Riverside School, Barking

In its own words: "We are a large school, but pride ourselves on having a caring and friendly atmosphere normally associated with smaller schools. Each student is placed in a Form Group under the guidance of a Tutor, who gets to know each student very well. Each year, our new students tell us that they find the school welcoming and secure."

The school runs a breakfast club.

Coming up: an open evening on Thursday 5 November 2026 at 4.30pm. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Riverside School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 57.9, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 48.4 in Barking and Dagenham and 47 across England.

64% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 48% in Barking and Dagenham and 47% in England.

That is up from 55.5 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.78: pupils made well above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 55.1, against 59.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 4.2 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 20 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Spanish, Sports Studies and Combined Science.

For September 2026 entry, 219 families put Riverside School as their first choice and 558 named it as one of their preferences, for 294 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Riverside School are Jo Richardson Community School (0.9 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 47.4); Goresbrook School (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 56.6); Woolwich Polytechnic School (1.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.2); and Woolwich Polytechnic School for Girls (1.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 48.3).

Riverside School's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

Riverside School is one of 20 schools run by Partnership Learning, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 49.4 in 2024/25.

Of the 240 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 92% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 34% to a further education college, 0% to an apprenticeship and 0% into work.

Of the 41 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 66% went on to university or other higher education, 2% to apprenticeships and 5% into work. 30% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

32.7% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are Black (43%), Asian (29%) and Mixed (8%).

In 2026, 76 pupils (4.9%) received SEN support and 18 (1.2%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is autism.

The nearest railway station is Barking Riverside, about 230 metres away (roughly a 3-minute walk).

6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Riverside Campus (->n), 110 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 237 crimes within a mile of the school, most often anti-social behaviour, violence and sexual offences and vehicle crime. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Barking and Dagenham (470).

In 2024/25, Riverside School issued 10 suspensions, 0.6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Riverside School are Riverside Primary School (under 0.1 miles), George Carey Church of England Primary School (0.4 miles), Thames View Infants (0.7 miles) and Thames View Junior School (0.8 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.