Barking Abbey School is a

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

and specialist

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

and

humanities college Humanities Colleges are a type of specialist school introduced in 2004 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary and primary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, humanitie ...

located in the

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham () is a London boroughs, London borough in East London. The borough was created in 1965 as the London Borough of Barking; the name was changed in 1980. It is an Outer London borough and the south is wi ...

. It serves students from the London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge, and

Newham The London Borough of Newham () is a London boroughs, London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of County Borough of West Ham, West Ham and County ...

. 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 Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

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 ...

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. This enabled younger players from around London,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, and

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

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". 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 th ...

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

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 ...

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, musician, author and political activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic th ...

, musician (spent a year at Park Modern Secondary School) * Wayne Brown, footballer * Malcolm Eden, member of indie pop band McCarthy *

Tim Gane Timothy John Gane (born 12 July 1964) is an English songwriter and guitarist who co-founded Stereolab with his then-partner Lætitia Sadier.Gregory, Andy (ed.) (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music, 2002'', Europa Publications Limite ...

, member of McCarthy and

Stereolab Stereolab are an English people, Anglo-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's sound incorporates repetitive motorik beats with the use of vintage electronic keybo ...

* Robert Gilchrist, professional basketball player * Michael Hector, footballer * JJ Jegede, British long jumper * Joss Labadie, footballer * Danis Salman, footballer * Akwasi Yeboah, basketball player * Bobby Zamora, footballer * Joe Ikhinmwin, former professional basketball player and media personality

Barking Abbey Grammar School

* Carole Ann Ford, actor, played

Susan Foreman Susan Foreman (also known as Susan Campbell in spin-off media) is a fictional character in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The granddaughter of the Doctor and original Companion (Docto ...

from 1963-64 in ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' * C. J. Freezer, model railway enthusiast * Sir Brian Jarman OBE, physician and academic * Royston Lambert, progressive headteacher and author * Steve Mogford, Chief executive since 2011 of

United Utilities United Utilities Group plc (UU) is the United Kingdom's largest listed water company. It was founded in 1995 as a result of the merger of North West Water and NORWEB. The group manages the regulated water and waste water network in North West En ...

Group plc * Brian Poole, lead singer of The Tremeloes * Prof Alan Smithers, (attended 1949–56), author, broadcaster and educationist

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