The challenge was to tackle some of the biggest gender equality issues and it proved to be a weekend to remember for the winning team NOYO (Not on Your Own) at the Barking and Dagenham Gender Equality Hackathon.

The event which was held at the Barking Learning Centre (BLC) on 3 and 4 February focused on people of all ages and backgrounds from across London to find innovative solutions to two of the biggest gender issues – employment and safety and it proved to be a major success.

Barking and Dagenham secondary schools are performing above average in GCSE English and maths, according to the latest league tables that have been published.

Overall 43.1 per cent of the borough’s students achieved a Grade 5 or above in English language, English literature, and mathematics GCSEs, compared to a national average of 39.6pc.

The results are based on pupils who were the first to sit the new, tougher GCSEs in English and maths, which are graded 9 to 1 – with 9 being the highest – rather than the old A* to G method.

A new museum of women’s history is set to open in a permanent home as part of the new Barking Wharf development at the end of 2019 or early 2020.

The East End Women’s Museum was established in 2015 in response to the Ripper Museum which opened on Cable Street, but has since operated without a building, organising events, workshops, and pop up exhibitions with local partners.

History has been made after a spade went into the ground to officially start work on London’s first ever Onside Youth Zone in Barking and Dagenham.

The Youth Zone’s Chair Charles Mindenhall was joined by Barking and Dagenham Council Leader Darren Rodwell, the facility’s funders and other dignitaries, including West Ham captain Mark Noble, at a special ground-breaking celebration on cutting the first sod with a giant spade on Parsloes Park.

Barking and Dagenham School Improvement Partnership (BDSIP) has announced the appointment of Ben Spinks as its’ first chief executive.

Excitement is growing in Barking and Dagenham after preparations to begin building the first OnSide Youth Zone in London moved up another gear.

Councillor Darren Rodwell, Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council along with Deputy Leader, Cllr Saima Ashraf, Councillor Worby and the Young Mayor joined up with young people who have been working with OnSide to unveil a giant banner at the site.

The council has welcomed an announcement to review the accident and emergency services at King George Hospital.

The decision from the East London Health and Care Partnership (ELHCP) follows an independent investigation by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) into the proposals to change the Redbridge hospital into an urgent care centre.

On 30 September and 1 October, the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham held the UK’s first-ever social cohesion hackathon in partnership with local technology company DigiLab.

The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham has been granted an injunction, thought to be the first of its kind in England and Wales, which bans unlawful campsites from being set up as well as prohibiting fly-tipping.

In total, 133 sites will be protected across Barking and Dagenham, including parks, open spaces, schools and industrial sites, all of which have experienced unlawful encampments in recent years.

Be First – Barking and Dagenham Council’s pioneering urban regeneration company – today issued an invitation to ambitious investors, entrepreneurs and businesses to help build London’s largest film studios and media complex in Dagenham.

Announcing the hunt for partners, Barking and Dagenham Council’s Leader, Cllr Darren Rodwell, said: “We are looking for like-minded partners to help us bring world class film studios to Dagenham.

“It will be an east end epic which will create hundreds of quality jobs and inject millions into the local economy.”