Reading School

• The Reading School 11 Plus entrance exam consists of three elements: English, Maths and Creative Writing. All 3 elements will be tested on one day in September and all tests will take place at Reading School.

A familiarisation paper is available here.

• You need to register your child for the Reading School Admission Test by completing the online registration form on the school admissions website.
• The purpose of registration is for your child to take the entrance test, not apply for a place at Reading School. Based on the results, you will still need to provide your child’s school preferences to your local authority on the Common Application Form (CAF).
• Online registration for the 2022 exam opened on Sunday 1st May 2022 and will close at midnight on Thursday 30th June 2022.

It is extremely challenging to secure entry to Reading School, with over 6 boys applying for every place and less than 33.9% of those achieving a qualifying score (95 or above) likely to gain admission.*

The qualifying score of Reading School pupils who sat the entrance exam in 2021 for entry in 2022 was 95 (in both English and Maths). In addition, to qualify, their creative writing had to be marked as ‘Of the standard’.

In the 2021 exam, 444 students achieved Reading School’s qualifying score of 95 or above (a score of 90 for Pupil Premium and Looked After Children). This is compared with 350 in 2020 and 338 in 2019, albeit under the previous (CEM) exam and qualifying scores. There are only 150 places available, including 138 day places and 12 boarding places. In the 2021 exam, the highest standardised scores achieved were 141.0 for English and 136.9 for Maths. Reading School does not publish the lowest qualifying score of a child that was admitted until a year after the exam. As the new test was introduced in 2021, it will not be possible to start comparing the lowest scores until October 2023, when the lowest scores for both 2022 and 2023 entry will be in the public domain. When the lowest qualifying scores are available, they will not include candidates who qualified in categories 1 and 2 of the oversubscription criteria, such as those in care or in receipt of pupil premium.

For pupils in care or previously in care (category 1), or pupils with a permanent address in Reading School’s designated area and in receipt of Pupil Premium or Service Premium (category 2), the qualifying score for September 2022 was 90 or above in English and Maths. In addition, their creative writing had to be marked as ‘Of the standard.’  This means that pupils that achieved the qualifying score of 90 or above were offered a place at Reading School before categories 3 and 4 were applied.

* For September 2022 entry, 911 boys applied to Reading School. That is more than 6 boys applying for each of the 150 spaces available.  442 of the 911 boys that applied achieved the qualifying score of 95.  Therefore, as some pupils may be admitted from categories 1 and 2 with a qualifying score of 90, we can assume that less than 33.9% (i.e. less than 150) of the 442 boys that achieved the qualifying score of 95 will have secured a 2022 place at Reading School.

The results date for the 2022 Reading School 11 Plus exam has not been announced but the school has indicated that the results will be available in the middle of October.

• If you wish your child to be considered for entry to Reading School, you are required to name the school on the Common Application Form (CAF).
• Common Application Forms will open online on Thursday 1st September 2022 and you will have until the end of 31st October 2022 to submit it to your Local Authority.
• School places for September 2023 will be confirmed on 1st March 2023.
• In whichever year you are applying, you can name up to 6 schools on your CAF.
• If you live outside Reading, you must apply through your own Local Authority – even if your child currently attends a Reading primary school.