Dagenham school’s struggle pays off

Believe me, there’s some good things coming out of Dagenham, one of the most deprived boroughs in London.

Forget the sour taste about the plans for a prison there (see previous post), this week the Evening Standard honoured a Dagenham school Robert Clack for its ‘outstanding achievement in challenging circumstances’ after its good pass rates in A-levels and GCSEs.

Some of the challenges faced included weeding out bad behavior. The head teacher Paul Grant had to suspend 300 pupils in his first week.

The paper also noted the talent churned out of Robert Clack School, in the form of Ashton Russell (pictured above).

The 15 year-old Dagenham boy plays young Michael Jackson in the West End musical Thriller.

Ashton said: “It is the best thing that has ever happened to me and now I feel like I can make a career out of singing and dancing. My school has been pushing me further all the time.”