Sign up free
Skip to main content

Schools in Reading

Berkshire · Reading · 160 schools

New inspection results and open days, weekly by email.

Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 4 days

Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Reading (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.

Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days

Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Reading (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.

Year 7 dates to calendar Reception dates to calendarHow to apply in Reading →

Schools in Reading (160)

Showing 20 of 160 schools

By type:Primary schools in Reading (103)Secondary schools in Reading (21)Special schools in Reading (12)All-through schools in Reading (7)Nursery schools in Reading (6)Senior schools in Reading (5)Independent schools in Reading (3)Prep schools in Reading (2)

Total Schools

160

103 primary · 21 secondary

Total Pupils

55,853

88% capacity used

Ofsted Rated

37

5 outstanding · 32 good

Capacity

63,440

7,587 spare places

Ofsted Ratings

32
122
Outstanding: 5
Good: 32
Requires Improvement: 1
Not inspected: 122

Best Schools in Reading

View the full league table - ranked by Ofsted, Progress 8, KS2 results and more

Best Schools in Berkshire

Compare all schools across the county

Area Performance (2026)

Attainment 8

40.4

GCSE Eng+Maths

38.3%

School Capacity & Demand

Housing Growth Detected

9,088 new homes approved nearby. This could generate an estimated +2272 primary and +1636 secondary pupils.

Source: MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years)

Primary Schools

MEDIUM pressure
26,965 pupils31,424 capacity

86% occupied · 4459 spare places

Projected additional demand: +2272 pupils

Secondary Schools

MEDIUM pressure
20,753 pupils23,474 capacity

88% occupied · 2721 spare places

Projected additional demand: +1636 pupils

Questions parents ask about schools in Reading

How many schools are there in Reading?

Reading has 160 open schools: 103 state primary, 23 state secondary or all-through, 15 independent, 12 special and 7 others.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Which schools in Reading are rated Outstanding?

18 schools in Reading were rated Outstanding at their most recent graded Ofsted inspection: Haywards Farm School, Cressex Lodge School, Birch Copse Primary School, Reading School, Kendrick School and 13 more. Counting Good as well, 95% of the 117 graded schools here are rated Good or better. Ofsted stopped giving single-word overall grades in September 2024, so these are the grades from each school's last full inspection.

Haywards Farm SchoolCressex Lodge SchoolBirch Copse Primary SchoolReading SchoolKendrick School

Source: Ofsted

Which secondary schools in Reading get the best GCSE results?

Of the 23 schools in Reading with 2026 GCSE results, the highest Attainment 8 scores - the average grade across a pupil's best eight GCSEs - were at Kendrick School (selective grammar), with an Attainment 8 score of 82.4 and 99% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; Reading School (selective grammar), with an Attainment 8 score of 80.6 and 97% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; and The Piggott School, with an Attainment 8 score of 61 and 72% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above. Selective schools admit by ability, so their raw results are not a like-for-like comparison with comprehensives. Progress 8, the DfE's value-added measure, was not published for 2026.

Kendrick SchoolReading SchoolThe Piggott School

Source: DfE school performance data

Which primary schools in Reading have the best SATs results?

Of the 82 primary schools in Reading with 2025 Key Stage 2 results, the highest shares of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading and maths were at All Saints Junior School (100% in reading, 100% in maths); Whitchurch Primary School (100% in reading, 100% in maths); and Whiteknights Primary School (97% in reading, 98% in maths). Small schools can swing a long way from one year to the next, because each pupil is a large share of the result.

All Saints Junior SchoolWhitchurch Primary SchoolWhiteknights Primary School

Source: DfE school performance data

Are there grammar schools in Reading?

Yes. Kendrick School and Reading School are state grammar schools in Reading. Grammar schools admit pupils by ability through an entrance test, usually sat at the start of Year 6.

Kendrick SchoolReading School

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

How close do you need to live to get into schools in Reading?

It depends on the school, and the cut-off moves every year with the number of applications. Wokingham published how far the last place offered went at these schools: Maiden Erlegh School, 0.844 miles for 2024 entry; Waingels, 2.119 miles for 2024 entry. These are the authority's own figures, not fixed boundaries.

Maiden Erlegh SchoolWaingels

Source: Wokingham admissions booklets

How do I apply for a school place in Reading?

Apply to your council - Reading, Wokingham or West Berkshire, depending on your address - through its coordinated admissions process, even for academies and faith schools. In England the closing date is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts. Independent schools run their own admissions, so apply to those directly.

Nearby Towns

Berkshire

4 schools · 5.3km away

Berkshire

Henley-on-Thames

13 schools · 10.7km away

Oxfordshire

Wokingham

38 schools · 11.4km away

Berkshire