Barking Abbey School is a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

and

specialist Specialist may refer to: Occupations * Specialist (rank), a military rank ** Specialist (Singapore) * Specialist (arena football) * Specialist degree, in academia * Specialty (medicine) * Designated market maker, in the American stock market * ...

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

and humanities college located in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It serves students from the London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge, and Newham. Years 7 to 11 (ages 11 – 16) are at the Longbridge Road site and years 7 to 13 (ages 11 – 18) at the Sandringham Road site. Barking Abbey also has a

Sixth Form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

of over 400 students which is at the Sandringham Road site.

A Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

and BTEC courses are available to 16 - 18 year-olds in the Sixth Form. Both sites are situated to the west of Mayesbrook Park and to the north of Upney Underground station.

History

Barking Abbey School was founded in 1922, the first co-educational grammar school in England. The first headmaster was Colonel Ernest Loftus, who stayed for 27 years, being replaced by Mr Frank Young DFC in 1949. In 2005, Barking Abbey started the

Barking Abbey Basketball Academy The Barking Abbey Basketball Academy is an elite 16–19 basketball academy, based at Barking Abbey School in London, England. History The school established the basketball academy in 2005, after recognising the lack of elite development opportu ...

. This enabled younger players from around London,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, and

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

to experience the life of being in a basketball academy, preparing some of them to move abroad on scholarships to various countries around the world. It has been announced that Barking Abbey will become the first pilot Regional Institute of Basketball within Great Britain. In 2007, Barking Abbey's Dance Department opened its Dance Academy as a "centre of excellence". It has introduced the teaching of

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, making it one of the few state schools in London to offer this course. Historic records of Barking Abbey School for 1922-1977 are held at Barking and Dagenham Archive Service, Valence House Museum. This collections includes early pupil records, staff records, sports, photographs, and house record books.

Academic performance

In 2019, the school's

Progress 8 benchmark The Progress 8 benchmark is an accountability measure used by the government of the United Kingdom to measure the effectiveness of secondary schools in England. It bands pupils into groups based on their scores in English and mathematics during the ...

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

was above average. 49% of children at the school achieved Grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSEs, compared to the Barking and Dagenham average of 43% and the national average, also 43%. The school's Attainment 8 score at GCSE was 49, compared to the Barking and Dagenham average of 47 and the national average, also 47. At

A-Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

in 2019, the school's Progress score was below average. The average result was C-, compared to the Barking and Dagenham average of C and the national average of C+. The percentage of students completing their A level courses was 97%, compared to the Barking and Dagenham average of 91% and the national average of 91%.

Notable former pupils

* Graham Allen, writer and academic * Ravi Bopara, Essex and England cricketer *

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...

, musician (spent a year at Park Modern Secondary School) * Leanne Brown, Great Britain World Junior Flatwater Canoeist * Wayne Brown, footballer * Malcolm Eden, member of indie pop band

McCarthy McCarthy (also spelled MacCarthy or McCarty) may refer to: * MacCarthy, a Gaelic Irish clan * McCarthy, Alaska, United States * McCarty, Missouri, United States * McCarthy Road, a road in Alaska * McCarthy (band), an indie pop band * Château MacC ...

* Tim Gane, member of

and Stereolab *

Robert Gilchrist Robert Gilchrist may refer to: *Robert Gilchrist (basketball) (born 1990), professional basketball player *Robert Gilchrist (mayor) (died 1866), mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey * Robert Gilchrist (cricketer) (1821–1905), Scottish cricketer * Robe ...

, professional basketball player * Michael Hector, footballer *

JJ Jegede JJ Jegede (born 3 October 1985) is a British track and field athlete who specialises in the long jump. He finished fourth in the long jump at the 2012 European Athletics Championships, just seven centimetres off a medal. He works as a personal t ...

, British long jumper *

Joss Labadie Joss Christopher Labadie (born 30 August 1990) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Solihull Moors. Career Early career Born in Croydon, Labadie began his football career with West Bromwich Albion. He joined their academ ...

, footballer *

Danis Salman Danis Mahmut Mehmet Salman ( tr, Danış Salman; born 12 March 1960), sometimes known as Danny Salman, is a Turkish Cypriot-born English former professional footballer and coach, best remembered for his time as a defender in the Football League ...

, footballer *

Akwasi Yeboah Akwasi Abeyie Yeboah (born June 15, 1997) is a British professional basketball player for Galatasaray Ekmas of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). Yeboah competed for the Kent Crusaders of the English National Basketball League (NBL) and led the ...

, basketball player *

Bobby Zamora Robert Lester Zamora (born 16 January 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. Zamora began his career at Football League club Bristol Rovers, but was soon signed by Brighton & Hove Albion, where he found first ...

, footballer

Barking Abbey Grammar School

* Carole Ann Ford, actor, played Susan Foreman from 1963-64 in ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' * C. J. Freezer, model railway enthusiast * Sir

Brian Jarman Sir Brian Jarman (born 9 July 1933) is a retired English physician and academic. He was professor of primary health care from 1983 to 1998 at Imperial College School of Medicine and president of the British Medical Association from 2003 to 2004 ...

OBE, physician and academic *

Steve Mogford Steven Lewis Mogford (born 27 June 1956) is a British businessman. He is the Chief Executive of United Utilities Group plc, the UK's largest listed water company. Early life Mogford was educated at Barking Abbey Grammar School, Essex and Queen ...

, Chief executive since 2011 of United Utilities Group plc *

Brian Poole Brian Poole (born 2 November 1941)Eder, BruceBrian Poole Biography, Allmusic. Retrieved 17 August 2014 is a singer and performer who was the lead singer of 1960s beat band The Tremeloes (1957–62) and then Brian Poole and The Tremeloes (1962� ...

, lead singer of

The Tremeloes The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, England. They initially found success in the British Invasion era with lead singer Brian Poole, scoring a UK chart-topper in 1963 with "Do You Love Me". After Poole's departu ...

* Prof

Alan Smithers Prof Alan George Smithers (born 20 May 1938) is an English educationalist. Early life Smithers was born in the East End of London, the son of a Billingsgate fish porter.Rafferty, R. (22 January 1999). 'Leaders of the pack', ''Times Educational ...

, (attended 1949–56), author, broadcaster and educationist * Victor Rice, industrialist, ex-CEO of Massey Ferguson and LucasVarity

Arms

References

External links

Barking Abbey School website

Barking Abbey Basketball Academy

EduBase

Barking Abbey School Videos

Valence House Museum
Barking Abbey School Archives {{authority control Secondary schools in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Educational institutions established in 1922 1922 establishments in England Community schools in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Barking, London Specialist sports colleges in England Specialist humanities colleges in England