Barking Abbey Secondary School
Encyclopedia
Barking Abbey Secondary School (also referred to as Barking Abbey School or simply Barking Abbey) is a secondary school located in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
.
, and is also a registered humanities college. The school draws its pupils from primary schools in the London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge
, and Newham
.
The school operates on two sites just under a mile apart. Years 7 and 8 (ages 11 – 13) are at the Longbridge Road site, and years 9 to 13 (ages 13– 19) at the Sandringham Road site. Barking Abbey also has a Sixth Form
of over 400 students. AS, A2, BTEC
courses are available to 16-19 year olds.
An oversubscribed school, it is situated in Fair Cross, just west of Mayesbrook Park, north of Upney tube station
.
in England
. At the time, the local area was largely rural
area, with fields and farmland close by. Gradually, as Barking began to expand as a residential centre, the school became a focal point for the community with an educational provision of national standing. The first headmaster was Colonel Ernest Loftus, who stayed for twenty seven years, being replaced by Mr Young DFC in 1949.
In 1997, the school celebrated its 75th anniversary. Ex-pupils from all over the world, including Canada, the USA and New Zealand, met to review seventy-five years of progress and achievement.
In 2003, Barking Abbey School became the first school to have the SATs taken in Year 8 to allow students to spend 3 years studying for GCSEs as opposed to previously having 2 years. This practice was subsequently adopted on a permanent basis.
In 2005, Barking Abbey agreed to begin a Barking Abbey Basketball Academy, run by Mark Clark, a past Women's Great Britain Team manager, and Lloyd Gardiner the ex-London Leopards point guard
, both highly experienced in the sport. This enabled younger players from around London, Essex
, and Hertfordshire
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 recently 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, one of the few state schools in London to offer this course.
from the Sport England
Lottery
Unit and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham enabled the building of a Leisure Centre, with full time nursery provision. In 1999, the school was nominated by the Government's Chief Inspector as one of the most improved schools in the country. The school also achieved the Schools' Curriculum Award in 2000, the Government's Achievement Award for Excellence in 2001 and the Technology Colleges Trust "Most Value-added Schools" Award in 2002.
Testbed Pilot School. This meant that over £2 million was to be spent on computer technology
equipment. Students and staff gained access to state-of-the-art technologies to enhance and transform their teaching and learning. A new block on the Sandringham Road site was built to accommodate this.
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough had a total population of 1,937; and the area was characterised by farming, woodland and the fishing fleet at Barking. This last industry employed 1,370 men and boys by 1850, but by the end of the century had ceased to exist; replaced by...
.
Admissions
The school is a specialist Sports CollegeSports College
Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, PE, sports and dance. Schools that successfully apply to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Sports...
, and is also a registered humanities college. The school draws its pupils from primary schools in the London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge
London Borough of Redbridge
The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough in outer north-east London. Its administrative headquarters is at Redbridge Town Hall in Ilford. The local authority is Redbridge London Borough Council.-Etymology:...
, and Newham
London Borough of Newham
The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the towns of West Ham and East Ham, within East London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the...
.
The school operates on two sites just under a mile apart. Years 7 and 8 (ages 11 – 13) are at the Longbridge Road site, and years 9 to 13 (ages 13– 19) at the Sandringham Road site. Barking Abbey also has a Sixth Form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
of over 400 students. AS, A2, BTEC
Business And Technology Education Council (BTEC)
The Business and Technology Education Council is the British body which awards vocational qualifications. Such qualifications are commonly referred to as "BTECs"....
courses are available to 16-19 year olds.
An oversubscribed school, it is situated in Fair Cross, just west of Mayesbrook Park, north of Upney tube station
Upney tube station
Upney tube station is a London Underground station on the District Line. It is located on Upney Lane, Barking in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in east London. The station is in Zone 4....
.
Grammar school
Barking Abbey School was founded in 1922 as the first co-educational grammar schoolGrammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. At the time, the local area was largely rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
area, with fields and farmland close by. Gradually, as Barking began to expand as a residential centre, the school became a focal point for the community with an educational provision of national standing. The first headmaster was Colonel Ernest Loftus, who stayed for twenty seven years, being replaced by Mr Young DFC in 1949.
Comprehensive
In 1970, Barking Abbey Grammar School was merged with Park Modern Secondary School to form what is now Barking Abbey School, then known as Barking Abbey Comprehensive School.In 1997, the school celebrated its 75th anniversary. Ex-pupils from all over the world, including Canada, the USA and New Zealand, met to review seventy-five years of progress and achievement.
The school today
Barking Abbey School is a mixed school of approximately 1650 pupils, with an annual intake of 270 new students.In 2003, Barking Abbey School became the first school to have the SATs taken in Year 8 to allow students to spend 3 years studying for GCSEs as opposed to previously having 2 years. This practice was subsequently adopted on a permanent basis.
In 2005, Barking Abbey agreed to begin a Barking Abbey Basketball Academy, run by Mark Clark, a past Women's Great Britain Team manager, and Lloyd Gardiner the ex-London Leopards point guard
Point guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
, both highly experienced in the sport. This enabled younger players from around London, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, and Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
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 recently been announced that Barking Abbey will become the first pilot Regional Institute of Basketball within Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
In 2007, Barking Abbey's Dance Department opened its Dance Academy as a "centre of excellence"
It has introduced the teaching of Latin, one of the few state schools in London to offer this course.
Future
Barking Abbey are looking forward to fit more students into Barking Abbey. By that they will turn the Sandringham Road Site to a Lower Site and the Longbridge road site to the new Upper Site. The parents, students and staff are all helping by making plans for the future.Success
In 1997 it was among the first six schools to be awarded "Specialist Sports College" status. At the same time a grant of £2.1 millionPound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
from the Sport England
Sport England
Sport England is the brand name for the English Sports Council and is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
Lottery
Lottery
A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...
Unit and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham enabled the building of a Leisure Centre, with full time nursery provision. In 1999, the school was nominated by the Government's Chief Inspector as one of the most improved schools in the country. The school also achieved the Schools' Curriculum Award in 2000, the Government's Achievement Award for Excellence in 2001 and the Technology Colleges Trust "Most Value-added Schools" Award in 2002.
ICT Testbed
Barking Abbey was selected by the DfES as one of five secondary schools in the county to be an ICTICT (education)
Information and communication technologies in education deal with the use of information and communication technologies within educational technology.-Purpose:...
Testbed Pilot School. This meant that over £2 million was to be spent on computer technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
equipment. Students and staff gained access to state-of-the-art technologies to enhance and transform their teaching and learning. A new block on the Sandringham Road site was built to accommodate this.
Academic performance
The school gets the best GCSE results in the LEA, with well above average results. At A-level, it gets slightly disappointing results, but the second best in the LEA, although below-average for England.Notable alumni
- Billy BraggBilly BraggStephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
, musician (spent a year at Park Modern) - Malcolm EdenMalcolm EdenMalcolm Eden was the vocalist and guitarist in the indie pop group McCarthy between 1985 and 1990. Eden wrote the far left leaning lyrics of the band....
, member of indie pop band McCarthyMcCarthy (band)McCarthy were a British indie pop band, formed in Barking, Essex, England in 1984 by schoolmates Malcolm Eden and Tim Gane with John Williamson and Gary Baker... - Tim GaneTim GaneTim Gane is the leader of the rock band, Stereolab.He started his musical career as a purveyor of harsh noise in the early 1980s under the alias Unkommuniti releasing self financed cassettes on Black Dwarf Wreckordings along with fellow Unkommuniti members Kallous Boys and other noise projects....
, member of McCarthyMcCarthy (band)McCarthy were a British indie pop band, formed in Barking, Essex, England in 1984 by schoolmates Malcolm Eden and Tim Gane with John Williamson and Gary Baker...
and StereolabStereolabStereolab are an alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England. The band originally comprised songwriting team Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier , both of whom remained at the helm across many lineup changes... - Bobby ZamoraBobby ZamoraRobert Lester "Bobby" Zamora is an English footballer who plays for Fulham and the England national football team. Zamora began his career at Football League club Bristol Rovers, but was soon signed by Brighton & Hove Albion, where he found first team success...
, Fulham footballer - Joss LabadieJoss LabadieJoss Christopher 'Bob' Labadie is an English professional footballer who currently players for League One side Tranmere Rovers.-Career:...
, Tranmere Rovers footballer
Barking Abbey Grammar School
- C. J. FreezerC. J. FreezerCyril John Freezer was an English railway modeller, writer, and magazine editor. He edited Railway Modeller from 1950 to 1978, and Model Railways from 1978 until 1983. He also wrote many articles for Model Railroader...
, model railway enthusiast - Prof Harold Henbest, Professor of Organic Chemistry from 1958-73 at Queen's University Belfast, who discovered the link between retinolRetinolRetinol is one of the animal forms of vitamin A. It is a diterpenoid and an alcohol. It is convertible to other forms of vitamin A, and the retinyl ester derivative of the alcohol serves as the storage form of the vitamin in animals....
and Vitamin AVitamin AVitamin A is a vitamin that is needed by the retina of the eye in the form of a specific metabolite, the light-absorbing molecule retinal, that is necessary for both low-light and color vision...
, and worked with Sir Ewart JonesEwart JonesProfessor Sir Ewart Ray Herbert Jones was a Welsh organic chemist and academic administrator, whose fields of expertise led him to discoveries into the chemistry of natural products, mainly steroids, terpenes and vitamins...
to synthesize cortisoneCortisoneCortisone is a steroid hormone. It is one of the main hormones released by the adrenal gland in response to stress. In chemical structure, it is a corticosteroid closely related to corticosterone. It is used to treat a variety of ailments and can be administered intravenously, orally,... - Sir Brian Jarman OBE, Professor of Primary Health Care from 1984-98 at Imperial College School of MedicineImperial College School of MedicineThe Imperial College School of Medicine is the medical school of Imperial College London in England, and one of the United Hospitals....
and President from 2003-4 of the British Medical AssociationBritish Medical AssociationThe British Medical Association is the professional association and registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association’s headquarters are located in BMA House,... - Dr Royston Lambert, founded the Boarding Schools' Association in 1966
- Victor RiceVictor RiceVictor Rice is a musician and producer from New York City. He is most noted for his work within the third wave ska genre of the 1990s through the early 2000s, as both a bassist and as a producer....
, Chief Executive from 1996-9 of LucasVarityLucasVarityLucasVarity plc was a UK automotive parts manufacturer, created by a merger of the British Lucas Industries plc, and the North American Varity Corporation in August 1996.-Foundation:...
and of VarityVarityVarity was a former farm equipment company, created in 1986 from the remains of Massey-Ferguson Limited of Toronto, Ontario. Varity also owned Perkins Engines headquartered in Peterborough England and Kelsey-Hayes Group of Companies headquartered in Romulus, Michigan...
from 1980–96 - Professor Alan SmithersAlan Smithers-Method of research and information dissemination:He is best known for his distinctive style of research, which leads to him often being called upon to comment on the issues of the day. His early experience in science led him to the view that educational researchers are wrong in aping the...
, educationist