2011 was another
great year for students, staff and parents at Sydney Russell, with the
school’s best ever exam results confirming our place in the top four of
the Borough school league table, at both GCSE and A’Level.
GCSE results (5 or
more A*-C grades) increased yet again from 91% in 2010 to 97% in
2011. GCSE including English and Maths (5 or more A*-C grades) held
at 59% following the dramatic increase the previous year from 43%.
Both these scores are significantly above the national average. For
the sixth year in a row, no Year 11 student left without a GCSE
qualification—a 100% success rate.
In the Sixth Form,
the A’Level A*-C pass rate rose from 70% to 74% (second highest in
the Borough) and the points per student went up from 702 to 776
(third in the Borough). Headteacher Roger Leighton commented: “These
results confirm our place amongst the top four borough schools and
are a tribute to the hard work and commitment of staff, students,
parents and governors. They reflect the fact that Sydney Russell is
a superbly equipped and well disciplined school with high quality
teaching and support staff. Our brand new buildings will provide the
perfect environment for even greater success.”
ParentPay - our online payment service
Is your child
entitled to Free School Meals?
Click here to find out
more.
We’re pleased to announce that we have switched to an online
payment service for you to pay for your child’s school dinner. Using a
secure website called ParentPay you will be able to make payments to
school online using your credit or debit card.
Everyone will benefit from our new payment facility. ParentPay is
easy-to-use and offers you the freedom to make online payments
whenever and wherever you like, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - safe in
the knowledge that the technology used is of the highest internet
security available and that funds will reach school safely.
With ParentPay, parents have their own secure online account,
activated using a unique username and password; making a payment using
your credit or debit card is straightforward and ParentPay holds an
electronic record of all payments for you to view at a later date. When
you make a payment, an email confirmation is sent to you, giving you the
reassurance that the transaction has been successful.
By using ParentPay you
help us reduce workloads for our staff, creating more time to lend
to educational support and the smooth running of the school. It also
ensures that all money transactions are safe and secure.
Getting started with ParentPay
You should have received your account activation username and password.
Follow the instructions below to set up your
account:
Please be assured that
ParentPay offers the highest security and no card details are stored on
the system or are accessible by the school or ParentPay. If you have any
questions, please contact the school Finance Office.
We look forward to
your support in using ParentPay.
It will
reduce
the burden of income collection in the classrooms and school office.
Click the Activate link in the
New user: Activate your account bo
Enter your Activation username
and password Please note-
These are for one-time use only, you will choose your own username
and password for future access
Follow the on-screen
instructions to activate your account
Registering your email address
will enable us to send you receipts and reminders
Once activation is complete you
can go to My payment items, select which item(s) you wish to pay for
and follow the simple on-screen instructions to complete your
paymen
Visit our Staff Vacancies
Page to apply for positions at our school:
Is your child transferring to secondary
school in September 2011? If the answer is yes, you can now apply
on-line. This system allows you to
apply online for secondary school places until
midnight on 31 October 2011.To apply on-line you will need to register on the 'Your
London' website'.
At Sydney Russell School we uphold the traditional values of strong discipline, school uniform and a demanding classroom ethos. At the same time we are totally committed to the best use of 21st century computer technology to help teaching and learning. Our first priority is the development of every child's academic potential to the fullest.
As Head teacher, I want for the children at Sydney Russell exactly what I would want for my own son or daughter: a school which is going to demand the very best that they are capable of achieving and where they will be happy and secure. Learning can be difficult and challenging at times, and it is the school's job, with the support of parents, to keep the pressure on and maintain motivation.
I believe in firm discipline: without good order in the classroom teachers cannot teach and students cannot learn. I will not tolerate any student who wants to stop others from learning. I expect students to take a pride in belonging to their school by wearing correct school uniform and wearing it smartly and properly.
I also expect students to get involved in the wider life of the school: to join clubs, get involved in sports teams, take part in school productions. In short, to take advantage of all the opportunities that an exciting school like Sydney Russell offers.
This website will give you a flavour of our school, but to really understand what we are about you need to see us at work. Please take advantage of the opportunity to do so, either during one of our Open Days or by contacting the school to arrange a visit at another time. I look forward to meeting you personally and welcoming you to Sydney Russell.
Sydney Russell can boast the best facilities for teaching ICT in Barking and Dagenham with the completion of the superb new Durrant Block.
The state-of-the-art £2.5 million building provides ten air-conditioned classrooms over three floors, each equipped with full class sets of the computers, together with a beautiful drama studio complete with built-in audience seating and sound and lighting control rooms.
As well as ICT, the classrooms will be used for the teaching of Business Studies and Media Studies, providing the most up-to-date facilities across a wide range of courses.
The school was built in 1935 and known as Dagenham County High. This was just the Shaftesbury building. In 1970 it joined with several schools to form Parsloes Manor. In 1990 there was another change when three schools joined Parsloes Manor to form the Sydney Russell School.
So who was Sydney Russell? He was a minister warden for 56 years at Kingsley Hall. This is a church and community centre just over the road from the school, which was visited in the 1930s by the world famous Indian pacifist Mahatma Gandhi. Sydney Russell was honoured for his social care work in this part of Dagenham by naming the school after him.
One of the school's most famous former students was the famous film star and comedian Dudley Moore, who sadly died in 2002. Dudley was a talented musician who won a place at Oxford University. He then went on to become a famous T.V. personality and Hollywood film star. He visited the school about ten years ago and played the grand piano in the hall. Other students who rose to fame were George Carey, a former Archbishop of Canterbury and footballers Martin Peters and Terry Venables. Roy Greenslade who is now one of the top journalists in the country also came to the school.
Of course many others have gone on to successful careers in business, the performing arts and law to name but a few. One young man is now in charge of security at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden! As you can see, the school has had an eventful history and we hope that your child will play a full and active role in the school's future development.
We do not accept responsibility for information or advice issued from outside agencies or websites. If you wish to suggest additional links for these pages please contact us.
