Reading School A GSG School
- Reading School
Erleigh Road
Reading
Berkshire
RG1 5LW - Head: Dr Chris Evans
- T 0118 901 5600
- E admissions@reading-school.co.uk
- W www.reading-school.co.uk
- A state school for boys aged from 11 to 18.
- Boarding: Yes
- Local authority: Reading
- Pupils: 1,138; sixth formers: 384
- Religion: None
- Fees: Day free; Boarding £14,091 pa
- Open days: November (sixth form open afternoon); March (year 7 open days)
- Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review
-
Ofsted:
- Latest Overall effectiveness Outstanding 1
- 16-19 study programmes Outstanding 1
- Outcomes for children and learners Outstanding 1
- Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding 1
- Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding 1
- Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding 1
- 1 Full inspection 21st November 2023
- Ofsted report: View the Ofsted report
What The Good Schools Guide says..
For intellectually inquisitive, naturally bright and highly motivated boys, this school is likely to feel a very natural fit. Maths a strength, set from year 8. ‘My son is in top set where they already go above and beyond the GCSE syllabus and this year they’ve taken the brightest ones to the next level still.’ School day recently rejigged to allow for new Electives programme, which involves years 7-11 spending one period a day (except Fridays) doing one of 12 activities covering service, sport, character development, STEM, language practice, academic enrichment etc. Recent push on…
What the school says...
Reading School is recognised as one of the leading state schools in the country. It was selected as Sunday Times State School of the Year in 2010. OFSTED describes it as 'an outstanding school that enables students to reach exceptionally high standards both in their academic work and in their personal development'.
OFSTED rated our Boarding Provision in 2014 as 'Outstanding' stating 'The calibre of the boarding house staff is excellent. Their commitment, enthusiasm, motivation, morale and belief in the boarders are second to none. This means that boarders receive exceptionally high quality care that significantly enhances their personal development and well-being'.
Our students consistently achieve impressive academic results, including in 2014 88.1¬hieving grade A* to B at A-level; 85% going on to one of the top 30 universities; and 17% winning places at Oxford or Cambridge. Boys participate in a wide range of enrichment activities, including sports, music, drama, chess, astronomy, and public speaking. Senior boys also give back to the local community by volunteering at local primary schools and charities.
At Reading School we believe all our students have gifts and talents. We aim for all to be resilient and rise to the challenges of learning and life; to be curious and balance logic with imagination; to achieve excellence with integrity; and to value learning for its own sake and for the benefit of others.
Converted to an academy 2011. ...Read more
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School associations
State boarding school
State grammar school
Sports
Rowing
What The Good Schools Guide says
Head
Since January 2024, Rev Dr Chris Evans, previously deputy headmaster since 2016. He has also served as school chaplain, housemaster and head of theology and philosophy.
The previous headmaster, Ashley Robson BA NPQH MBA, is now CEO – a new role. History degree from Newcastle University. First jobs at Princes Risborough School and Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe before becoming head of history, head of house and assistant headteacher at Aylesbury Grammar School. Lives an hour’s drive away in Bucks with his wife, with whom he has three grown-up children. Loves football and travel.
Entrance
Highly competitive 11+ exam – the school’s own - comprising papers in English, maths and (a new addition) creative writing (‘we want more creativity in our students’). Familiarisation sheet on the school website but no practice papers...
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Overall school performance (for comparison or review only)
Results by exam and subject
Subject results
Entry/Exit
Special Education Needs
Interpreting catchment maps
The maps show in colour where the pupils at a school came from*. Red = most pupils to Blue = fewest.
Where the map is not coloured we have no record in the previous three years of any pupils being admitted from that location based on the options chosen.
For help and explanation of our catchment maps see: Catchment maps explained
Further reading
If there are more applicants to a school than it has places for, who gets in is determined by which applicants best fulfil the admissions criteria.
Admissions criteria are often complicated, and may change from year to year. The best source of information is usually the relevant local authority website, but once you have set your sights on a school it is a good idea to ask them how they see things panning out for the year that you are interested in.
Many schools admit children based on distance from the school or a fixed catchment area. For such schools, the cut-off distance will vary from year to year, especially if the school give priority to siblings, and the pattern will be of a central core with outliers (who will mostly be siblings). Schools that admit on the basis of academic or religious selection will have a much more scattered pattern.
*The coloured areas outlined in black are Census Output Areas. These are made up of a group of neighbouring postcodes, which accounts for their odd shapes. These provide an indication, but not a precise map, of the school’s catchment: always refer to local authority and school websites for precise information.
The 'hotter' the colour the more children have been admitted.
Children get into the school from here:
regularly
most years
quite often
infrequently
sometimes, but not in this year
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