments.

The rules aren’t just strict they’re suffocating. Imagine not even being able to sit where you want at lunch or relax for a second without feeling like you’re about to be told off. It creates this tense uncomfortable atmosphere where students are constantly on edge instead of actually learning anything meaningful. Some reviews even describe it as feeling like a “prison,” which honestly doesn’t seem that far off there basically isn’t any if you don’t fit their perfect mould. There are complaints that students who struggle or need extra help don’t get the support they need, and in some cases feel pushed out instead.
There environment is beyond safe making students feel unease & Constatnly under pressure when children are not meant to feel and completely lacking in understanding. Instead of encouraging creativity or individuality it feels like the system is designed to control rather than educate. Some parents and students have even said the pressure and strictness negatively affected wellbeing and mental health.

you might get good grades but at what cost? If a school makes students miserable & stressed constantly anxious, is that really success in ur mind cause to me it’s not imagine getting good grades with a Terrible mental health that is almost impossible to get back especially when You have Mental issues such as autism and ADHD (Which I have).


In my overall opinion this is a place where rules matter more than people punishment matters more than learning & students are treated more like problems to manage than individuals to support.

Myself as a Former student do not send your child here unless you want them crying and A change in attitude Cause this generally damages the child’s Feelings and it hurts to see As a parent from ur point of view from a Happy and Healthy child to miserable and Unhappy education

It is to strict for young people and to mine and to other opinions the rules are ridiculous I can’t believe teachers provide this kind of education for young scholars

Now you may know that Ofsted has rated AGFS at an "Outstanding" in terms of quality of education.But this is 100% only the surface!This school has broken almost my entire teen-hood,and tho some of these reasons maybe too personal to myself,I feel like simply exposing these factors are important:

1.favouritism
In AGFS,it internally obvious by both the teacher and students that education isn't just learning,but a competition to be won.This is because like most schools,classes and seating plans are based on data and data only.Teachers don't seem to care if a student has rapidly improved...say for 1 or 2 lessons,reputation comes from the LCPs and exams.As a result some students like me are misunderstood by teachers interns of academic capability.Especially those who can do super well in lessons but not on tests ( in which some of us are like that).
Now i've known my year for a while,and i know 99% of them cheat due to a fear of damage to reputation,and that is certainly due to the teachers only to care on LCP's and exams.I'm sure if staff focused a little on progress outside of these assessments,students would have more deterrence within them honestly.(This might be picky or not even make sense but this will link somewhat to point 2,in which is...)

2.Stats(statistics and data of public exams year by year)
Now i know every good school would get good stats (statistics and data of public exams year by year) and of course AGFS has good stats,however like i said at the start,there are secrets this school is hiding,in which makes them look good as a result.
Now this is a personal story of my limits to options at GCSE,and this completely broke my heart...
During KS3 i loved drama,and i defiantly wanted to do it for GCSE,however at the time the school wasn't aware of my academic capability.I had a misunderstood reputation of being "not smart".Unfortunately,due to my reputation,i couldn't do what i loved as they believed i needed additional academic support.In which i cried for days and days secretly.
Of course,you could tell me that one's true capability and there reputation are two different things.Now why would the school do this?Yes,because they fear a "dumb" person like me can damage there stats,so they haft to take away one of the only subjects where i felt good about myself and not anxious.This shows that the school is kind of using us students to get good stats.
Additionally,I know that some people in my year group have had to drop out of french.This is most likely because once again,the school see failure as damage to there stats,and since a subject like french can be removed,they take away a subject you may of enjoyed for there stats rather then helping you improve.(unless its a subject like English or Maths because they obviously can't do that)

3.The teachers
This point won't be entirety negative as this point depends on which teachers you have.And no,i will not be mentioning specific teachers.
Teachers most of the time are ignorant,especially when it comes in giving out interventions (a detention).This has happened to me mutable times which is extremely unfair.Furthermore the teachers almost never come to see you in the intervention,and the school does make the excuse of working too hard on making lessons.But it seriously doesn't hurt to speak to a student for 5 minutes max.
There are also teachers that obsess with there "Scholar on 3" BS.Now this is occasionally helpful,but when your someone like me who likes to take notes because i'm surly going to forget later,this becomes really annoying and can shockingly lead to a warning or intervention.I'm being punished for writing impotent information?This leads onto my next point,one i know all AGFS students would agree on...
But first i just want to say that not all teachers a bad as some of them are really good and lovely.

4.Interventions (Detentions)
I know your can be oppressively punished in the real world for one small mistake,but AGFS takes it to a new level.For starters i know some (not all) give interventions for not getting an answer correct.Now i shouldn't haft to explain why that's a load of rubbish.sometimes the lessons can be really hard,and us being punished for this is really dumb as it's an easy root a teacher can take.We also get interventions if where not in scholar(if you have a warning).These are two small examples of things that a normal human being shouldn't be punished for.A intervention or detention is for behaviour and even then really bad behaviour not something small and minor.
But it gets worse,for something as small as having not done a tiny piece of homework lead to a 2 hour intervention.2,fricking,hours!This is incredibly unfair and shows how the school is somewhat corrupt.No wonder why many people skin their 2 hours for something so small.

5.IL (Homework)
AGFS isn't the only the school to do this,but of course not to say the school has there own annoying way of making homework.To start off,the school has this system called Look,cover,Write,Cheak (LCWC).At first this seems not so bad,but this homework style gets repetitive vary quickly.There has been mutable times i felt like i was going to lose my mind.Especially when it come to Knowledge cheaks and even if your in year 9 or 10.
But when you enter KS4,mainly in year 11,it's just insane,i know that's expected,but still,i'm not even in year 11 yet and i know i'm going to lose it.This would also separate students form there families as they pay all there home time hours into avoiding an intervention by doing IL.This is really sad and once again shows how these teachers are kinda uncaring for our mental well-beings giving us this much homework.

6.I'm not the only one saying it's bad

On this website alone,shows you that AGFS isn't the school it looks at first glance.Through not only my review,but all views (apart from that one 5-star view :/) state that this school is aloud of trash.But where not the only ones.I've heard countless and countless complaints from the students themselves when the school isn't looking.Indicating that even if my points don't stand,there are many other voices and teenagers that can critique this school as well.

Conclusion
I think if there's one thing this school has taught me,it's that don't ever just look on the surface.Because this school defiantly has a secret dark side that they hide behind there stats and good reputation.Like many i liked this school when i was in year 6,but when your find out what there truly like,you'll never see them in the same light again.

Thank you so much :)

This school is awful. My child has had the most difficult time there. Went in as a well rounded student and is now suffering with their mental health. The school have said that bullying is not acceptable but my child has been bullied several times already. It happens right under their noses and it’s your child who ends up getting punished for something that the bully has done.The punishments being handed out should be given to the teachers instead. Students are not allowed to defend themselves when they’ve been accused of doing something.
Teachers and students alike have left this institution due to the unfair practices. The head teacher is a shambles and their entire ethos is a pile of rubbish!
We really regret sending our child to this school and are currently looking for a new school.
Don’t send your child there!

DO NOT GO HERE

This school is horrible. At first glance it looks very good because they are number 1 in Greenwich but don’t let that fool you. If you go to this school, you’ll see unnecessary detentions for not having a piece of a equipment like a pen and not being in scholar which is a system that they made for us so we can ‘pay attention’. Also there is a literal SITTING PLAN FOR LUNCH and lunch is only 1 PERIOD, NOT 2 ONLY ONE and what they’ll probably say is ‘more learning’ while we just be even more depressed because of these STUPID rules. We only act nice because of the consequences like they literally threaten us detentions for the most dumbest reasons. And also they send people to the reflection room because they ‘argued’ back or something they find offensive or bad but some teachers are genuinely very nice while the rest are terrible. They say to ‘take care of our mental health’ while also making it even more worse because of the rules and the school’s system. Unless you want to make your child become miserable I suggest to not go here.

This school made me suffer from mental health problems I came in scared and doubtful of my own abilities the teachers were not all terrible and a few were great but others gave interventions for very minor things talking in corridors dropping pens .In their parents evening they lied and bragged about their grades almost making me and my family feel like we were scammed. Instead of saying the word detention they intervention because they help us in our punishment however yet again this is not true. They were ignorant about how students felt. please I suggest a different school. When my mother was working with them to help me they barred her from the school accusing her of staff abuse and pretended to say to call the police this took things to far. do not send your child here.

Where to start… if I could give this school 0 stars I absolutely would. This was the only school my parents applied to me for in year 7 and I genuinely wish I went somewhere else. AGFS is so strict on behaviour that it actually creates behavioural problems; detentions for not having a pen or for not wearing your blazer mean that my behavioural record to anyone outside of the network looks HORRIBLE. Furthermore, they target certain children. I know this to be fact as I remember entering my head of year’s office in year 7 and seeing folders for specific children, myself included, on the wall and they were filled with witness statements, report cards etc. The class average for detentions by the time I left was 60, if I remember correctly. The school has deteriorated rapidly in terms of personal freedoms students have, and when I joined some years ago it was already one of the strictest schools in the borough. Students cannot enter the building at lunch, and only one toilet is available for 120 children to use. We have three minutes to get to our next lesson, and go to the toilet etc. Whilst on the topic of toilets, they aren’t sectioned off and have no doors. The corridors open right into the cubicles. You cannot under any circumstances leave lessons to go to the toilet, regardless of how desperate you are. Some teachers are sympathetic however they still have to call a member of the pastoral team to escort you there. Moving from lesson to lesson is a silent affair and you receive detention for even whispering. Lunch is a 50 minute period, split into 25 for outdoor time and 25 for lunch. Whilst in the dining hall, you have to participate in ‘family dining’, where you are asked questions and have to sit in silence other than to discuss said questions. THERE IS A SEATING PLAN AT LUNCH. The corridors must be single file at all times. They are extremely strict on uniform; I wasn’t allowed to wear my Doc Martens as they had yellow stitching, and I received an indeterminable amount of detentions for mascara. I have absolutely nothing good to say about this school. They are undeniably racist— they intentionally target students of colour for bag searches, exclusions and isolation. My friend was kicked out after being told she’d be returning the next year, with no explanation. Hannah Brooks, a member of SLT, once told me I couldn’t bring up my issues I had with other girls because, being tall for my age and being seen as black, they saw it as aggressive. I myself over five years must have had over 200 detentions. I was a stellar student in primary school and the insanely strict rules at AGFS meant my behaviour, on paper, had deteriorated, however I’m inclined to disagree, with the benefit of hindsight. The grades I received in Year 11 were brilliant, I will give the school that, however the effect it had on my mental health and relationship with my parents (who sided with the school on many issues) has simply made it not worth it. They’re not well equipped to deal with cases of bullying and sexual harassment. They believe that a no phone policy will help bullying cases to decrease, however they also claim the school to properly prepare us for real life.. if you bring your phone in it gets confiscated for a full term. It has to be picked up by a parent. If these issues were properly brought to light, the school would experience severe backlash from the public, but by writing this review I can only hope you choose not to send your child here. The food is also ABHORRENT. There’s more however I’ve spent enough time thinking about this school already

The school helped me get outstanding grades but had RIDICULOUS rules. My year group in particular were hated by the teachers since year 7 having to stand in a line after school for around 30 minutes because one person made a noise. Very few teachers were good and the current head is an awful human and is so against phones that she tried to snatch my dad’s phone off of him. Miss H brooks is a horrible woman and likes to bully the children and provoke fear out of them on many occasions she would come right up into my face to question me about makeup which is ridiculous. Since moving on to a grammar sixth form I’ve noticed how school life is so much better with much less of a workload and children behave A LOT better than they did at gfs. It’s way too strict and the SLT team are so entitled, the head is awful and gets a kick out of punishing students even when they’re not doing anything wrong. My advice to the school is to tone it down on the rules because it’s ridiculous and I feel so bad for those students who are at the school now as it just gets worse and worse every year. The good teachers always leave while the ones who can’t teach end up staying and the homework isn’t helpful at all and leaves people stressing. If you try to do your homework at lunch time you’re shouted at and given detention. Trying to go to the toilet was impossible and being a girl having to spend all day without being able to use the bathroom is horrific. Teachers lack consideration for the students and expect utter perfection, luckily I never got in trouble at the school but if you even associate with someone who the teachers don’t like you will also suffer from the consequences. If you don’t mind excessive rules and insane discipline with basically no freedom whatsoever (even lunch times being taken away regularly by the head or by the drama teacher) then gfs is perfect. But overall it’s hard to get by in that school with certain teachers especially the SLT or some office ladies. Good school if you’re looking for good grades but in terms of actual school life this school is very limited. If I could go back I would’ve gone somewhere else as it was such a challenge to just get by however I have many fond memories with my peers and certain teachers who were lovely. Good luck if you attend this school.

ts school is so dead they give u a bsu if u dont even know how to do the work properly 😭😭 i got on called (bsu or reflection room) for not getting a question right LMAOOO ITS WILDD

I am surprised this school is still running. Read what people are saying and believe them.
Sexual assault and predatory behaviour is covered up here.
Teachers bully students and isolate them for weeks

Teachers mock students about eating disorders
Teachers lie about wheelchair access and claim that they don't have any, so deliberately discriminating against anyone who has a physical disability

It is a disgrace that they are still allowed to destroy students lives

Do not send your child here

Good very good very nice

Terrible school! Pupils are getting suppressed by staff and talked like they are slaves. Staff dismissing kids who are unwell and using a fear policy to make them scared of punishment. My daughter had mental break down in this school. Thanks Miss Brooks, totally ignorant human. Not sure she shoulfd be working in school but fir prison she will be the most popular.

do not go to this school i hate it every time i come here and they punish you for no reason this school is like a prison do not work here or send your child here the education is horrible and they overwork you parents please do not send your child to this school i have asked all the students and they agree with this as well every student is unhappy here also the teachers bully and torture the poor students
DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD TO THIS TERRIBLE SCHOOL!!!!!!

The teachers swear at students

I cannot stress how terrible and shocking this school is, not only is it prejudice, it is not offering any support to students who cannot immediately retain knowledge. The homework is the same across all subjects , where we simply have to copy out 5 terms across a page which is ineffective and a waste of time, the school then proceed to issue 2 hour detentions to those who cannot remember the word for word definition , in something called "boot camp" , this sounds like a prison more than anything. The work and tests across the sets are the EXACT same, and the idea of sets is completely disregarded as no extra support is available to those in lower sets.Rather than improve the education system they spent their entire budget on a big blue square (The MUGA) which didnt need improving, and is now slippery and dangerous, and means when it rains we cannot play outside,so many people have slipped and fell over when this never happened before,meaning it is basically useless, we also got outdoor changing rooms, however we are not allowed to use them what was the point in this?

I have never been to such a disgusting, useless and pathetic school. Not only are the teachers CLEARLY prejudiced towards people who get higher scores and those who don't. Just like in a prison, they use a wand to search you despite every student being a minor who is most likely not going to bring anything. If they find a mobile phone, they take it for as long as they like. The headteacher is barely around and spends much of his time making changes that are absolutely useless. For example, instead of getting a new Science teacher (the old one had left, which meant all her lessons were covers) they wasted over £200 on a new MUGA. Just so you know, the old one wasn't really that bad. And instead of getting more trained teachers, they made outdoor changing rooms (which are just short, long rooms made of metal). Not only that but, they host 2 hours in which you wait an hour before you go to the toilet and if you go you have to stay behind the time you spent in it. Which is insane, because how can I sit 2 hours sitting and writing and not go to the toilet?

They also have an isolation room (which they now call 'Reflection Room') where you write 2 pages each period all day then sit an hour or 2 afterwards. Nothing else. Not only that but, there had been many cases of SA, cyber-bullying happening and it always ends with the obvious victim getting detentions. This school is horrible, and I'm not even saying it as a student. I'm saying it as a person, which the school doesn't even treat me as, the teachers at this school abuse their power and get away with it. This is extremely unfair and unjust.

I would give this a 0 stars if i could,
firstly they set us an unimaginable amount of work, it is simply ridiculous the workload you want 11 year old children doing,
secondly, we are told that we will receive a detention and it is impossible not to get one
surely this in itself is proof of the broken behaviour system
thirdly, the school is majorly understaffed , i cannot remember the last time i went through a week without a cover lesson, the current year 8 and 10 scholars have not had a science teacher since christmas and have been told not to expect one until easter, half of the science teachers dont even teach science but have had to take on that role. there are only 2 actual geography teachers and over half the stalf are clearly, blantantly racist
staff are constantly mixing up hijabis name, people who are different races, in different year groups and in different sets, the school does not allow people to pray on time and does not offer any support
finally, the school issue detentions for the silliest things , some examples incude sit up unacceptable, entrance unnaceptable
do not send your child here

Shit shcool as the teachers are over the top you get pushed for the smallest things ad

Ark Greenwich Free School has been very aggressive to me as a student. They once said I would not be able to succeed in life as I had average grades. They are too aggressive and they make everyone feel unsafe. They believe they are making the right choices, where actually they’re damaging everyone’s mental health. I DO NOT recommend this school to any students that want to join it any teachers that want to work there.