Barking Abbey Secondary School

Infobox UK school
name = Barking Abbey School


size =
latitude = 51.54262
longitude = 0.10150
dms = dms
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established =
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closed =
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religion =
president =
head_label = Headteacher
head = Mr Mark Lloyd
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founder =
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specialist = Sports College, Humanities College
specialist_pl = true
street = Sandringham Road
city = Barking
county = Essex
country = ENG
postcode = IG11 9AG
LEA = London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
ofsted = 101241
staff =
enrollment = 1725
gender = Coeducational
lower_age = 11
upper_age = 18
houses =
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publication =
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website = http://www.babbey.bardaglea.org.uk/
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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. The school is a specialist Sports College, and is also a registered humanities college.

History

Barking Abbey School was founded in 1922 as the first co-educational grammar school in England.Fact|date=May 2007 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. In 1970, "Barking Abbey Grammar School" was merged with "Park Modern School" to form what is now Barking Abbey School.Fact|date=May 2007

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.Fact|date=May 2007

The school today

Barking Abbey School is a mixed school of approximately 1650 pupils, with an annual intake of 270 new students. Fact|date=May 2007 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.Fact|date=May 2008

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.Fact|date=May 2007

In 2005, Barking Abbey agreed to begin a Barking Abbey Basketball Academy, run by Mark Clark, the current Women's Great Britain Team, 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.

In 2007, Barking Abbey's Dance Department opened its Dance Academy as a "centre of excellence" [cite web | title=Barking Abbey School Dance Academy | publisher=Barking Abbey School | url=http://www.babbey.bardaglea.org.uk/depts/dance/index.htm | accessdate=2007-05-08]

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.

uccess

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 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 countryFact|date=May 2007. 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 2002Fact|date=August 2007.

ICT Testbed

Barking Abbey was selected by the DfES as one of five secondary schools in the county to be an ICT Testbed Pilot School.Fact|date=May 2007 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.

Notable Alumni

*Bobby Zamora, Fulham Footballer

References

See also

*List of schools in the United Kingdom
*Education in England

External links

* [http://www.babbey.bardaglea.org.uk/index.htm Barking Abbey School website]
* [http://www.abbeybasketball.com Barking Abbey Basketball Academy]