Ark Alexandra Academy

Bad at school wouldn’t recommend going in there. The toilets are terrible all clogged up we all over the floor poo on the walls unsanitary place to be in when you’re trying to do your business the door open to the boys toilet teachers can look in as a camera on the boys toilets people vaping in there and on their phones this is terrible because that’s such a young age people should not be vaping. This school is so bad it does not help with your anxiety or depression. They say they want to help you but they don’t. One minute they’ll say they’re here for the next. I’ll say they don’t have the resources to help you. all the teachers shout the uniform is so strict like you’re not allowed to wear trainers you can’t have coloured socks even if they’re white that will lead you to a 15 or a 30 minute detention after school. I feel like we’re in a prison right now and if we do follow any of the rules instructed by teachers we were just getting a detention. All the teachers shout to try settle the kids but that just affects others. Some people have grown up with parents arguing and do not like shouting and I am one of them people always swear and vape on the playgrounds on detrimentally bad
for your mental health and well-being . Despite the no phone rule kids till continue to bring in their phones and you know why it’s because of bullying and horrible children who hurt others for their own pleasure, say if they are getting beaten up on the bus home then can’t call anyone for help because they school don’t allow phones for the kids education? The no makeup rule is ridiculous even if it’s just a little bit of coloured lip balm , this school is out of control and some of the teachers are treating these kids like animals or prisoners , some of the teachers are good and actually know how to treat kids well in a school but most of the other ones are out of hand and need to stop being this strict , the rules they have added in the past year is utterly disgusting can’t be in a group with more than 6 people on the playground can’t hug / even high five your friends and you get shouted at if you walk on the grass at break time , the girls toilets are just as bad, clogged toilets , used period pads and tampons , poo and unflushable toilets clogged to the brim the floors are dirty and unsanitary, normally no soap and toilet roll thrown everywhere , the food is so overpriced and you only get free school meal if you have issues at home , £1 for water at lunch and they don’t let you have water for free because you have to bring in your own water bottle ? What if you can’t afford it , this school is out of control and it needs some serious talking to -
This is written by two yr8 students one female one male
We do not recommend sending your kids here if you don’t want there lives and mental health to be wrecked .

this school is horrible much much bullying to my daughter!!

This school is horrid. You are not allowed to touch anyone AT ALL. No high fives, fist bumps, NOTHING. Secondly, no phones aloud. They say, 'Oh YoU cAn HaVe TrAcKeRs On YoU'. Like that is good and all but if you are somewhere you shouldn't be, how do your parents say you shouldn't be there. WORST SCHOOL EVER.

School is terrible, as I student I have left my honest review.dont you think that 9 hours of home work a week (if your lucky) is nice? Well no, the school have even managed to make anything some like waiting in a lunch line miserable.if your reading this, please do not send you child here

its just bad ykwim......

the school is very cruel and unfair.the teachers don't teach properly and and give detentions for no reason.once i got a detention when someone put their middle finger at me and i got a detention.

Not aloud to hug friends nor be with 6 + friends they dont support kids with dyslexia and other medical conditions some teachers are nice barely kids vape in the playground andits not a safe place for my child do not recommend i have been removed by my mu

So it was march 21 2022 I was in English as a supply teacher at my big age 47 its hard to keep a class under control as I'm getting older till this beautiful year 9 stood up for me and I felt aroused so we kicked it off im not gonna go into detail but im in ove with her she may be a bit overweight but other than that i love making love to her every weekend

It is a nice school! But like any other school it can have its ups and downs. I am having a lovely journey at Ark so far. My teachers treat me with respect. They have trust in me. Always there for me :)

I got my good grades but I was miserable. I had favourite teachers like everyone. The security teachers though were discriminatory, mean, not understanding of personal lives and just wanted to get you in trouble. The school is very focused on the uniform, had been for all the years I was there even when it was Helenswood but it was to a point of it feeling like the military and taking all individuality. It made you feel criminal just for forgetting to take nail polish off. Their views were all over the place, cared more about looks then well being. After Helenswood the food quality went down a lot. The outdoor space (at the Parker site) was either a field or a court. Either sit on the floor and chat or stand and chat. Looked like a prison inside and out to be honest. One good thing is the lack of bullying. I do wish they had more creative after school classes though.

I was a student for barely 3 months when i was raped by a student in yr11 (i am also a yr11 student, i transferred from another school) There was police involvement, statements and DNA evidence taken. However, after i spoke out about my assault i was punished, they kicked me out of school. This was after a meeting with the headteacher who decided to laugh in my face and ignore everything i said.
Don’t get me wrong they have some good teachers and good things going on, but god forbid something bad happens to you. They would rather remove the ‘problem’ than solve it. Of course i was the problem and not the boy who actually raped me, but my bad, it’s just an allegation right? And that’s just the short version.

I'm a former student who was there from year 7 to the beginning of year 11 intill I left because of the panic attacks I was getting from going to this school.

I was there before Helens wood and parker merged, so when the school merged I was at the upper school so I'm not sure what it was like at the lower.

I attended Helens Wood and it was good academically. The teachers were nice and the classes calm. The only complaint was that I am dyslexic and I received no support part from when I took my gcses there would give me extra time. Other than that it was good.

In school I always struggled to make friends because of my anxiety so for most of my school life I had no friends. This school did not help Me in any way with that. Also when I got picked on nothing was done about it. This did not change when the schools merged.

When the school merged I would describe it as chaotic. the teachers had no control over the class and people would shout, chuck things around the class and storm out. So many times I've come out a class not doing any work because the teacher was to busy trying to calm people down then to teach.

Also because of the chaos so many amazing teachers left and classes teaching arrangements would become weird and disorganised. I had 3 different teachers for maths and 3 different teachers for science, all of the science teachers were bad, 1st one was incompetent, 2nd was a pe teacher but was the best , 3rd stormed out every lesson so that lesson was a mess and all of them ended up leaving part from the pe teacher (I think)

The dress code is stupid, I'm not one to hate on uniforms but come on. For boys it was practically none existent but for girls oh no. You must have your hair tied up, no makeup, no jewellery, no trainers even if there black, skirt must be below the knee, at a time you must have over the knee socks if you wore them but they got rid of that rule because of back lash, no phones out even during break and more I probably forgot to mention. They say its for unison because " were all apart of a team! " but it's for control, unison is boring without some personality.

Also the bathrooms were open which is just why? I want to cry in the bathroom stall in peace! Also I wasn't at the school at the time but the bathrooms were unisex which was good but they made them non unisex for some reason? Like for trans and non binary people that could really affect them.

Overall I had a terrible secondary school experience, I was lonely, bullied and had no friends. The lessons were bad, the teachers were good but couldn't control the class. And it has permanently altered my life, I have depression and social anxiety because of school. And I have constant nightmares about school, Overall maybe it has improved in the 2-3 years cince i was there but if it was like how it was when I was there then DO NOT GO.

It was amazing had a good relationship with the teachers. They were helpful and after school maths and English revision sessions to help with grades

Way too many strict rules about pathetic things like… hair colour and style, makeup, jewellery, nails, phones, footwear, and the school uniform. The teaching is okay but the insanely strict rules are just a let down.

Amazing school, well-regulated and supportive teachers. Only downside is that the new headteacher Mr Liam Collins is hardly seen or spoken about. Amazing cadet group

A couple of good things about the school, good sports facilities and nice food!
But then there are many rules like, year 9,10 and 11 girls may wear leggings for PE but 7 and 8 can't? And the school seem to be more worried about the colour of trousers than the education people get. Overall it's decent but I wouldn't "recommend" the school.

The regulations at the school are stupid, especially for this day and age. From mobile phones to girls hair, it is over-regulated and stressful to deal with.

The mental health support is alright for some of the years (7-10) but for year 11 there is no designated mental health support officer, this is arguably the most important person for year 11 as it is the most stressful and emotionally challenging year for the students.

The new Principal, Mr Liam Collins is someone the school hardly ever sees or speaks too. Unlike previous principals, Mr Collins hardly ever interacts with students and is not ever available when staff need him.

The teachers are good and work well but the communication between them is either low or non-existent. It's important for students to have a good teacher-student bond and the staff here are really good at doing that.

Not only that, during the current climate of COVID-19 the school do not know how to handle cases amongst the students. When one of the Year 11 students were found to be positive, the "close-contact" system they had in place was shocking and caused so much confusion for staff and students alike. Due to this confusion, I would say a good 75% of the Year 11 students were sent home (some not even needing to be) meaning GCSE Mocks have been disrupted and the students will need to continue them late.

Personally, I find it heartbreaking that some of the really good staff are leaving due to these reasons and it is a shame that things need to get to this point.