Leighton Park School/Reading
Address
Shinfield Road

Reading
,
Berkshire
,
RG2 7ED

England
Information
TypePrivate school
Public school
Day and boarding school
Religious affiliation(s)Religious Society of Friends
(Quaker)
Established1890 (1890)
HeadMatthew L S Judd
Staff213 (approx.)
GenderCo-educational
Age11 to 18
Enrolment535
Colour(s)Blue, Copper, White      
PublicationThe Park
Campus65-acre (260,000 m2) parkland campus
Former PupilsOld Leightonians
Websiteleightonpark.com
Peckover Hall

Leighton Park School is a co-educational private school for both day and boarding pupils in Reading in South East England. The school's ethos is closely tied to the Quaker values, having been founded as a Quaker School in 1890. The school's ethos is described as achievement with values, character and community. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England.

Overview

The school is based in a 65-acre (26 ha) parkland estate just south of Reading town centre, next to the University of Reading's Whiteknights Park campus.[1] The school has been a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference since 1932. It offers both the International Baccalaureate and A Levels at Sixth Form.

Matthew Judd has been the headmaster since September 2018.

At A level in 2019, pupils' progress score was Well Above Average with students gaining 0.6 of a grade on average across their subjects.[2] No data were published by the Department for Education for the school at GCSE level.[3]

The School was inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in November 2021 and was found to be excellent for both the quality of pupils’ personal development and the quality of their academic progress.[4]

There are 27 music teachers covering a range of instruments.[5] The school offers dance with a new studio built in 2020 and a GCSE and A Levels qualifications available. The school's music and media centre opened in 2019. It offers a BTec in Digital Media Production at both level 2 and level 3 and works with nearby Pinewood Studios.

Old School and attached laboratories at Leighton Park are Grade II listed buildings.[6] Grove House was designed by Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse, who also designed the Natural History Museum in London.

History

Leighton Park was opened in 1890 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), as a public school for boys. It was founded after Grove House School, also a Quaker school, closed in 1877. Grove House School had educated notable personalities such as Lord Lister, Alfred Waterhouse and Thomas Hodgkin.

Leighton Park grew from four boys in 1890 to 103 in the 1920s. The junior school became the independent Crosfields School, making Leighton Park solely a senior school. By 1970 the school had 300 pupils, and in 1975 girls were admitted to the sixth form. In 1993 the school became fully coeducational. Today the school is home to around 520 pupils drawn from over 44 different countries.

In 2015, the school celebrated its 125-year anniversary.[7]

In March 2016, the school was granted planning permission to develop the main hall and music department into the Music and Media Centre (MMC) which will enhance the facilities for teaching Music and Media at the school. The building officially opened in March 2019. The school is currently redeveloping the historic Grove House to be a new Sixth Form Study Centre and School Library - due to open in early 2024.[8]

Quaker ethos

Reflecting its Quaker values, the school has an active outreach programme, supporting local community and education partners. The School won the national Independent School Association Award for Outstanding Community Involvement in 2020 and 2021.[9] The school's values-led approach helped it to win the national ISA Award for Excellence in Pupil Personal Development 2022.[10]

Press

Leighton Park appeared on the BBC One Show in 2020, featuring the school's production of PPE for health workers during the Covid-19 pandemic [11] Leighton Park was featured on the BBC Politics Show, which was hosted at the site in December 2010.[12]

In April 2005, Quaker-based Sunday Worship was broadcast live from Leighton Park on BBC Radio 4. Heard by an estimated 1.75 million listeners, the sequence of readings, music, ministry and silence "reflected the essence of Quaker values to the wider world."[13]

In November 2011 thieves stole Maverick the Harris hawk from a teacher's aviary. Maverick was used "to build a more adventurous curriculum for pupils" and helped students learn physics. Pupils were left distraught after the theft as a core team of pupils had been trained to handle him.[14]

Former pupils

Notable old pupils include:

Arms

Coat of arms of Leighton Park School
Notes
Granted in 1926[17]
Escutcheon
Sable six oak leaves three two and one Or.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Park". Leighton Park School. 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "Leighton Park School: Advanced level qualifications (level 3)". Find school and college performance data in England. Gov.UK. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  3. ↑ "Leighton Park School". Find school and college performance data in England. Gov.UK. Retrieved 17 January 2023. Secondary data is not available or applicable for this school.
  4. ↑ "Leighton Park School :: Independent Schools Inspectorate".
  5. ↑ "Music". Leighton Park.
  6. ↑ "School House and Attached Laboratories at Leighton Park School, Reading". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  7. ↑ "Leighton Park School Celebrates 125th Anniversary". UK Boarding Schools.
  8. ↑ "New Sixth Form Study Centre and School Library".
  9. ↑ "Congratulations to the ISA Awards 2020 winners | The Independent Schools Association". 1 March 2021.
  10. ↑ "Independent Schools Association announces award winners". 21 November 2022.
  11. ↑ "Leighton Park on the One Show". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via www.youtube.com.
  12. ↑ "BBC Politics Show at Leighton Park School". Berkshire Life. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  13. ↑ "Worship". Leighton Park. 1 May 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  14. ↑ "Thieves steal hawk from Leighton Park School in Reading". BBC News. 10 November 2011.
  15. ↑ "Scientist wins royal award for work in Arctic", BBC News, 23 January 2017.
  16. ↑ "The media and the truth: OL journalist Shyam Bhatia inspires Sixth Form". Leighton Park. 24 January 2020.
  17. ↑ "Leighton Park School". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 31 January 2021.

Further reading

  • The Leightonian [school magazine] (pub. 1895).
  • The Park [school magazine] (pub. termly).
  • Old Leightonians Club. A list of names and addresses of the old boys of Leighton Park School (pub. 1945, 1957, 1973, 1990).
  • Brown, S. W. Leighton Park: A history of the school (pub. 1952).
  • Leighton Park School, Leighton Park: The first 100 years (pub. 1990).
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