The Sydney Russell School

Barking and Dagenham · RM9 5QT

General information All-through School · 4-18 years Who goes here 2568 pupils, 27.2% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted report card

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN Resourced provision · 11% on SEN support Behaviour 5.4% absence rate Staff 12.8% turnover Financials £8,351 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Sydney Russell School

General Information

Address: Parsloes Avenue, Dagenham, RM9 5QT – View on map
Phone: 02039599900
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Clare Cross
Age range: 4-18 years
Furthest place offered from (Sept 2026 entry): 1.36 km away From the council's own Sept 2026 admissions data - not a fixed catchment boundary, and no guarantee for future years, since it shifts with demand each year.
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 361 families put it first for 357 places – 10 for every 10 places. 70% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 12 · 2024 12 · 2025 9 · 2026 10
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 70 families put it first for 76 places – 9 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 2 of the 76 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 9
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

2568 pupils out of 2670 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 635
% eligible for free school meals: 27.2%
Pupil mix: 9 in 10 (similar to the Barking and Dagenham average)
English as an additional language: 33% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 12.8% a year (Barking and Dagenham 15.1%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 38% moved to another school, 62% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Barking and Dagenham: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 36 (1.7 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 6
Suspensions for bullying: 20 (0.9 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 3 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Barking and Dagenham, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 5.4%
Persistently absent pupils: 11.6%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

Resourced provision for Autism 8 places · 8 pupils at the last count

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 11.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 81 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 52 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 51 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 50 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 17 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 32 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 23 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 6 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 3 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Ofsted report card May 2026

Ofsted's new report cards grade each part of school life separately, instead of giving one overall word.

Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong standard
Curriculum and teaching Strong standard
Achievement Strong standard
Attendance and behaviour Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing Exceptional
Early years Strong standard
Sixth form (post-16) Expected standard
Leadership and governance Strong standard

Before this, under the old system, Ofsted rated the school Good (2021). The report card above replaces that grade.

How Ofsted report cards work

Since November 2025, Ofsted grades each area of a school on its own five-point scale, and no longer gives a single word like “Good” or “Outstanding”. Safeguarding (keeping children safe) is simply met or not met.

Exceptional The very best practice nationally
Strong standard Above what Ofsted expects
Expected standard What Ofsted expects of every school
Needs attention Some weaknesses the school needs to fix
Urgent improvement Serious weaknesses needing urgent action

“Expected standard” is a sound result – it's what Ofsted expects a good school to do. Report cards aren't directly comparable with the old single grades, which is why we don't turn them into one.

SecondaryGCSE results, Year 11

Attainment 8 score: 51.2
Compared with the area: 2.0 points above the Barking and Dagenham average (49.2)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (+4.0 points against an expected 47.2)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 69% (Barking and Dagenham 69%, England 65%) Broadly steady
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolBarking and Dagenham averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 2.0 points above the Barking and Dagenham average (49.2).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

4th of 13 all-through schools in Barking and Dagenham for Attainment 8

#2Goresbrook School55.6
#3Riverside School55.5
#4The Sydney Russell School51.2
#5Robert Clack School50.5
#6Jo Richardson Community School50.2

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1All Saints Catholic School and Technology College56.1
#2Goresbrook School55.6
#3Riverside School55.5
#4The Sydney Russell School51.2
#5Robert Clack School50.5
#6Jo Richardson Community School50.2
#7Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College49.7
#8The Warren School47.6
#9Greatfields School45.6
#10Eastbury Community School44.8
#11Dagenham Park CofE School42.1
#12Brook Sixth Form and Academy38.7
#13Eastbrook School37.2

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 94.0%
Went into further education: 92.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

English Language
English Literature
Maths (General)
Science Double Award
Geography
Spanish
Computer Science
Economics
Business Studies
History
Sociology
French Language
D & T
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Art & Design
Food Technology
Photography
Sports Studies
Speech & Drama
Music Studies (General)
Turkish
Arabic
Russian
Urdu
Polish
Gujarati

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

PrimaryYear 6 SATs results

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 83% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 7% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 16 percentage points above the Barking and Dagenham average (67%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (3-year average 74% against an expected 65%)
3-year average (expected standard): 74%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 92% · Writing 86% · Maths 91% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 90%
Average test scores: reading 108, maths 108
Based on: 90 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolBarking and Dagenham averageEngland↗ Improving Up 14 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 16 percentage points above the Barking and Dagenham average (67%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 5th of 43 junior and primary schools in the area

=5St Joseph's Catholic Primary School83%
=5The St Teresa Catholic Primary School83%
=5The Sydney Russell School83%
=8St Peter's Catholic Primary School79%
=8Warren Junior School79%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

=1Rush Green Primary School89%
=1St Margarets CofE Primary School89%
#3Riverside Primary School87%
#4Eastbury Community School84%
=5St Joseph's Catholic Primary School83%
=5The St Teresa Catholic Primary School83%
=5The Sydney Russell School83%
=8St Peter's Catholic Primary School79%
=8Warren Junior School79%
#10Manor Junior School78%
#11Henry Green Primary School77%
=12Beam Primary School76%
=12Monteagle Primary School76%
#14Goresbrook School75%
=15Ripple Primary School73%
=15Thomas Arnold Primary School, Rowdowns Road73%
=17Hunters Hall Primary School72%
=17John Perry Primary School72%
=17Richard Alibon Primary School with ARP for Cognitive and Learning Difficulties : SEN Base72%
#20Godwin Primary School71%
=21George Carey Church of England Primary School70%
=21Parsloes Primary School70%
=21The Leys Primary School70%
#24Northbury Primary School69%
=25St Joseph's Catholic Primary School67%
=25Thames View Junior School67%
=25William Ford CofE Junior School67%
=28St Vincent's Catholic Primary School66%
=28The James Cambell Primary School66%
#30Eastbrook School65%
#31Manor Primary School64%
=32Five Elms Primary School61%
=32William Bellamy Primary School61%
#34Valence Primary School60%
=35Gascoigne Primary School59%
=35Roding Primary School59%
#37Marsh Green Primary School58%
#38Dorothy Barley Junior Academy57%
=39Grafton Primary School56%
=39Southwood Primary School56%
#41Becontree Primary School53%
#42Rose Lane Primary School48%
#43Eastbury Primary School45%

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £8,351 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

11th of 13 all-through schools in Barking and Dagenham for spending per pupil

#9Goresbrook School£8,846
#10Robert Clack School£8,613
#11The Sydney Russell School£8,351
#12Riverside School£8,046
#13The Warren School£7,828

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Brook Sixth Form and Academy£12,021
#2Jo Richardson Community School£11,631
#3Eastbrook School£11,521
#4Dagenham Park CofE School£9,495
#5Eastbury Community School£9,386
#6All Saints Catholic School and Technology College£9,042
#7Greatfields School£8,989
#8Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College£8,882
#9Goresbrook School£8,846
#10Robert Clack School£8,613
#11The Sydney Russell School£8,351
#12Riverside School£8,046
#13The Warren School£7,828

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Barking and Dagenham: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Year 6 SATs ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered