Schools and 6th forms in Reading

[lizcag]

Hi, does anyone have any recommendations for primary, secondary and 6th forms in Reading?
My husband’s been working down there for 18 months. I’ve stayed up north because of my job and for our eldest to sit her GCSEs. But now I’m being threatened with voluntary redundancy so need to look around at what’s available.
My kids are 7, 10, 14 and 16. Thanks

Hi there’s lots of good primaries in the Tilehurst area:
Park Lane
Birch Copse
Springfield
Moorlands
Churchend
St Paul’s
Long Lane
Purely infants
( my children/ friends children are at all these and their children are doing well/ really happy there)

Secondaries
Little Heath
Denefield
The Wren - though it’s only a few years old
Again all really good schools.

I hear less positive things about
Meadow Park Academy ( primary)
Prospect ( secondary)

Tilehurst is a lovely area for families, good luck with your move. You could join the Facebook groups Tilehurst Gossip Girls/ Reading Mums .
Feel free to ask any more questions

Thanks Swizzlestix. That’s a positive start!

Caversham and Earley areas have good schools as well! For all age options.

Maiden erlegh in lower early is a nice school, well behaved students etc. Bulmurshe is also good and piggott (all secondary schools).

My little cousin got really badly bullied at Waingels (sp)

Thanks!
So Caversham, Earley and Tilehurst are decent places to live? Husband rents a room in a shared house very near Whiteknights uni campus. I imagine we have no chance of living round there.

Yes definitely!
But caversham traffic is a nightmare and there are not enough school places for the kids that live there so prob worth avoiding for those reasons.

I'd second Maiden Erlegh (the original one more than the new one) or towards the Wokingham schools - ie Bulmershe etc.

It depends how much money you have - Caversham / Earley / Woodley / Wokingham are the most expensive! And yes it costs the most near the most popular schools, as it is everywhere else. What is your budget? Are you buying or renting? We're in west reading and yes there are all walks of life here but mostly that's what makes it fun and interesting, plus we can actually afford a decent sized house here rather than having 2 fewer bedrooms in a naice area (like those listed above). One problem you are likely to encounter is finding a school place for your primary-age children - virtually all primaries are full with waiting lists. Feel free to DM me if you want more info.

Thanks everyone!
I’m planning a trip down soon to look at all the places mentioned.

Tilehurst area is good with good school, obviously nicer and not so nice parts. Also Purley/pangbourne are nice.

Same with caversham, very pricey but also some dodgy area, like previous posters said traffic is a nightmare no matter what time of day.

School wise what years are you looking at? I know most of the schools listed are over subscribed and you may struggle with places

I’ll need school years 3, 7, 10 and a sixth form/college

Kendrick grammar is also there as a possibility but it’s over subscribed so I don’t know the application timings or if they accept into yr 10/6th form

If your husband works around or near the Uni, then I would really recommend living on the eastern side of town or over the borough in Wokingham - traffic through the town centre is awful and really best avoided. It can easily take 40 mins to get from Uni to Caversham during rush hour, in heavy slow traffic.

If east, you have the choice of Reading LA schools and also Wokingham LA schools - especially Wokingham secondaries: Bulmershe, 2 Maiden Erlegh schools (the Wokingham one has a better reputation than the one in Reading, but I've yet to meet a parent who is happy with the pastoral care... exam results are good though). Bulmershe and Maiden Erlegh in Wokingham both have sixth forms. You need to live well within catchment for either of these schools. Maiden Erlegh in Reading has no sixth form, they're new so only have year groups up to the current year 9. I believe they use a catchment area and feeder primary system.

If your sixth former is very academic, you could consider the grammar school sixth forms (Kendrick for girls, Reading School for boys) but they tend to only offer traditional A level subjects; they're both in the east side of town within walking distance of the town centre though.

Primaries in this area are a mixed bag, in Reading: Alfred Sutton, St John's, Redlands - I would avoid New Town. Wokingham: Aldryngton, St Peter's, Hawkedon, Loddon Valley.

Do you have an idea of a budget of you're looking to move / buy?

Thanks everyone! Husband’s gone and got an interview with Warwick uni, so we may be relocating around there instead.