Jo Richardson Community school has been awarded the School of the Year award for ‘Making a Difference’ at the Pearson Teaching Awards.

The award acknowledges the “power of a school to transform the life chances of children” and “bring cohesion and enrichment to their local community.” 

The judges recognised that the school goes "above and beyond" to provide an education which is second to none for all its students and provides learning and "endless opportunities" for everyone. 

English author, Michael Morpurgo, who is best known for his children’s novels such as War Horse presented the award to Headteacher Ges Smith who was delighted with the honour. He said: “I am extremely proud to have achieved this award and it is a testimony to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved, from students, teachers and parents to support staff and governors. We are one community at Jo Richardson and we don’t leave any student behind”.

Over the last 16 years, the school has provided a number of opportunities for students ranging from community projects in Kenya, Malaysia and most recently Borneo.

Students play a massive part in helping to pay for these once in a lifetime trips by holding fundraising activities from bag packing in supermarkets to sponsored walks and food sales.

Councillor Evelyn Carpenter, Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement said: “I am delighted with the news that Jo Richardson has won this award. The staff and students thoroughly deserve this recognition for their hard work.

“Barking and Dagenham schools continue to show that the borough is great place for young people to be educated and get the best start in life.”

Nine in ten of borough schools are now rated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted.

The ceremony took place on Sunday (21/10/18) evening in London.