Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College (once known as Abbs Cross Technical High School) is situated on Abbs Cross Lane,

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed ...

, in the

London Borough of Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. The ...

, England. Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College is an Arts College. The school has a strong link with

Havering Sixth Form College Havering Sixth Form College (alternatively styled Havering VI Form College), abbreviated as HSFC, is a sixth form college in Wingletye Lane, Hornchurch in the London Borough of Havering, East London, England. Built on the site of Dury Falls Seco ...

in which a majority of its students go on to attend. The School's Headteacher is Mrs Nicola Jethwa, who took on the role of Acting Headteacher but later became the Headteacher. Abbs Cross school was opened in 1958 as a mixed Technical High School, and was enlarged in 1973. Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College joined the "Loxford School Trust" on Tuesday 2 February 2016.

Arts

The school has been awarded an

Artsmark Artsmark is the creative quality standard for schools and education settings, awarded by Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is ...

from the

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

. Auditions are held for students who wish to enter the school as

Performing Arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

students. Abbs Cross Music Department has a Dance Band that played for Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

Romford Market Romford Market is a large open market with 270 stalls,Havering London Borough Council< ...

, and

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

at the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

in London. It has also taken part in Heritage Concerts at the

Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch The Queen's Theatre is a 507-seat mid-scale producing theatre located in Hornchurch in the London Borough of Havering, east London. History Hornchurch Urban District Council purchased a derelict cinema on Station Lane (the site of the present R ...

for the Mayor of Havering and, was a Dome Performer for the Year 2000 celebrations at the

Millennium Dome The Millennium Dome was the original name of the large dome-shaped building on the Greenwich Peninsula in South East (London sub region), South East London, England, which housed a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millenn ...

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

. The Dance Band have also toured throughout Europe. The school held a

Jubilee A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

Anniversary party in September 2008 (50th Anniversary). In October 2008, the school's dance company (AX Dance Company) performed at the Olympic festival in

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...

, in which the

Olympic torch The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olympic ...

passed through to celebrate the forthcoming 2012 Olympic Games.

Loxford

Loxford School of Science and Technology Loxford School (formerly Loxford School of Science and Technology) is a Mixed-sex education, mixed all-through school with Academy (English school), academy status located in the Ilford area of the London Borough of Redbridge, England. The schoo ...

took control of the leadership Abbs Cross in February 2016. This was due to the struggles the school had faced during the years of 2012 to 2015 after a long-term headteacher retired. An Ofsted inspected in June 2015 discovered that the school was no longer graded "good" it was now a grade "inadequate" and put into special measures thenceforth. Abbs Cross under the support of the Loxford School Trust decided to put an application in 2016 to open a sixth form however this application was rejected as the school did not reach the necessary requirements to do so, and many more changes have been put in place to try to have the school removed from special measures so the school can have a sixth form in future and regain its status. Recently, the school was removed from special measures and is now rated ‘good.’ Furthermore, it has put in a second application for a sixth form. This application was also rejected.

Notable former pupils

Daniel Huttlestone Daniel Richard Huttlestone (born 17 September 1999) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Gavroche in Tom Hooper's ''Les Misérables (2012 film), Les Misérables'' and Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack in the musical film ''Into the ...

, Actor *

Jesy Nelson Jessica Louise Nelson (born 14 June 1991) is an English singer who rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Little Mix from 2011 to 2020, one of the world's best-selling girl groups. With Little Mix, she released six studio albums and ...

, British singer, former member of

Little Mix Little Mix are a British girl group, composed of group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards. Jesy Nelson was originally part of the group before she left in 2020. After becoming the first group to win the British ver ...

Stacey Solomon Stacey Chanelle Clare Solomon-Swash (born 4 October 1989) is an English singer and television personality. She finished in third place on the sixth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2009, and won the tenth series of '' I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Ou ...

, Reality TV star and presenter *

Richard Wisker Richard Wisker (born 1 February 1995) is a BAFTA Award-nominated British actor and presenter from Dagenham, England, known for his role as Liam O'Donovan in ''Tracy Beaker Returns''. From 2013 to 2015 he portrayed Rich in the CBBC series ''Dani's ...

, Actor and Presenter (CBBC) *

Terry Edwards Terry Edwards (born 10 August 1960) is an English musician who plays trumpet, flugelhorn, saxophones, guitar and keyboards. Biography Edwards gained a degree in music from the University of East Anglia in 1982, where he was also a founding me ...

, Musician

Abbs Cross Technical High School

Robert Edmiston Robert Norman Edmiston, Baron Edmiston (born 6 October 1946) is a British billionaire businessman and motor trade entrepreneur based in the West Midlands, who has established a number of religious and educational charities, including Christian ...

, billionaire who founded Christian Vision * John Fassenfelt OBE, Chairman from 2011 to 2013 of the

Magistrates' Association The Magistrates' Association is the membership organisation for magistrates in England and Wales. By virtue of its education and training functions it is a charitable organisation and is funded by its members to promote the magistracy. History ...

* John Flack (politician), Conservative MEP from 2017 to 2019 for the

East of England The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire ...

Alex Jennings Alex Jennings (born 10 May 1957) is an English actor of the stage and screen, who worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre. For his work on the London stage, Jennings received three Olivier Awards, winning for ...

, actor who played Prince Charles in the 2006 ''

The Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

'' *

Bob Neill Sir Robert James MacGillivray Neill (born 24 June 1952) is a British barrister and Conservative Party politician. He has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bromley and Chislehurst since a by-election on 29 June 2006, following the ...

, Conservative MP since June 2006 for

Bromley and Chislehurst Bromley and Chislehurst is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2006 by Bob Neill, a Conservative. Constituency profile This constituency is relatively prosperous in terms of income, h ...

David Sullivan (businessman) David Sullivan (born 5 February 1949) is a Welsh businessman and former pornographer. He graduated in Economics from Queen Mary College, University of London. From 1986 to 2007, he owned the ''Daily Sport'' and ''Sunday Sport'', which he sold ...

, founder of the ''

Sunday Sport The ''Sunday Sport'' is a British tabloid newspaper that was founded by David Sullivan in 1986. It mainly publishes images of topless female glamour models, and is well known for publishing sensationalized, fictionalized, and satirical conten ...

'' (newspaper)

References

External links

* * at

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

Abbs Cross Academy & Arts College Government Page
{{authority control Academies in the London Borough of Havering Educational institutions established in 1958 Secondary schools in the London Borough of Havering 1958 establishments in England Hornchurch