Reading School, Reading

In its own words: "Our main entry point is in the Autumn term for Year 7, although entry is possible to other year-groups or at other times of the school year, dependent on the availability of spaces."

Coming up: an open day on Thursday 25 March 2027. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Reading School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 80.6, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 51.5 in Reading and 47 across England.

97% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 55% in Reading and 47% in England.

That is down from 83 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.89: pupils made well 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 76.6, against 81 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 4.4 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Chemistry, Biology and Physics.

Reading School is a grammar school: places go to children who reach the required standard in its entrance test, and only then are the oversubscription criteria applied.

For September 2026 entry, 400 families put Reading School as their first choice and 492 named it as one of their preferences, for 146 places offered. That is 2.7 first choices for every place. 259 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

Reading School admits pupils through an entrance test, usually called the 11-plus. Children have to be registered for it in advance, normally in the spring or summer of Year 5; the test itself is usually sat in September of Year 6, and results come out in October, before the 31 October deadline for naming secondary schools.

Passing the test makes a child eligible rather than guaranteeing a place: when more children pass than there are places, Reading School ranks them by the criteria in its admissions policy, which can include test score and distance. Check Reading's admissions pages and the school's own policy for this year's registration deadline - a child who is not registered in time cannot sit the test.

Reading has 2 state grammar schools in all, so a child who passes may have several selective schools to choose between.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Reading School are Kendrick School (0.5 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 82.4); Maiden Erlegh School in Reading (0.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 47.5); UTC Reading (0.6 miles, Inadequate, Attainment 8 34.5); and Reading Girls' School (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 52.2).

Reading School's 2026 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.

Of the 150 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 97% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 1% to a further education college.

Of the 187 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 88% went on to university or other higher education, 2% to apprenticeships and 3% into work. 81% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

4.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 50 pupils (4.4%) received SEN support and 10 (0.9%) 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.

The nearest railway station is Reading Rail Station, about 1 mile away in a straight line.

22 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is RBH South Wing (opposite), 130 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 581 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Reading (351), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Reading School issued 25 suspensions, 2.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

The primary schools closest to Reading School are Redlands Primary School (0.3 miles), St John's Church of England Primary School (0.4 miles), New Town Primary School (0.6 miles) and New Christ Church Church of England Primary School (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.