Reading School 370200 225427050 2008-07-13T17:12:05Z 91.125.141.140 {{Infobox UK school | name = Reading School | image = School_logo.png | size = 130px | latitude = | longitude = | dms = yes | motto = ''Floreat Redingensis'' | established = 1125 (refounded in 1486) | type = [[foundation school|Foundation]] [[Grammar school|grammar]] | religion = | head_label = Principal | head = J I Weeds | r_head_label = Chaplain | r_head = Rev Chris Evans | chair_label = | chair = | founder = | founder_pl = | specialist = [[Humanities College|Humanities]] <br> ([[English studies|English]], [[Classics]] and [[Geography]]) | street = Erleigh Road | city = [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]] | county = [[Berkshire]] | country = {{ENG}} | postcode = RG1 5LW | LEA = [[Reading, Berkshire#Government|Reading Borough Council]] | ofsted = 110097 | staff = | enrollment = 867 | gender = Male | lower_age = 11 | upper_age = 18 | houses = School(green, orange, blue)<br>County (burgundy)<br>East (pink)<br>West (Gold) | colours = Navy Blue, Silver, House colours. | publication = Reading Rag | free_label_1 = | free_1 = | free_label_2 = | free_2 = | free_label_3 = | free_3 = | website = http://www.readingschool.reading.sch.uk | website_name = Reading School Website }} '''Reading School''' is a [[grammar school]] in the town of [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]], [[Berkshire]], [[England]]. It is a [[single-sex school|single-sex]] boys' school, which selects incoming students on the basis of examined ability, usually at age 11, with a few entrants at age 13 and 16. It is state-funded, so there are no fees for day pupils, and boarders only pay for food and lodgings, not schooling. The current principal, since Autumn 2006, is [[John Weeds]], replacing Patricia Daniels, who was acting headteacher for one year, and also the first female headteacher in the 882-year history of the school. Reading is a [[foundation school]], and an [[OFSTED]] report concluded that "examination results place the school in the top five per cent nationally", "Pupils' attitudes to learning are outstanding" and "The school goes to exceptional lengths to broaden and enrich the education of all pupils". The 2005 [[Key Stage 3]] results were both the best in the country for value-added and for the average points score of each student.<ref>{{cite news|title=Grammar boys are simply the best|date=2006-03-30|work=Reading Evening Post}}</ref> In the 2004 school league tables for England (including fee-paying schools), it came eighth for GCSE-level results (average 602.5 points), 106th for A-level results (average 409.3 points) and 170th for value-added between ages 11 and 16 (score of 1037.7 compared with a baseline of 1000). It has recently become a [[DFES]] [[specialist school]] for the [[Humanities College|Humanities]], specialising in [[English studies|English]], [[Geography]] and [[Classics]] &ndash; the first school to specialise in Classics &ndash; despite entry being selected by Mathematics and verbal and non-verbal logic ability. The School prides itself on offering A-Level Latin to any student who has an interest in studying the subject. The School will also offer Ancient Greek if numbers permit bringing in outside staff. In 2005 the school was awarded the highly prestigious Sportsmark gold award for a four-year period. In the same year Reading was one of just 35 schools nationally to be made a [[Microsoft]] Partner School.<ref>[http://www.oldredingensians.org.uk/journals/jmay2005.pdf Andrew Linnell. The Headmaster's Letter. ''The Old Redingensian'', May 2005, p2 (PDF).]</ref> Reading School has had a partnership with Akhter Computers in [[Harlow]], [[Essex]], since 1998. The company has installed networks throughout the school and in the boarding house. It has also furnished the library with a special system which enables the school to record, edit and distribute video across the network.<ref>[http://www.akhter.co.uk/Product_pdfs/Video%20Flow%20Brochure%20-%20Page%201-4.pdf Case Study. Video Broadcast over the Network at Reading School (PDF)]</ref> In 2007, the school was identified by the [[Sutton Trust]] as one of only 20 state schools among the 100 schools in the UK responsible for a third of admissions to [[Oxford University|Oxford]] and [[Cambridge University|Cambridge]] Universities over the five preceding years. 16.0% of pupils went to Oxbridge and a 62.1% in total went to universities identified by the Sutton Trust as "top universities".<ref>{{Citation | title = University Admissions by Individual Schools | publisher = Sutton Trust | year = 2007 | url = http://www.suttontrust.com/reports/UniversityAdmissionsbySchool.pdf}}</ref> ==History== [[Image:Reading school berks uk.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A view of Reading School from the drive]] Reading School was founded as part of [[Reading Abbey]]. The date of the Abbey's charter, [[June 29]] [[1125]], is taken as the foundation date, making it the 10th oldest school in [[England]], although there are hints that there may have been a school running in Reading before this. In 1486, the school was refounded as a "Free Grammar School" ("free" here meaning teaching the free, or liberal, arts, not that no fees were paid) by [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] on the urging of the then [[Abbot]], John Thorne. After the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolution]] of Reading Abbey in 1539, the school fell under the control of the [[corporation]] of Reading, its status being confirmed by [[Letters patent|Letters Patent]] issued by [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] in 1541. This was reconfirmed in the [[Royal Charter]] granted to the corporation of Reading by [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] in 1560, which made the corporation liable for the salary of the headmaster and gave them the power of appointing him. There were interruptions to schooling in 1665, when [[Parliament of England|Parliament]], forced out of [[London]] by the [[Great Plague of London|Great Plague]], took over the schoolhouse. The [[English civil war|civil war]] also interrupted, with the school being used as a garrison by royalist forces. The school prospered at the start of the nineteenth century, but by 1866 disagreements between the town and school, which had become increasingly exclusive, and problems with the lease on the school buildings had led to falling numbers and the school closed briefly when (according to legend), the inspectors, on asking to see the school, were told "He's runned away". The school soon restarted, however, with the Reading School Act (1867) setting out its administration and funding. The foundation stone for new buildings, designed by [[Alfred Waterhouse]], was laid by the [[Prince of Wales]] in 1870, and in 1871 the school moved in. In 1915 Kendrick Boys' School (founded in 1875 from the legacy of [[John Kendrick (cloth merchant)|John Kendrick]]), which had a large endowment but poor facilities, was taken over by Reading, which was poorly funded but had excellent facilities &ndash; this caused considerable controversy at the time but was ultimately seen as successful. The [[Education Act 1944|1944 Education Act]] saw the abolition of fees (apart from boarding charges), with the cost of education now being met by the local authority. The 1960s saw the rise of comprehensive education, which threatened Reading's status. However, Reading was exempted in 1973 (along with the girls' grammar school in Reading, [[Kendrick School|Kendrick]]) after a petition of over 30,000 local people (a third of the voters of Reading) was handed to the government. In 1986 the school celebrated the quincentenary of its refounding, and was graced by a visit by [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]]. A history of the school by Michael Naxton was published that year by Reading School Parents' Association. [[Image:Reading School Panorama.jpg|thumb|800px|Reading School]] On 6th July 2007 Reading School was officially designated as the landing site for the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance when it needs to transport patients to the nearby Royal Berkshire Hospital. Previously, seriously injured or ill patients from the Reading area had to be flown either to Wexham Park Hospital near [[Slough]], or to the John Radcliffe Hospital in [[Oxford]] for treatment. The new arrangement means that the school field can now be used for emergency touchdowns. Patients are transported by land ambulance from the school to the hospital's accident and emergency department across the road.<ref>[http://www.southcentralambulance.nhs.uk/html/news/newsitem.php?county=Berkshire&it=83 Reading School – "New Landing Site for Air Ambulance". The South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust]</ref> ==School site== [[Image:readingschoolsnow.jpg|thumb|400px|A photo of the School, covered in snow, taken on 8 February 2007.]] The current school site consists of a main block (with two wings), a Science block, the Page building, the John Kendrick building, South House, Music School (formerly known as Junior School) and a chapel. The main school building, the chapel, South House and the building to the east of South House have all been designated as Grade II listed buildings by English Heritage.<ref>[http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?pid=1&id=38922 Main school building, Images of England reference no. 38922]</ref><ref> [http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?pid=1&id=38923 Lecture Theatre at Reading School, Images of England reference no. 38923] </ref><ref>[http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?pid=1&id=38924 South House, Images of England reference no. 38924] </ref><ref>[http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?pid=1&id=38925 Building to the east of South House, Images of England reference no. 38925]</ref> The main block consists of 11 teaching rooms, as well as most of the school's administrative rooms. The classrooms here are mainly used to teach English, Economics, Classics, Latin and Ancient Greek; but the two Drama studios are used exclusively for Drama. The block is built around a central [[Quadrangle (architecture)|quadrangle]], with the main teaching rooms down the east side, and the Drama studios to the west. Over the northern entrance to the 'quad' is Big School, the school hall. There are also two wings: East Wing and West Wing. East Wing serves as a boarding house, while West Wing houses the staff room, [[sixth form]] common room, administrative entrance and reception, the newly re-named 'Middleton room' (ICT suite) and Religious Studies department. The Science block, situated on the south-east of the site, contains a workshop for Technology classes, three Physics labs, three Biology labs, three Chemistry labs and a lecture theatre. South House is a boarding house, although it also contains four teaching rooms and the 'Epstein room', which functions as a secondary Mathematics office. The Page Building, located between South House and the Science block, contains two Art rooms, two Technology labs (Graphics and Electronics), three Mathematics rooms, the main Mathematics office and an ICT suite. The John Kendrick building, opened in 2002, is to the west of the site, housing the Library (formerly the Learning Resources Centre), two Geography rooms, two History rooms and four language classrooms. The adjoined 'Coach House' contains another Geography room, a History room, and two offices. [[Image:ReadingSchoolchapel.jpg|thumb|250px|The chapel at Reading School]] The chapel is where the school's [[Christmas]] and [[Easter]] services take place, and every student attends once a week. The chapel has four groups of pews, facing towards the central aisle. Above the entrance is the [[pipe organ|organ]], and at the far end is the altar and vestry. Music School (formerly Junior School) has a teaching room, an ICT suite, a hall (used for [[orchestra]] and choir practices) and four smaller individual teaching rooms (used for individual music lessons). The school is developing an arts area in the unused part of the building. The building is situated at the far end of the drive, on the left of the main entrance. An outdoor eating area has recently been developed on the school site, which is situated close to the [[tuck shop]]. ==Subjects taught== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Subject ! Taught at [[Key Stage 3|KS3]] ! Taught at [[General Certificate of Secondary Education|GCSE]] ! Taught at [[Advanced Level (UK)|A level]] |- |[[Ancient Greek]] |No |Yes |No longer available |- | [[Art]] | Compulsory | Yes | Yes |- | [[Biology]] | Compulsory | Compulsory | Yes |- | [[Business Studies]] | No | Yes | No |- | [[Chemistry]] | Compulsory | Compulsory | Yes |- | [[Drama]] | Compulsory | Yes | Yes |- | [[Economics]] | No | Yes | Yes |- | [[English studies|English]] | Compulsory | Compulsory | Yes |- | [[French language|French]] | Compulsory | Yes | Yes |- | [[Geography]] | Compulsory | Yes | Yes |- | [[German language|German]] | Compulsory from Year 8 | Yes | Yes |- | [[History]] | Compulsory | Yes | Yes |- | [[ICT (education)|ICT]] | Compulsory | Yes (DiDA) | No |- | [[Latin]] | Compulsory | Yes | Yes |- | [[Mathematics]]* | Compulsory | Compulsory | Yes |- | [[Music]] | Compulsory | Yes | Yes |- | [[Physical Education]] | Compulsory | Compulsory | Compulsory** |- | [[Physics]] | Compulsory | Compulsory | Yes |- | [[Religious Education]]*** | Compulsory | Compulsory | Offered in special cases |- | [[Spanish language|Spanish]] | No | Yes | No |- | [[Design Technology|Technology]] | Compulsory | Yes | Yes |} <nowiki>*</nowiki>Additional Maths is taken by some students at the same time as GCSEs. Further Maths is optional at A Level. <nowiki>**</nowiki>In the [[sixth form]], P.E. can optionally be taken as an examined AS-Level. Those that do not do this must still take part in games weekly, though this is not examined or graded in any way. <nowiki>***</nowiki>Unless of a non-[[Christian]] background, in which case the student studies for a paper appropriate for his religion.. ==Notable "Old Redingensians" (former students)== ===Deceased Old Redingensians (chronological order):=== {| class="wikitable" !Name !Year of birth !Year of death !Notable achievements |- |Sir [[Thomas White (merchant)|Thomas White]] |1492||1567 |Founder of [[St John's College, Oxford]] and [[Lord Mayor of London]] in 1553 |- |Sir [[Francis Moore (barrister)|Francis Moore]] |1559||1621 |[[Member of Parliament|MP]] for Reading |- |[[John Blagrave]] |c.1561 |1611 |Mathematician |- |[[William Laud]] |1573||1645 |Chancellor of the [[University of Oxford]] 1629&ndash;1645, [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], 1633&ndash;1645, beheaded in 1645 during the [[English Civil War|Civil War]] |- |[[John Kendrick (cloth merchant)|John Kendrick]] |1573 |1624 |Elizabethan/Jacobean merchant and philanthropist |- |[[Daniel Blagrave]] |1603 |1668 |Regicide (Signatory of the death warrant of [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] in 1649). Escaped to exile in [[Aachen]] at the [[English Restoration|Restoration]] in 1660 |- |Sir [[Thomas Stampe]] (or Stamp) | | |[[Lord Mayor of the City of London]] in 1691 |- |Sir [[Constantine Phipps]] |1656 |1723 |[[Lord Chancellor of Ireland]] |- |[[Henry Addington]] |1757 |1844 |1st Viscount Sidmouth (1757 &ndash;1844) &ndash; [[Prime Minister]] and [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] 1801 &ndash;1804 |- |[[Thomas Noon Talfourd]] |1795 |1854 |Judge and writer |- |Captain [[Hastings Edward Harington|Hastings Harington]]||1832||1861||Awarded the [[Victoria Cross]] as a lieutenant with the Bengal Artillery for conspicuous gallantry in the relief of [[Lucknow]], 1857; died at [[Agra]] |- |[[Joseph Wells]] |1855 |1929 |Warden of [[Wadham College, Oxford]] 1913&ndash;1927, Vice-Chancellor of the [[University of Oxford]] 1923&ndash;1926 |- |[[Arthur Negus]] |1903 |1985 |[[broadcasting|broadcaster]] and [[antique]]s expert |- |[[John Boulting]] |1913 |1985 |Film director and producer |- |[[John Minton (artist)|John Minton]] |1917 |1957 |Artist, lecturer and teacher |- |Sir [[Clifford Charles Butler]] |1922 |1999 |Physicist, co-discoverer of [[hyperon]]s and [[Kaon|K-mesons]] |} ===Living Old Redingensians (alphabetical order):=== {|class="wikitable" |- !Name !Year of birth !Notable achievements |-{| class="wikitable" |- |[[Ross Brawn]] | 1954 |Former Technical Director of [[Ferrari]] [[F1]], Technical Director of [[Honda]] [[F1]] |- |[[Tom Burrows]] | 1985 |[[Hampshire County Cricket Club|Hampshire County Cricket Club 1st Team]] |- |[[Mark Field]] | 1964 |[[Member of Parliament|MP]] – [[Shadow Cabinet|Shadow]] [[Financial Secretary to the Treasury]] |- |[[Cris Freddi]] | 1955 |Author |- |[[Haydn Middleton]] | 1955 |Author |- |[[David Gold (bridge player)|David Gold]] | 1979 |England International Bridge Player |- |[[Damian Green]] | 1956 |[[Member of Parliament|MP]] – Former [[Shadow Cabinet|Shadow]] [[Transport Secretary|Secretary of State for Transport]] |- |[[Oliver Heald]] | 1954 |[[Member of Parliament|MP]] – [[Shadow Cabinet|Shadow]] [[Constitutional Affairs Secretary]] |- |[[Christopher Renshaw]] | |Theatre Director |- |[[John Roper, Baron Roper|Lord Roper of Thorney Island]] | 1935 |[[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] chief whip in the [[House of Lords]] |- |[[Andrew Smith (politician)|Andrew Smith]] | 1952 |[[Member of Parliament|MP]] – Former [[Secretary of State for Work and Pensions]] and former [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet Minister]] |} ==Bibliography== * Michael Naxton. ''The History of Reading School''. Ringwood, Hampshire: Pardy Printers, 1986. * John Oakes and Martin Parsons. ''Reading School: The First 800 Years''. Peterborough: DSM, 2005. ISBN 0-9547229-2-2. * John Oakes and Martin Parsons. ''Old School Ties: Educating for Empire and War''. Peterborough: DSM, 2001. ISBN 0-9536516-6-5. (The stories of Old Redingsians in World War I) * ''A History of Cricket at Reading School'', 1987. ==References== {{reflist}} == See also == * [[List of schools in the United Kingdom]] * [[List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom]] *[[List of the oldest schools in the world]] *[[List of Victoria Crosses by School]] * [[Specialist Schools and Academies Trust]] * [[The Abbey School]] and [[Kendrick School]], two local schools for girls ==External links== * [http://www.readingschool.reading.sch.uk/ Reading School] * [http://www.readingschoolpa.org.uk/ Reading School Parents' Association] * [http://www.oldredingensians.org.uk/ Old Redingensians] * [http://schoolsfinder.direct.gov.uk/8705401/overview/ School overview and profile from Schoolsfinder] {{Schools in Berkshire}} {{coor title dms|51|26|54|N|0|57|18|W|type:landmark_region:GB}} [[Category:Grade II listed buildings in Berkshire]] [[Category:Grammar schools in Berkshire]] [[Category:Humanities Colleges in England]] [[Category:Old Redingensians|*]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Reading, Berkshire]] [[Category:Educational institutions established in the 12th century]] [[Category:Schools with Combined Cadet Forces]] [[Category:1125 establishments]] [[Category:Boys' schools in England]] [[Category:Alfred Waterhouse buildings]] [[Category:Foundation schools]]