Preparing for Reading School

Reading School is a boys' grammar in Reading and one of the most academically demanding state schools in the country. It draws applicants from across Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire and beyond. Preparation needs to be serious, sustained, and well-paced.

The entrance examination

Reading School uses the Reading Consortium 11+ entrance test, shared with Kendrick School (the equivalent girls' grammar). The test takes place in September of Year 6.

The Reading Consortium test format includes:

• English — comprehension and writing
• Mathematics
• Verbal reasoning
• Non-verbal reasoning

Reading School tends to require very high scores for admission — historically among the highest qualifying thresholds of any state grammar. The school is significantly oversubscribed each year.

What strong preparation looks like

Reading School preparation needs to be more thorough than for many other 11+ exams, simply because the qualifying score is so high. Specifically:

• Mathematics fluency must be excellent. Boys preparing for Reading School should be confident with topics typically associated with early secondary school — basic algebra, ratio, percentages of amounts, areas of compound shapes. Mental arithmetic should be fast and accurate.
• Writing matters. Reading School's English paper includes a creative writing task. This is sometimes overlooked in 11+ preparation, but is significant. Strong writing comes from reading widely and writing regularly — not from memorised templates.
• Reading comprehension at depth. Reading School comprehension passages are often longer and more demanding than other 11+ tests. Inference, vocabulary in context, and the ability to support answers with textual evidence all matter.
• Verbal and non-verbal reasoning to high standards. Top scores in these sections are typically required to be competitive.

If a boy is reluctant to read, preparing for Reading School is going to be difficult. The strongest candidates we see are voracious readers — not because of tutoring, but in spite of it.

When to start

For families seriously targeting Reading School, twelve months of structured preparation is the realistic minimum. September of Year 5 is the standard starting point.

Earlier informal preparation — reading habits, mathematical fluency through games, puzzles, vocabulary — pays dividends. The boys who succeed at Reading School have usually been doing these things for years before any tutor became involved.

An honest note on suitability

Reading School is academically very demanding both to get into and once you're there. The school suits boys who genuinely enjoy academic challenge, who are happy to work hard at unfamiliar problems, and who can manage a heavy workload.

If your son is bright but doesn't love school work, Reading School may not be the right fit even if he could pass the exam. We are happy to discuss this honestly. Our job is not to get every boy into Reading School — it is to help families make good decisions for their child.

Travel and catchment

Reading School does not have a formal catchment — admission is determined by score and a tiebreaker based on home-to-school distance. This means strong scorers from further afield are regularly admitted, while local boys with weaker scores may not be.

For Maidenhead and Windsor families, the journey to Reading School is significant — typically 30-45 minutes each way. This is worth factoring into the decision.

Information on this page is provided in good faith based on publicly available information about the school and its entrance process. Families should verify all admissions details directly with the school and with the Reading Consortium.