Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre, Reading

From the headteacher's welcome: "Highdown is a place where tradition meets innovation, from the 16th century tythe barn to the state-of-the-art computing facilities, and this rich heritage coupled with our dynamic teachers means that Highdown is a place where pupils achieve more than they thought possible."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include dance, choir, orchestra, photography, Duke of Edinburgh and book club.

In 2026, pupils at Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre averaged an Attainment 8 score of 54.9, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 51.5 in Reading and 47 across England.

64% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 55% in Reading and 47% in England.

That is up from 50.4 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.25: pupils made above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 24.6, against 58.1 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 33.5 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 27 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 191 families put Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre as their first choice and 479 named it as one of their preferences, for 243 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 8 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre are River Academy (1.3 miles); Kendrick School (2.2 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 82.4); Maiden Erlegh Chiltern Edge (2.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 39.2); and Reading School (2.5 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 80.6).

Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 3 schools.

Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre is one of 43 schools run by GLF Schools, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 49 in 2024/25.

Of the 277 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 92% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 17% to a further education college, 1% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

Of the 151 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 64% went on to university or other higher education, 1% to apprenticeships and 21% into work. 14% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

9.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 195 pupils (12.7%) received SEN support and 34 (2.2%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is autism.

Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre has a resourced provision for visual impairment: 8 places, 8 pupils on roll.

The nearest railway station is Reading Rail Station, about 1.5 miles away in a straight line.

2 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Highdown School (opposite), 190 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 80 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Reading (351).

In 2024/25, Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre issued 164 suspensions, 10.6 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

The primary schools closest to Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre are Emmer Green Primary School (0.3 miles), The Hill Primary School (0.6 miles), Caversham Primary School (0.6 miles) and Chiltern Nursery Nurse Training School (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.