Leighton Park School A GSG School
- Leighton Park School
Shinfield Road
Reading
RG2 7DE - Head: Mr Matthew Judd
- T 01189 879600
- F 01189 879625
- E [email protected]
- W www.leightonpark.com/
- An independent school for boys and girls aged from 11 to 18.
- Boarding: Yes
- Local authority: Reading
- Pupils: 534 ; sixth formers: 181
- Religion: Quaker
- Fees: Day £23,160 - £28,230 pa; Boarding £31,500 - £44,970 pa
- Open days: March, May and June
- Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review
- Ofsted report: View the Ofsted report
- ISI report: View the ISI report
What The Good Schools Guide says..
Teachers cajole and bolster rather than drill and it’s one of the things the parents like the most about the school, reporting that work is taken seriously and pupils strive for success but ‘thankfully without being results driven’. Music is a serious business, with annual house music reportedly louder than a football match – ‘it doesn’t finish until after 10pm, so loads of people stay over that night, it’s awesome,’ said a student. Décor-wise, we found the boarding houses more YHA than Premier Inn (disappointingly, not even a poster or any other evidence of personalisation in the dorms we saw) but school has plans to...
What the school says...
Leighton Park exists to form young people of real character and confidence, with a determined desire to change the world. We are consistently delivering a leading values-driven education in a family-feel environment – with excellent results.
In our beautiful setting of 65 acres of parkland, just 30 minutes from London, our students have space and freedom to truly be themselves – and achieve greater things as a result.
Despite our Sixth Form students’ academic progress placing us in the top 1% of secondary schools in the country, we are no results factory. We believe it’s our role to develop courageous and happy young people who are environmentally-conscious, have a strong global awareness and don’t shy away from making a stand. We aim to give students the skills they need to be change-makers.
Leighton Park is particularly known for Creative STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths), with a particular emphasis on creative problem solving and interdisciplinary approaches. The School is a Lead School for the National Centre of Computing Education. Our iSTEM+ programme has won several awards, including:
Winner - Best KS3-6th Form Co-Ed Day School 2020 – South East England Award for Excellence in STEAM Education
Winner for Secondary Schools - national Community STEM Awards
Winner - Business Education IT Facility Award
Winner - Ripple Effect Prize for use of innovative learning technology
Finalist - Education Business STEM Innovation Award
Finalist - Independent Schools Association, Innovation in STEM Award
Music is another particular strength of the School with our Music and Media Centre opened in 2019. Our Music department is accredited as a Flagship Music Education Partner, the only school in Europe to hold this prestigious status, with 50% of students studying an instrument and 27 music teachers on staff.
With Quaker values at the centre of all that we do, our emphasis is on our students loving their learning, encouraging them to try a huge range of new experiences and developing their greatest talents. You will be struck on visiting us by the warmth of relationships that characterise the school, the wealth of opportunities for personal development, and the sense of calm and purpose in which that development takes place. ...Read more
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Curricula
International Baccalaureate: diploma - the diploma is the familiar A-level equivalent.
Other features
Music and dance scheme - government funding and grants available to help with fees at selected independent music and dance schools.
Sports
Equestrian centre or equestrian team - school has own equestrian centre or an equestrian team.
Rowing
Sailing
What The Good Schools Guide says
Head
Since 2018, Matthew Judd. Cheerful and, judging from his almost scarily ordered office (even the pencils in the pot are equally spaced apart), ultra-organised. Grew up in Crawley and was the first person in his family to go to university (geography at University of Wales followed by teaching qualification from Cambridge), having attended the local comp in the shadow of Gatwick airport: ‘If you were a boy, you went into baggage handling; if you were a girl, you went into duty free.’ Started his career at Haberdashers’ Aske’s boys in 1993, moved in 2005 to be principal at MPW college in London before rejoining Habs five years later as second master and executive head of its prep. Also an ISI inspector and it was this role that brought him here: ‘Every school I inspect...
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Overall school performance (for comparison or review only)
Results by exam and subject
Subject results
Entry/Exit
Special Education Needs
Leighton Park School currently offers specialist support for a number of students in the Individual Learning Centre. This is provided by six well-qualified teachers, who give one-to-one help on a regular basis. Students receive support from the Centre for a range of learning challenges and difficulties, individually arranged, and in close co-operation with their subject teachers. All students are screened on entry to the school, to determine whether additional support is appropriate. Study skills, including identifying the individual learning style, revision, organisation and mind-mapping are examples of different strategies used to help with students’ learning. At Leighton Park, everyone understands that students will have distinctive learning styles: the community recognises how important it is that all students should feel fully part of school life, with their needs openly understood and supported. Students often drop in to the Centre for a chat, or for additional pastoral or academic support. ILC pupils regularly achieve outstandingly successful results in public examinations, and of course play a full part in the rich variety of school life outside the classroom.
| Condition | Provision for in school |
|---|---|
| ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder | Y |
| Aspergers | Y |
| Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders | Y |
| CReSTeD registered for Dyslexia | |
| Dyscalculia | Y |
| Dysgraphia | Y |
| Dyslexia | Y |
| Dyspraxia | Y |
| English as an additional language (EAL) | Y |
| Genetic | Y |
| Has an entry in the Autism Services Directory | |
| Has SEN unit or class | Y |
| HI - Hearing Impairment | Y |
| Hospital School | |
| Mental health | |
| MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty | |
| MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment | |
| Natspec Specialist Colleges | |
| OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability | |
| Other SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| PD - Physical Disability | |
| PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty | |
| SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health | |
| SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication | |
| SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty | |
| Special facilities for Visually Impaired | |
| SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| VI - Visual Impairment |
Who came from where
| School | Year | Places | Scholarships | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hall Grove School | 2023 | 2 | 2 | Scholarships: STEAM (Academic), Music |
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