The number of children eligible for free school meals (FSM) in Barking and Dagenham rose by almost a quarter during the pandemic, new data reveals.

Department for Education (DfE) figures show 10,249 pupils in the borough were eligible in 2020/21 – a 24 per cent increase on 8,291 the previous year.

Of all school children in the borough, 23pc could receive FSM, compared with 18.7pc in 2019/20.

The Sydney Russell School in Parsloes Road, Dagenham had the most eligible pupils in the borough, with 526.

This ranked 74th out of 11,291 schools around the country that had 50 or more pupils eligible for FSM.

That 2020/21 figure was 99 more than the Dagenham school had the previous year.

Riverside Primary School in Renwick Road, Barking had the borough’s highest percentage increase in eligible pupils compared with 2019/20.

The 113pc rise, from 24 children to 51, ranked 58th nationally.