Reading Boys' school

Contents

When was the Reading school founded?

Located in Berkshire, Reading Boys’ school, officially called Reading School is a boys-only grammar school. The school is one of the oldest schools in England. Its history goes way back to the royal days of Henry I. When it was initially founded in 1125 as part of Reading Abbey. It was re-founded in 1486. The date of the charter of Reading Abbey is the school’s foundation date. Reading School provides an inspirational environment and instils values of excellence, integrity, leadership, and teamwork.

In 2025, the Reading school will complete 900 years in the history of education, and its vision is to be a flourishing world-leading institution developing academic excellence and building good men. Even though it has a long history, they keep a perfect fusion of intelligent innovation and tradition.

In 2011, the Reading school attained its academy status. It has gone through some significant changes that include a new science block, computing rooms, and a lecture theatre. The school educated 900 boys, both day pupils and boarders.

Is Reading school private?

Reading School for boys is a state-funded school, so there are no tuition fees. As a state boarding school, the fees almost one-third of the fees charged in a similar private school.

General information

Address: Reading School, Erleigh Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5LW
Telephone number: 0118 9015600
School Website: https://www.reading-school.co.uk/
Email address: Secretary@reading-school.co.uk
Gender of Entry: Boys
Day/boarding type: Both
Age Range: 11 to 18
Exam board type/format: CEM 11 Plus- VR/NVR/NR
Admissions policy: Selective
Pupils: 1076 pupils
Places in Year 7 for 2021: 150 in total comprising of 12 boarders (maximum) and 138 day-boys (minimum)

The admissions process in Reading School, Erleigh Road, Reading

Admission to the 2021 reading school is based on the applicant’s performance in the 11+ entrance exam for a place in year 7. If you want your child to get offered a place in reading school for boys, he needs to take and perform well in the 11+ entrance exam for reading school. Applications to which can be on the Local Authority common application form.

Parents must express the preference and reason of preferences for the grammar schools they wish to send their children into. They should start preparing in the early years of education but not too early as you don’t want to unnecessarily pressurize the children in years 2 and 3. The child should be in Year 6 and his age should be between 01.09.09-31.8.10. The admissions process for the schools generally begins in May, the test will take place in September in reading school. for 2021, the dates are the same.

Like every year in September, the registrations will open in May and the exam will take place in September 2021 only. Parents can fill the form both online and offline before the registration date ends. The exact date for the deadlines should be verified by the parents as it can change owing to the current circumstances.

Applications received after the deadlines close are not accepted unless the reason is genuine. To know more about school and other information related to admission in year 7, we suggest attending the school’s open days. You can visit their address at Erleigh Road in Berkshire and see for yourself. Here, you will be able to get a better understanding of the admission process.

If the school is far from your house or home, or if you live outside the area, then you can always visit the Reading School website here and browse through their menu – https://www.reading-school.co.uk/. On the site, information on their profile, staff, council, etc. can also be found. Click on any option like About, Headmaster’s Welcome, Mission, Menu Close, etc. to glean vital information regarding the school.

How to register for Reading School

Parents need to complete their Local authority’s common application form to register their application for a place in year 7 at reading school for boys. Apart from this, there is another application that parents need to complete directly with the reading school. this application can be found both online and offline and must be completed before the deadline. All applications for admissions in reading school that will be received after the deadline will not be entertained.

Exam Format

The 11+ exam for Reading boys grammar school consists of two papers of 50 minutes. These tests comprise numerical, Verbal, and non-verbal ability and creative writing. The student should be well prepared and have good knowledge of the key stage 2 English and maths syllabus and be able to apply the logic creatively to score well in the 11+ exam. Both exams will consist of multiple-choice questions only based on a combination of all topics.

These tests can only be taken once. Some other schools will be using the same tests as reading boys grammar schools such as Kendrick school. Apart from the following schools: Kendrick school, Ilford County High School, Woodford County High School, and Chelmsford County High School, Slough Consortium schools also use the same entrance test for admissions. so if your child has taken the test already and is giving another attempt then the raw scores from the first test will be considered even if it is taken in a different school.

In case, you are applying to multiple schools then also your child needs to take the test only once. All you require is to apply to each school individually.

These tests are marked with a computer and will be age-standardized and therefore have different passing marks each year. CEM does not publish past papers, but you can go through the familiarisation sheet provided by the reading grammar school. More vital information can be found in menu below. See the sheets below.

What is the radius of a school catchment area?

Reading School for Boys has a catchment area with priority for students whose habitual place of residence lies within the distance covering the postcode area. Please see the image below to check the designated area from the school (postcode – rg1).

Places will be offered to students who perform well in 11+ entrance exams and reside within the distance covering the postcode areas. Only if there are extra places left, applicants who live outside the designated area will be considered. (View Map)

For more information about the designated area please visit the reading school’s website.

How to prepare for reading school 11 plus entrance exam

Reading school for boys receives on an average of five to six applications for one place in year 7. This oversubscription makes the competition for admissions in reading school for boys very fierce, and it’s better to start the preparation as early as possible so that at the time of the exam your child be thoroughly prepared. Encourage your child to attempt as many past papers as he can so that he may get comfortable with the format, type of question, and practice to complete his exam within the given time. It is a good way to make your child exam-ready.

Creative writing

Even if your child is good at creative writing you should encourage them to keep practising with different topics so that the child does not feel nervous while facing complex topics. You may emphasize SPaG (Spelling, punctuation, and Grammar) skills. Encourage your child to read daily.
You may even have few stock essays for practice for ideas. Creative writing tests in 11+ exams in different schools generally follow predictable themes and styles.
The child should know how to plan the entire piece and complete it in time and for that he should practice daily, and it doesn’t need to be hours even 5 to 10 minutes are enough. Read more on our site about effective ways to improve your creative writing.
You can also opt for one of our creative writing courses or attempt our free evaluation test to get a free assessment, which will help you understand areas where your child can improve. All you need to do is to complete the assignment and send us your completed assignment to our support email address at support@kidsmartapp.co.uk. Follow us on social networking sites, and keep a track of the regular updates we share on our site.

Comprehension

The student should have a good command over the subjects to get offered a place in year 7 by reading school for boys. Comprehension is an important part of the test and tests a child’s logical reasoning as well therefore you need to prepare your son for it.
Start with emphasizing vocabulary building. Word mats, word wheels, quizzes, etc. are a good way of improving vocabulary. Allot a specific time for daily reading and practice papers on a regular basis this will help a child to logically analyze a text and extract important information from it.
During practice, please direct your child to not rush. He/she must read the text carefully and attempt it like as he’s sitting inside an entrance exam hall. They should attempt the paper fully, check the correct answers and go back and match with their own answers to find the mistakes.

English

This English test for reading school is based on the key stage 2 syllabus, and that is why your son should have a good knowledge of that.
Other than that your child should have a thorough practice of logical reasoning-type questions. Please encourage them to solve a number of practice papers.
To prepare your son for an entrance exam of any school, it is important to set duration but make sure that you are not rushing your child as it may result in academic stress. Please give your child enough time to start with. You will see improvements gradually. Over time, you can start setting a time limit.

Maths

This test is also based on the key stage 2 syllabus and therefore, your child should be fully prepared with the key stage 2 syllabus and be able to apply it creatively for best results. Start your preparations early so that that you may give your child the maximum time to practise.
Many students often get nervous and tend to fail to complete the entire paper in a given time that is why you need to encourage your child to attempt as many practice papers as he can so that he feels confidents while attempting the exam.
Always prefer to practice paper with answers so that you can compare the answers with your child’s and find out places where one can improve. It’s a good method for the child to remember the mistakes and learn from them.

Past Papers useful for admissions in grammar school like Reading School

CEM does not publish past papers but practicing other past papers for different grammar schools is still recommended. It is a tried and tested method that has yielded results for many.

Let us see the past papers that your child can practice to ace the exam. Following is the list of papers that will come in handy in the future for your child if he diligently starts practicing them. Click on any of them in the menu below to access it.

11 plus english past papers pdf solved with detailed explanations

11 plus Maths past papers pdf solved with detailed explanations

11 plus past papers pdf solved with detailed explanations

Reading Boys’ school

11+ Past Papers Bundle