Riverside Campus (also known as Riverside School) is an 11-18 mixed, secondary free school and selective

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 ...

situated in

Barking Riverside Barking Riverside is a mixed-use development in the area of Barking, east London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It is being built on land formerly occupied by Barking Power Station, adjacent to the River Thames, and ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. It is one of the largest schools in the

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham () is a London borough in East London. It lies around 9 miles (14.4 km) east of Central London. It is an Outer London borough and the south is within the London Riverside section of the Thames G ...

, with currently over 1,200 students on roll. The school opened in September 2013 for years 7-11, and the sixth form (years 12-13) opened in 2017.

History

The school opened in September 2013, with a small intake of students from school years 7 to 11. Its first location was at 40 Thames Road in

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

, England. In September 2017, the school had relocated to a £44 million campus in

, as the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

's largest free school. The campus is a 23,000sqm five-story building, and is able to accommodate up to 2,465 children from 0–19 years. The school integrated provision for nursery, primary and sixth form pupils and furthermore introduced a

special educational needs Special educational needs (SEN), also known as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the United Kingdom refers to the education of children who require different education provision to the mainstream system. Definition The definiti ...

(SEN) school for Riverside Bridge.

Facilities

The school's campus features a wide range of facilities. * A wide indoor sports hall. * A

dance studio A dance studio is a space in which dancers learn or rehearse. The term is typically used to describe a space that has either been built or equipped for the purpose. Overview A dance studio normally includes a smooth floor covering or, if used fo ...

. * A fitness suite, containing a variety of gym equipment with

stationary bicycle A stationary bicycle (also known as exercise bicycle, exercise bike, spinning bike, spin bike, or exercycle) is a device used as exercise equipment for indoor cycling. It includes a saddle, pedals, and some form of handlebars arranged as on ...

treadmill A treadmill is a device generally used for walking, running, or climbing while staying in the same place. Treadmills were introduced before the development of powered machines to harness the power of animals or humans to do work, often a type of ...

indoor rower An indoor rower, or rowing machine, is a machine used to simulate the action of watercraft rowing for the purpose of exercise or training for rowing. Modern indoor rowers are often known as ergometers (colloquially erg or ergo) because they m ...

power rack A power rack (also known as a power cage, squat cage or squat rack) is a piece of weight training equipment that functions as a mechanical spotter for free weight barbell exercises without the movement restrictions imposed by equipment such as t ...

s, and more. * Specialised

laboratories A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physicia ...

for the sciences, multiple computer labs/rooms, design and technology rooms and music rooms. * Four outdoor multi-use game areas (MUGAs), table tennis courts and a large

football pitch A football pitch (also known as soccer field) is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is typically made of natural tu ...

that runs across the campus. Alongside these, the school maintains 5 floors (0 to 4) each with their own dedicated subject classes, represented with colours: blue (Floor 0), orange (Floor 1), green (Floor 2), yellow (Floor 3) and grey (Floor 4), all maintaining several computer rooms.

Curriculum

The school organises students into separate buildings depending on their "school"; namely Riverside Bridge, Riverside Primary and Riverside Secondary, however are all connected in the same campus, and differ in term dates and their curriculums.

Secondary school curriculum

The school is independent from the national curriculum, and instead follow their own curriculum for their secondary school: * Students are placed into 1 of 5 form brackets (R, I, V, E, S), which is based on their

Key Stage 2 Key Stage 2 is the legal term for the four years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, when the pupils are aged between 7 and 11 years. England and Wales Legal definition The t ...

(KS2) performance, mainly decided from their

National Curriculum assessment The National Curriculum assessment usually refers to the statutory assessments carried out in primary schools in England, colloquially known as standard attainment tests (SATs). The assessments are made up of a combination of testing and teacher ...

results (SATs). * Riverside School maintains a 1 week timetable, featuring 25 x 60-minute taught lessons, plus a 20-minute assembly each day. * PSHE/citizenship/RS are delivered through

Civics Civics is the study of the rights and obligations of citizens in society. The term derives from the Latin word ''civicus'', meaning "relating to a citizen". The term relates to behavior affecting other citizens, particularly in the context of u ...

(one lesson per week for years 7-10). * Science provision in year 11 for those students undertaking triple science is increased to 6 hours each week, providing 2 discrete hours for

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

. * Students that play a musical instrument receive personal tuition provided by the school's peripatetic music tutors each week.

Key Stage 4

Key Stage 4 Key Stage 4 (KS4) is the legal term for the two years of school education which incorporate GCSEs, and other examinations, in maintained schools in England normally known as Year 10 and Year 11, when pupils are aged between 14 and 16 by August 31. ...

(year 9), students are required to study core

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 ...

subjects, involving AQA English, AQA Sciences, Edexcel Mathematics and AQA Spanish Language (E and S excluded). They also must study either AQA GCSE Physical Education or Edexcel BTEC Level 1/2 First Award In Sport. Students also have the following option choices as part of their GCSE option choices: * OCR Computer Science * AQA History * AQA Spanish (E and S only) * Edexcel Music * AQA Media Studies * OCR Geography * Edexcel Photography * Edexcel Art * As vocational option choices - WJEC Hospitality and Catering Level 1/2 Award, OCR Creative iMedia or Edexcel BTEC Performing Arts.

Results

In the 2018

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...

school league tables, Riverside Campus ranked the highest achieving school in

Barking and Dagenham The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham () is a London borough in East London. It lies around 9 miles (14.4 km) east of Central London. It is an Outer London borough and the south is within the London Riverside section of the Thames Ga ...

at GCSE, with a

Progress 8 Progress 8 (), was a Soviet uncrewed Progress cargo spacecraft which was launched in 1980 to resupply the Salyut 6 space station. Spacecraft Progress 8 was a Progress 7K-TG spacecraft. The eighth of forty three to be launched, it had the seria ...

well above average score of 0.91, an

Attainment 8 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 t ...

score of 55.5, 80% of students entering EBacc, and an EBacc average point score of 5.11. However as of 2019, the school had a below average ranking for

A-Levels 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 ...

, but overtime the school has had an outstanding change in their A-Level results, with students progressing onto higher education at

Russell Group The Russell Group is a self-selected association of twenty-four public university, public research university, research universities in the United Kingdom. The group is headquartered in Cambridge and was established in 1994 to represent its memb ...

universities and a low number of students being offered

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to de ...

places. As of 2019, the school currently stands as one of the top 80 schools in the

represented by the school league tables.

Uniform

Secondary school students are required to wear a maroon blazer with the embroidered school logo and a grey polo shirt with the embroidered school logo. Trousers must be black and classic-cut, and skirts must be black and below the knee. Socks or tights must be plain black, and flat, black shoes with a closed toe and heel are mandatory. Primary and Bridge school students are required to wear a navy blue cardigan or jumper with the embroidered school logo, a grey polo shirt with the embroidered school logo and black or grey trousers. Black shoes are mandatory with the uniform. The uniform for the primary school differs depending summer or winter season.

Standards

The school received a 'Good' rating from

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 ...

in 2015 and 2019.Ofsted https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/23/139791 In September 2020, the school was interviewed and looked into by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, with year 11 and 13 examinations taking place following school openings after the British national lockdown, presenting what

social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious disea ...

measures the school has established.

References

{{authority control Secondary schools in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Free schools in London Educational institutions established in 2013 2013 establishments in England