Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre
Secondary · Academy converter · Ages 11–18 · Reading
Last distance offered · Year 7 2026
3.733 miles
Published by Reading Borough Council · offers on 2 March 2026
Year 7 last distance offered, 2020–2026 (miles)
All: every applicant was offered a place.
Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre is a secondary school in Reading for ages 11–18 (academy converter). Its latest Ofsted outcome is School remains Good, from the inspection on 27 March 2024. Reading has published a last distance offered for this school for Year 7 2020 to 2026 entry.
Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre catchment area: last distance offered
Parents often call this the catchment area: it's how far from the school the last child offered a place lived. It changes every year.
| Entry | Last distance offered |
|---|---|
| Year 7 2026 | 3.733 mi |
| Year 7 2025 | Every applicant was offered a place |
| Year 7 2024 | 1.269 mi |
| Year 7 2023 | 1.298 mi |
| Year 7 2022 | 0.962 mi |
| Year 7 2021 | 0.924 mi |
| Year 7 2020 | 1.02 mi |
What the pass includes · How to read it: one past year, not a catchment
What the figures show
- For Year 7 2026, the last child offered a place lived 3.733 miles away, the longest of the 4 Reading secondary schools with a published Year 7 2026 last distance.
- Distances have swung sharply, most from 2022 to 2023, and the 2026 Year 7 figure was the longest of the 6 years with a published distance.
- There were 191 first-choice applications for 243 offers for Year 7 in 2026; 183 offers went to first-choice families and 8 first-choice families (4%) were not offered a place.
- In 2024/25, 57% got grade 5 or above in GCSE English and maths (England 45%); at A level the average grade was C+ (England B-), with above-average progress.
Worked out by Catchmently from the published figures on this page and those for other Reading schools. Distances are as published; how they were measured differs between admission authorities.
Key facts
- Address
- Surley Row, Emmer Green, Reading, RG4 8LR
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- 11–18
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Council
- Reading
- Pupils on roll
- 1,537 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 9.4% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.2
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
School remains Good Inspected 27 March 2024
Strengths
- “High expectations for pupils’ behaviour and academic achievement mean that the school supports pupils’ ambitious aspirations effectively.”
- “Pupils are invariably polite, respectful and kind.”
- “The vast majority of pupils behave well and attend regularly.”
To improve
- “However, there is some variability.”
- “This means that, at times, pupils’ understanding is not developed as deeply as it could be so that they achieve even more.”
- “Although the school is similarly ambitious for the relatively small proportions of other disadvantaged pupils, it rightly recognises that their achievement is not high enough overall, including in examinations.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 15 May 2024 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Exam results
| Measure | School | England |
|---|---|---|
| GCSE English and maths, grade 5 or above (2024/25) | 57% | 45% |
| Attainment 8 score (2024/25) | 50.4 | 46 |
| A level average grade (2024/25) | C+ | B- |
Department for Education school performance data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Year 7 entry: 191 first-preference applications, 243 offers in total, 183 offers to first-preference applicants.
Department for Education, school-level applications and offers, figures on national offer day. Earlier years are in the pass.
Nearby secondary schools
Straight-line distance, in Reading.
- River Academy 1.3 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- Kendrick School 2.2 mi Outstanding Last distance published
- Reading School 2.5 mi Outstanding Last distance published
- The WREN School 2.6 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- Maiden Erlegh School in Reading 2.8 mi School remains Good Last distance published
- UTC Reading 2.8 mi Not judged
- Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School 2.8 mi School remains Good Last distance published
- King's Academy Prospect 3.0 mi Good Last distance published