Open all
Our View
Once a hidden gem, Leighton Park’s brilliant offering is shining brighter with every year that passes. A swanky sixth-form study centre has just opened and is the school’s ‘jewel in the crown’, says new head Luke Walters, who’s arrived determined to double-down on ‘human connection in an AI-saturated age’. Indeed, the school’s long-standing focus on values, character and community alongside academic achievement now feels more relevant than ever, and its Quaker roots act as a valuable anchor for pupils navigating the brave new digital world. They tell us they love their school and it’s clear to see they thrive on the creative and analytical approach to their studies, alongside the emphasis on personal development that encourages them to become ethical changemakers. ‘You’d be hard pushed to identify an Old Leightonian,’ says Mr Walters, beyond the fact that they tend to be ‘very, very socially conscious’.
Where?
Leighton Park is set in 65 acres of beautiful parkland, in the Shinfield area of Reading right next to the university. Once inside the secure gates, the school has a country-campus vibe with a mixture of listed and modern buildings, and a wonderful sense of space and calm. As well as the brand-new sixth form study centre, the music and media centre and the D&T suite are only a couple of years old, and the next big building project to break ground in three or four years’ time will be a sport and wellbeing centre.
Reading is super well-connected – it’s just 30 minutes into London Paddington by train, and about the same to Heathrow airport, and there’s also an excellent local road network.
Head
Luke Walters arrived in September 2025 from Christ's Hospital School, where he had been deputy head since 2019. He was previously part of the senior team at Ardingly College, and prior to that worked at Marlborough College Malaysia and Reading Blue Coat. The school’s Quaker values were a draw, he says, and he’s a passionate advocate of small group work, high-quality tutoring and relationship-led teaching, all of which sit at the core of the school. Sporty and relatable, he used to play high-level rugby in Australia and New Zealand and is a great concertgoer and joiner-inner. He’ll run the occasional duty in a boarding house, is always out and about around the school, and already has a ‘cool’ reputation among pupils.
Admissions
Leighton Park describes itself as ‘selective but not elite’. The main entry points are Years 7, 9 and 12, and prospective pupils sit a test in maths and English and have an interview.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, with parents now valuing more than purely academic success, entry is becoming more competitive. The school now has capacity for 600 – a number it’s only three shy of – and interest in boarding is high, with plenty of international pupils who love the IB offering, which Leighton Park is alone in offering among Reading schools.
Academics and destinations
The curriculum here is rigorous and innovative, with lessons designed to help shape pupils into changemakers and ensure they feel confident tackling complex problems. STEAM subjects sit front and centre; engineering is taught in Years 7 to 9 and offered as a GCSE option, and there is an additional emphasis on subjects including D&T and computer science. A new STEAM innovation hub next to D&T has about 20 soldering stations complete with welding kits for circuit-board work and desks have hidden Solidworks/CAD-ready terminals that link through to the workshop next door so pupils’ designs go straight from screen to 3D printer, CAD router or laser cutter.
From Year 7, pupils get stuck into timetabled lessons called Approaches to Learning, which cover areas including metacognition, AI, referencing, collaboration, presentation skills and coaching. There’s also a full carousel of options including food and nutrition, D&T, music and music tech, film and TV production, dance and drama, giving pupils plenty of opportunity to discover their passions before making their GCSE choices. Global perspectives is up for grabs as a subject at GCSE, reflecting Leighton Park’s emphasis on intercultural understanding, and the school’s national award-winning personal development programme, Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) and borrowed from the International Baccalaureate philosophy, runs in Years 8, 10 and 12.
The sixth-form offering is exceptionally broad. There is a long list of A-level subjects, including music tech, Mandarin, computer science and business alongside the option of following the IB programme, and pupils can also sign up for a CTEC in sport and physical activity and a BTEC Level 3 in digital film and media production. The sixth formers’ new study centre and library in the historic Grove House (designed by the Natural History Museum architect Alfred Waterhouse) is slick and modern without losing its period charm – a ‘fairly neat metaphor’ for the whole school, as Mr Walters points out. The library is double-height, there’s a lecture theatre and a floor dedicated to quiet study. There’s also a more relaxed space that has a kitchen (complete with espresso machine), and outside space includes a garden and roof terrace.
Results are strong – the school is the top performing sixth form in Berkshire for academic progress and 14th among all boarding schools in England – leavers’ destinations are as diverse as the pupils themselves. Many choose engineering, biomedical sciences, business management or politics, and a significant number go on to prestigious conservatoires, reflecting the outstanding musical ability of many of the pupils.
Co-curricular
Creative energy ripples through the school, and music and drama are nothing short of fabulous. The magnificent new music and media centre – complete with a 500-seat theatre and a media production suite – hosts concerts every week, and 60 per cent of pupils play an instrument, all the way up to the sixth form. They’re an eclectic bunch, with classical ensembles sitting next to rock concerts and jazz performances. The recording studio is always busy – pupils can just turn up without pre-booking – and a biennial music tour sees pupils going to Italy and Slovenia; this year’s destination is Tuscany.
Dance and drama are big at the school, and not just for natural performers. The Hunter Studio is a great working drama and dance space, and pupils are regularly taken to shows, as well as staging their own performances. Recent whole-school productions have included West Side Story and Into the Woods, and during our visit, the junior production of Peter Pan was in rehearsal. Learning is supported by innovative partnerships: Leighton Park is a flagship Yamaha music education partner (the only one in Europe), which means fantastic equipment at pupils’ fingertips and professional musicians visiting regularly to work with pupils.
The art department houses a string of studio spaces dedicated to different areas including etching and lithography, and pupils are heartily encouraged to experiment and develop their own artistic style. Fine art is a popular A-level subject, with options including textiles and photography, and sixth formers given their own studio space to work in.
There is lots of investment going into sport, including the new LED-lit Astroturf, with the full sport and wellness centre planned for 2029 described as ‘the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle’. Leighton Park believes in sport and wellness for all, and there are more than 30 options, from rugby to yoga, with the aim that everyone will find something that they enjoy. The main sports are football, hockey and netball, and there is a relationship with Chelsea FC and, hot off the press, a new partnership with Brentford FC CST from September 2026. There is also an Advanced Performer Programme with weekly strength and conditioning, nutritional support and inspiring guest speakers for sports scholars and elite athletes.
All Year 9 pupils take part in the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award, and popular extracurricular clubs include Warhammer, cookery, model gliders, chess, fixing bikes and building drones – and the school is always open to new ideas.
Boarding
Over 40 different nationalities make up many of the boarders, but there’s plenty of UK and local boarders too (full, weekly and flexi are all on offer), especially in the sixth form. Day pupils can also stay until 9pm and spend the evening at a boarding house (there are three – one for Years 7 to 9, and a girls’ and a boys’ house each for the upper school). Demand is high, which isn’t surprising given the homeliness of the houses and the fun, activity-packed weekends that see boarders going on trips to Thorpe Park, Oxford, West End shows, go-karting, climbing parks and mini golf. Each house has five resident staff and there’s a strong family structure with older pupils mentoring younger ones.
School community
A new senior assistant head: community and wellness, Sally Saunders, has been appointed to oversee pastoral care. The youngest pupils have thrice-daily contact with tutors and there’s a peer mentoring scheme that trains up sixth formers to support younger pupils. Deputy head Eddie Falshaw speaks passionately about the school’s seven core values, based on its Quaker origins: simplicity, truth, respect, integrity, peace, equality and sustainability. He’s big on the importance of student voice too; monthly meetings serve as an open suggestion box for pupils to express improvements or changes they would like to see. Unusually, pupils call teachers by their first names here. It’s all part of the culture of mutual respect, with Dr Falshaw telling us ‘it provides a different dynamic – conversation is about dialogue rather than hierarchical structure, which creates a powerful relationship between staff and pupils’.
As one would expect at a Quaker school, kindness is nurtured and differences are embraced. One pupil told us that ‘the school feels warm, like a hug’, and there is little to no bullying due to the culture of mutual respect. A dedicated pastoral area includes a sensory room; the wellbeing dog can be found there too and the health centre has a cosy corner. Wellbeing clubs include yoga and bullet journal – or BuJo – club.
Students are proud to be a member of one of the school’s four houses, with a range of community activities laid on to bring everyone together and charity initiatives to support the wider community. There is an opportunity for all students to shine in a dizzying array of competitive events, from performing arts to sports and academics.
The school’s Changemaker Programme encourages social action and service, with a focus on sustainability. For example, there is a drive to reduce waste in the school kitchen, and as pupils enter the dining hall a screen displays the weekly numbers because, according to Mr Falshaw, ‘pupils need to see the reality for change to happen’.
The Oakleaf Diploma, much loved by sixth-formers, is the school's bespoke ‘adulting’ programme designed to ensure pupils leave Leighton Park with skills for life. There are lessons in everything from first aid, cooking and ironing to planning an interrailing trip and managing student finances, recognising that soft skills are just as important to success as exam results.
The Quaker ethos is perhaps most strongly evident in the periods of silence and reflection built into the school day. There is 10 minutes of silence at the end of each assembly and, as at lunch during our visit, a bell is rung at any point as a call to pause activities and silently reflect. It is an astonishing and moving sight to see a full and buzzing dining hall stop in its tracks, if only for a few moments. We’re assured by pupils that you quickly get used to it, and that they enjoy taking a moment of peace during a busy day.
And finally....
Big on values and instilling social conscience in its pupils, Leighton Park also has its finger on the pulse of the changing world its young charges will be operating in. There are excellent STEAM facilities that pique pupils’ natural curiosity (on our visit they were developing a prototype cheese ball snack dispenser for use while playing video games) and a balanced approach to digital innovation, all the while never losing sight of the importance of human connection.