Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre
Surley Row, Emmer Green, Reading, RG4 8LR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- GLF SCHOOLS
- Headteacher
- Ms Laura Mathews
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- GLF Schools
- SEN provision
- VI - Visual Impairment
- Constituency
- Reading Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,440
- Pupils on roll
- 1,537
- URN
- 136307
- Local authority
- Reading
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01189015800
About this school
Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre is a secondary academy in Reading. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,537 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 27 March 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 234 | 277 | 248 |
| Attainment 8 score | 53.4 | 53.5 | 50.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.07 -0.12 to +0.26 | +0.25 +0.08 to +0.43 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 57% | 61% | 57.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 80% | 80.1% | 74.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 38% | 39% | 38.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.6 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Reading average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53.4 | 42.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 53.5 | 41 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.4 | 44.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,575 |
| 2023/24 | 1,562 |
| 2024/25 | 1,545 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre compares
Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre ranked 4th of 9 secondary schools in Reading for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 77% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50.4 | 8.3% | 11.1% | 1,537 | — |
| River Academy | — | 5.1% | 29% | 373 | 1.3 miles |
| Kendrick School | 84 | 4.9% | 9.2% | 939 | 2.2 miles |
| Maiden Erlegh Chiltern Edge | 44.3 | 11.3% | 24.7% | 374 | 2.3 miles |
| Reading School | 83 | 4.5% | 9% | 1,138 | 2.5 miles |
| The WREN School | 44.8 | 8.3% | 29.1% | 931 | 2.6 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 11.07%
- English as an additional language
- 16.1%
- Overall absence
- 8.27%
- Persistent absence
- 20.96%
Location
Nearby schools
-
River Academy1.3 miles
Secondary · Reading
-
Kendrick School2.2 miles
Secondary · Reading
-
Maiden Erlegh Chiltern Edge2.3 miles
Secondary · Reading
-
Reading School2.5 miles
Secondary · Reading
-
The WREN School2.6 miles
Secondary · Reading
Other schools in Reading
Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre ranks 10th of the 19 ranked secondary schools in Reading.
- Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School Secondary
- Denefield School Secondary
- Hartland High School Secondary
- Kendrick School Secondary
- King's Academy Prospect Secondary
- Langtree School Secondary
- Little Heath School Secondary
- Maiden Erlegh Chiltern Edge Secondary
- Maiden Erlegh School Secondary
- Maiden Erlegh School in Reading Secondary
- Oakbank School Secondary
- Reading Girls' School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre teach?
- Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Reading.
- Who is the headteacher of Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre?
- The headteacher of Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre is Ms Laura Mathews, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre?
- Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre has 1,537 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre full?
- Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre has capacity for 1,440 pupils and 1,537 on roll (107%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre a faith school?
- No. Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre has no designated religious character.
- Is Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre a selective school?
- No. Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre?
- Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre is part of GLF SCHOOLS. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre have?
- The schools register lists Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre's special educational needs provision as: VI - Visual Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 53.4 in 2022/23 and 50.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre rank locally?
- Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre ranked 4th of 9 secondary schools in Reading for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 77% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre's absence rate?
- Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre's overall absence rate is 8.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.