Reading, Berkshire · Reading
Reading School
Its entrance test just switched from a 3-paper to a 4-paper format for the cycle running right now — most tutoring guides online still describe the old version.
Founded in 1125 by its own account, one of England's oldest state schools, Reading School shares nothing with neighbouring Kendrick School (girls) despite persistent tutoring-site claims of a shared 'Reading SET' test — the two schools' own admissions policies confirm entirely separate providers, catchments, and criteria, with no mention of each other anywhere. Reading School commissions its own bespoke test from FSCE (Future Stories Community Enterprise), which changed from a 3-paper English/Maths/Creativity format to a new 4-paper 'Adventure, Beacon, Compass, Discovery' format starting with the cycle now in progress. Its catchment area is unusually wide, reaching into Oxfordshire, the Surrey/Hampshire border, and Windsor & Maidenhead postcodes — wide enough that its superselective status is a genuine judgment call rather than a clean classification.
Key facts
- Gender
- boys
- Age range
- 11-18
- Region
- South East
- Local authority
- Reading
- Established
- 1125
- DfE URN
- 136449
- Website
- https://www.reading-school.co.uk
Admissions
- Admissions authority
- The school sets its own test and criteria
- Entrance test board
- FSCE (Future Stories Community Enterprise) — a grammar-school-commissioned not-for-profit test provider, not GL Assessment or CEM, and not shared with Kendrick School.
- Test format
- New for entry into the cycle now underway: four papers branded 'Adventure,' 'Beacon,' 'Compass' and 'Discovery,' covering comprehension and authorial thinking, problem-solving, Key Stage 2 National Curriculum subjects up to end of Year 5, and creative thinking — a mix of multiple-choice, constrained-response, and written questions, computer-marked and age-standardised. In-catchment and boarding candidates test in July of Year 5; out-of-catchment candidates test online in September of Year 6.partly verified
The new 4-paper format is confirmed for the current cycle from the school's own policy, but most third-party tutoring guides still describe the previous 3-paper English/Maths/Creativity format.
- Qualifying / pass mark
- Not published by policy design. The school's own wording states the 'eligible score' is determined by the Governors' Admissions Committee based on that cohort's performance, comparisons with previous cohorts, the oversubscription criteria, and the admission number — a rank-order threshold recalculated annually, not a number families can benchmark against in advance.
- Superselective?
- Not establishedverify with school
Genuinely indeterminate — see full reasoning in superselectiveNote.
A genuine judgment call. In favour: the catchment spans multiple counties (Berkshire, Oxfordshire, the Surrey/Hampshire border, and the Buckinghamshire border) rather than a tight local area, there are only 150 places, and results run far above national and local averages. Against, or indeterminate: no published applicant numbers exist, there's no comparison point against a recognised regional 'grammar standard' since Reading runs its own single-school test rather than participating in a consortium, and the school itself never uses the term either way. Best described as highly selective with an unusually wide catchment, rather than definitively superselective.
Catchment & priority criteria
A defined catchment spanning parts of Berkshire, Oxfordshire, the Surrey/Hampshire border, and the Buckinghamshire border. A tighter 13-postcode 'Reading Priority Postcode' subset is used for higher-ranked categories. No catchment area applies to boarding applicants.
- Children with an EHC Plan naming the school who meet the eligible score, admitted before other categories
- Priority places, ranked by test score: looked-after children, Pupil Premium/Service Premium children in catchment, children with social or welfare need in catchment, and children of staff in catchment
- Up to 15 places (day and boarding combined) for candidates in catchment who meet the eligible score and a separate sporting aptitude threshold
- Up to 50% of remaining places for candidates at a named state-funded feeder primary school within 4.6 miles, whose home address is also in the priority postcode area
- Up to 80% of remaining places for candidates whose home address is in the priority postcode area
- Remaining places for candidates within the wider catchment area
- All other eligible candidates outside the catchment area
- Tie-break: highest score in the 'Discovery' paper, then straight-line distance to the school, then computerised random allocation
Results
| Year | Attainment 8 | GCSE 5+ Eng & Maths | Progress 8 | A*–A | A*–B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 81.1 (Reading LA average 48.8, England average 45.9) | 100.0% (Reading LA 50.3%, England 45.9%) | +0.89 ('Well above average', confidence interval +0.65 to +1.13) — this cohort predates the COVID-era gap. The prior cohort (2022/23) scored +0.97, also well above average. | — | — |
| A-level: A*-A 72.3%, A*-B 90.5% (school's own official results summary). | |||||
| 2025 | 83.0 (Reading LA average 50.2, England average 46.1) | 100.0% (Reading LA 51.3%, England 45.4%) | Not calculated — no KS2 baseline data for this cohort nationally | 72.4% | 88.8% |
| A-level (191 candidates, 649 entries): average grade A (48.96 points per entry, Reading LA average B-/37.73, England average B-/36.1), value-added progress score +0.06 ('Average', confidence interval -0.02 to +0.15). A*-A 72.4%, A*-B 88.8% (school's own official results summary — DfE's current service reports average grade/points and value-added instead of this breakdown). EBacc entry 97.3%. | |||||
Ofsted
- Rating
- Outstanding, in every category: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. This was a combined education and boarding inspection, predating Ofsted's September 2024 pause on single-word grades — no inspection has occurred since.
- Date
- 21 November 2023
- Report
- Read the full report
Sources
- 1. DfE Get Information About Schools — URN, status, gender, LA — https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/136449
- 2. School's own Year 7 Day Admissions Policy, 2027 entry — https://www.reading-school.co.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=1520&type=pdf
- 3. School's own Year 7 Boarding Admissions Policy, 2026 entry — https://www.reading-school.co.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=1446&type=pdf
- 4. School's own About page — https://www.reading-school.co.uk/about
- 5. School's own GCSE Results 2025 — https://www.reading-school.co.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=1207&type=pdf
- 6. School's own A Level Results 2025 — https://www.reading-school.co.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=1206&type=pdf
- 7. Ofsted report, inspected 21 November 2023 — https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50238799
- 8. DfE Compare School Performance — Progress 8, 2023 and 2024 — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/136449/reading-school/secondary/progress-measures-for-2023-and-2024
Last updated 2026-09-01. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.