Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College
Sandringham Road, Barking, IG11 9AG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Acting Headteacher
- Mr Tony Roe
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Barking
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 2,420
- Pupils on roll
- 2,418
- URN
- 101241
- Local authority
- Barking and Dagenham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02039677030
About this school
Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College is a community secondary school in Barking. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 2,418 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 354 | 353 | 353 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.6 | 48.6 | 49.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.11 -0.04 to +0.25 | +0.02 -0.13 to +0.17 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 46.7% | 50.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 68% | 65.4% | 70% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 33% | 32.6% | 38.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.3 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Barking and Dagenham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 49.6 | 44.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.6 | 41.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.7 | 43.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 2,325 |
| 2023/24 | 2,323 |
| 2024/25 | 2,336 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College compares
Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College ranked 7th of 13 secondary schools in Barking and Dagenham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 75% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49.7 | 6.9% | 30.8% | 2,418 | — |
| Greatfields School | 45.6 | 9.3% | 36.8% | 1,248 | 1.0 miles |
| Jo Richardson Community School | 50.2 | 6.2% | 38.6% | 1,696 | 1.2 miles |
| The Palmer Catholic Academy | 48.8 | 7.3% | 29.2% | 1,132 | 1.5 miles |
| Riverside School | 55.5 | 4% | 33.9% | 1,550 | 1.6 miles |
| Mayfield School | 45 | 9.7% | 36.6% | 1,790 | 1.7 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
- 31 January 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report7 December 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 30.84%
- English as an additional language
- 28%
- Overall absence
- 6.85%
- Persistent absence
- 19.15%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Greatfields School1.0 miles
Secondary · Barking
-
Jo Richardson Community School1.2 miles
Secondary · Dagenham
-
The Palmer Catholic Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Ilford
-
Riverside School1.6 miles
Secondary · Barking
-
Mayfield School1.7 miles
Secondary · Dagenham
Other schools in Barking
- Greatfields School Secondary
- Riverside School Secondary
- Eastbury Primary School Primary
- Gascoigne Primary School Primary
- George Carey Church of England Primary School Primary
- Greatfields Primary School Primary
- Manor Junior School Primary
- Northbury Primary School Primary
- Ripple Primary School Primary
- Riverside Primary School Primary
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Margarets CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College teach?
- Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Barking.
- Who is the acting headteacher of Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College?
- The acting headteacher of Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College is Mr Tony Roe, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College?
- Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College has 2,418 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College full?
- Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College has capacity for 2,420 pupils and 2,418 on roll (100%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College a faith school?
- No. Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College has no designated religious character.
- Is Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College a selective school?
- No. Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- What SEN provision does Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College have?
- The schools register lists Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49.6 in 2022/23 and 49.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College rank locally?
- Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College ranked 7th of 13 secondary schools in Barking and Dagenham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 75% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College's absence rate?
- Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.