Reading School

Reading School is a special school for boys in the town of Reading in Berkshire, England. It is one of the oldest schools in the country because it started from a school that belonged to Reading Abbey many years ago. Even though it closed for a short time in the 1860s, it opened again and has been helping boys learn ever since.

The school is a state school, which means families do not pay tuition fees. Day students attend the school without any cost, and students who live at the school only pay for their meals and a place to sleep. Reading School is known for being one of the best state schools in the United Kingdom. It often appears in the top ten schools when looking at results from exams like GCSE and A-level.

History

Reading School was created as part of Reading Abbey. Its founding date is March 29, 1125, even though it closed for a few years in the 1860s. This makes it the 10th oldest school in England.

In 1486, King Henry VII helped restart the school, and it was housed in an old building called the Hospitium of St John. After the Abbey closed in 1539, the school was managed by the local government of Reading. The school faced challenges during wars and plagues but reopened in 1867 with new buildings. In 2012, it became an academy.

School site

The Reading School campus has several important buildings. There is a main block with two wings, a Science block, the Page building, the John Kendrick building, South House, a Music School (which used to be called the Junior School), and a chapel. Some of these buildings, like the main school building and the chapel, are protected as important historical sites.

The chapel is used for special school services like Christmas, Remembrance, and Easter. Every student goes there once a week. Inside, there are rows of seats facing the center, an organ near the entrance, and an altar at the far end.

The school has plans to improve its sports and science areas. Work on new science facilities finished in early 2017, and work on sports facilities started later. This included building a new fitness area and updating the gym.

International sites

In 2018, the school started working with Chinese partners to open international schools in China. The first one, called Suzhou Reading School, was built in Suzhou. However, the school lost its permission to operate there after problems with environmental checks. The land was then changed to be used for industrial purposes.

Sports

Reading School won the boys' KS4 National Badminton Championship for the 2023/24 season. They also won the U16 Boys' VICTOR School Sport Magazine National Badminton Championship for the same season.

Notable alumni

Reading School has many famous former students who have gone on to do great things in different fields.

See also: Category:People educated at Reading School

Deceased Old Redingensians (chronological order)

Living Old Redingensians (alphabetical order)

Notable headmasters

Reading School has had many important leaders over the years.

• 1588–1589: Thomas Braddock
• 1781–1830: Richard Valpy (1754–1836)
• 1871–1877: Thomas Henry Stokoe

Inspections and awards

Reading School has received many awards for its excellent work. Reports have praised the school for having some of the best exam results in the country and for helping students love learning. In 2005, the school earned a gold award for sports and became a partner school with Microsoft.

The school is known for sending many students to top universities like Oxford and Cambridge. It was named "State School of the Year" by The Sunday Times newspaper in both 2010 and 2019. Recently, in 2025, a student from Reading School earned a place on the UK’s National Mathematics Team and received an honourable mention in an international math contest.

Subjects taught

Reading School teaches many languages. In Year 7, students must study French, German, Spanish, and Latin. They can choose Mandarin instead of one of these languages, but not Latin. In Year 8, students need to study two modern languages and Latin.

Students must study at least one language for their GCSE exams. The top students can study Additional Maths at the same time as their GCSEs. Some students can also study Further Maths at a higher level.

In Year 11, the top half of the students take a Philosophy exam. Those who do well can choose to stop studying the subject, continue to a higher level, or retake the exam. Students who don’t do as well can also retake the exam.

In the sixth form, students can choose to study Physical Education at a higher level. If they don’t, they still need to play games each week or help with community service instead. All students must join games lessons in Years 10 and 11.