Barking Abbey is a mixed school of approximately 2,000 pupils. It is traditionally heavily oversubscribed and each year takes 270 new pupils. We are proud of the fact that we are a multi-cultural community and we seek to celebrate our diversity in as many ways as possible. Tolerance of, respect for, and understanding of others are vital aspects of preparing young people for adult life. Our vision is to provide a happy, caring, and stimulating environment where all students will recognize and be given opportunities to maximize their potential – academically, spiritually, and socially - and ensure that they are well equipped to meet the challenges of education, work, and life.
The school is a consultant school for the Schools Network and the Youth Sport Trust and has a large number of awards. Recently it has been given the e-Safety Charter Mark Sportsmark Gold and Artsmark Gold and International School status. Barking Abbey was named State School of the Year in 2010 by School Sports Magazine and National Sports College of the Year in 2011 by the Daily Telegraph.
'Cafeteria' system operates in both Lower and Upper School Dining Halls where there is a wide variety of items available. Pupils in Years 7 to 10 may either purchase a school lunch or have a packed lunch and must remain on the premises throughout the entire lunch break. Year 11 students, to reflect their growing maturity and responsibilities, are allowed off the premises at lunchtime, providing their behavior is appropriate.
Former students are warmly invited to join the Barking Abbey Alumni Association which will help them keep in touch with the Barking Abbey community. There are lots of ways to get involved, from inspiring our sixth formers to go to university to motivating a year 7 student through mentoring. Future First is a charity that helps schools and colleges stay in touch with their students after they leave. Signing up to the Future First network will allow you to keep up to date with news from Barking Abbey. Even after you have left, Barking Abbey can provide opportunities to learn new skills and maybe get the job you want. We believe that your school, the former students and the young people who are still here could all benefit from staying connected.
Sports Leaders UK launched the Leadership Academy initiative which is a scheme to reward and recognize some of its best centers that go beyond the call of duty, and thus, Barking Abbey was recognized as one of these centers and was invited to become a Sports Leadership Academy.
Our Leadership Academy acts as a beacon of good practice to other organizations in our local area. We not only deliver Sports Leaders UK's awards and qualifications with high levels of success and enthusiasm but by meeting the criteria, we have a very positive impact on the local community with regards to increased voluntary hours, community placements, and events. We have developed a range of creative ideas which go beyond the learning outcomes of the Sports Leaders UK leadership awards and qualifications and offer our learners a pathway of additional opportunities, and a package of initiatives that motivate and inspire our pupils to take part in sports leadership and volunteering programs.
Barking Abbey was founded in 1922 as one of the first co-educational grammar schools in England. At the time, it was situated in a largely rural area, with fields and farmland close by. Gradually, as Barking began to expand as a residential center, the school became the focal point for the community with an educational provision of national standing.
In 1970, Barking Abbey Grammar School was merged with Park Modern School to form what has now become ‘Barking Abbey School: A Specialist Sports and Humanities College’. Many traditions of the old schools remain, but with important developments to enable the school and its pupils to be fully prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities of life in the twenty-first century. One thing remains central, however: we are an outstanding success.
The school draws its pupils from a large number of primary and junior schools particularly from the London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham and Redbridge. Barking Abbey has a very large Sixth Form of over 600 students. A large range of AS, A2, and BTEC courses is available to our 16-19-year-olds. The school operates on two sites that are just under a mile apart. Years 7 and 8 are housed at Longbridge Road and Years 9 – 13 at Sandringham Road.
In recent years, the school has enjoyed great success across many areas. 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 million from the Sport England Lottery Unit and the Borough of Barking and Dagenham enabled the building of a large Leisure Centre.
The GLP in England aims to create a national network of like-minded schools, committed to equipping young people to make a positive contribution to a globalized world by supporting their teachers to deliver effective teaching and learning about development and global issues. Oxfam, one of the GLP consortium partners, has recently been working with Barking Abbey to develop school-led CPD sessions for other schools in the GLP. This training will meet the aims of the GLP and will focus on embedding global citizenship into the curriculum and school ethos.
