Reading School
Erleigh Road, Reading, RG1 5LW
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- READING SCHOOL
- Headmaster
- Revd Dr Chris Evans
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Boarding
- Boarding school
- Constituency
- Reading Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,094
- Pupils on roll
- 1,138
- URN
- 136449
- Local authority
- Reading
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01189015600
About this school
Reading School is a boys' secondary academy in Reading. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,138 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 149 | 150 | 149 |
| Attainment 8 score | 82.2 | 81.1 | 83.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.97 +0.73 to +1.22 | +0.89 +0.65 to +1.13 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 99% | 100% | 100% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 99% | 100% | 100% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 93% | 96% | 97.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 8.1 | 8.0 | 8.3 |
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 Reading School 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 | 82.2 | 42.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 81.1 | 41 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 83 | 44.3 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,119 |
| 2023/24 | 1,138 |
| 2024/25 | 1,129 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Reading School compares
Reading School ranked 2nd of 9 secondary schools in Reading for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 100% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 83 | 4.5% | 9% | 1,138 | — |
| Kendrick School | 84 | 4.9% | 9.2% | 939 | 0.5 miles |
| Maiden Erlegh School in Reading | 45.6 | 8.1% | 29.6% | 889 | 0.6 miles |
| UTC Reading | 42 | 13.3% | 24.5% | 299 | 0.6 miles |
| Reading Girls' School | 51.8 | 8% | 28.3% | 905 | 0.9 miles |
| Maiden Erlegh School | 55.5 | 7% | 7.3% | 1,841 | 1.5 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)
- 9.02%
- English as an additional language
- 19.4%
- Overall absence
- 4.46%
- Persistent absence
- 7.14%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Kendrick School0.5 miles
Secondary · Reading
-
Maiden Erlegh School in Reading0.6 miles
Secondary · Reading
-
UTC Reading0.6 miles
Secondary · Reading
-
Reading Girls' School0.9 miles
Secondary · Reading
-
Maiden Erlegh School1.5 miles
Secondary · Reading
Other schools in Reading
Reading School ranks 2nd of the 19 ranked secondary schools in Reading.
- Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School Secondary
- Denefield School Secondary
- Hartland High School Secondary
- Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre 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
Common questions
- What year groups does Reading School teach?
- Reading School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Reading.
- Who is the headmaster of Reading School?
- The headmaster of Reading School is Revd Dr Chris Evans, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Reading School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Reading School, 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 Reading School?
- Reading School has 1,138 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Reading School full?
- Reading School has capacity for 1,094 pupils and 1,138 on roll (104%), 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 Reading School a faith school?
- No. Reading School has no designated religious character.
- Is Reading School a selective school?
- Yes. Reading School is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- Who runs Reading School?
- Reading School is part of READING SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Reading School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 82.2 in 2022/23 and 83 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Reading School rank locally?
- Reading School ranked 2nd of 9 secondary schools in Reading for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 100% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Reading School's absence rate?
- Reading School's overall absence rate is 4.5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Reading School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Reading School'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.