Goresbrook School

About Goresbrook School

Goresbrook School’s most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024 awarded it Outstanding across every category judged — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, sixth-form provision and early years provision — a clean sweep that marks a clear step up from its previous Good rating in 2019. But the headline academic metric that really sets it apart is its Progress 8 score of 0.87, which is classified as “well above average” nationally. To put that in context, the average Progress 8 score for secondary schools in Barking and Dagenham is 0.23, so Goresbrook’s pupils are making significantly more progress than their peers across the borough. This score also places the school first out of 13 secondary schools in the local authority, and in the top five per cent of schools nationally. In London, it ranks 59th out of 487 schools, putting it in the top 12 per cent regionally.

Digging into the exam data for 2023/24, Goresbrook’s Attainment 8 score sits at 53.2, and 77.5 per cent of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in both English and maths, with 60.4 per cent hitting the higher grade 5 threshold. The school also pushes the English Baccalaureate strongly — 76.6 per cent of pupils entered the EBacc suite of subjects, and 49.5 per cent achieved a grade 4 or above across all five components. In English specifically, the Progress 8 score is a striking 1.37, meaning pupils make nearly a grade and a half more progress than the national average. At sixth form, the picture is solid rather than spectacular: a value-added score of 0.14 is rated Average, with pupils achieving an average of 38.21 points per entry, equivalent to a B- grade. The best three A-levels average out at a B- as well, and 16.2 per cent of entries were graded AAB or higher.

Goresbrook is a large all-through school with 1,036 pupils on roll, though it has capacity for 1,500, and it was heavily oversubscribed for 2025/26 secondary entry, with 378 applications for 105 places and only 58 first-preference offers. The school serves a diverse community — 30.2 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals — and it is a multi-faith school with a nursery and a sixth form. Facilities are extensive, including a swimming pool, theatre, astro turf, tennis courts, science labs and a chapel. The school lists a wide range of SEND provisions, from dyslexia support to autistic spectrum disorder, though the most recent Parent View responses show some mixed feelings: 52 per cent of the 98 respondents strongly agreed or agreed that SEND children get the support they need, while 38 per cent disagreed or strongly disagreed. For families who prioritise strong academic progress, particularly in English, and a broad extracurricular offer including the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Model UN and Young Enterprise, Goresbrook is a standout choice in Barking and Dagenham.

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