Leighton Park School

Leighton Park School Girls Leading the Way

RE:     Leighton Park students are ambassadors for girls at pioneering female focussed careers networking event   Date: Monday 25th March 2024   Leighton Park School Girls Leading the Way   49 girls from Leighton Park School were excited to be representatives at a pioneering careers event for women on Thursday 21st March. The unique

Leighton Park School Triumphs at ISA A Capella Event, Securing Fourth Consecutive Victory

Leighton Park School successfully defended their winning title for the fourth consecutive year in the Independent Schools Association (ISA) A Capella Competition 2024 on Wednesday 6th March. The winning performance of ‘Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine,’ composed by Eric Whitacre, captivated the audience with its powerful and passionate rendition. The group won the Senior

Leighton Park Wins Senior School of the Year

RE: Reading school wins Senior School of the Year Award 2023 Date: Tuesday 7th November 2023 Leighton Park wins important national award Leighton Park has won Senior School of the Year in the Independent Schools Association (ISA) Awards 2023. The ISA is the largest independent schools’ body in the UK. This success comes on the

Reading Leads the UK for Sustainability Education

Press Release RE: Reading leads UK in sustainability education Date: Friday 15th September 2023 Reading at the Forefront of Sustainability Education With climate change undeniably one of the defining challenges of our times, it is heartening to see Reading leading the UK in climate change and sustainability education. The University of Reading is up for

Reading Students learn how to make a difference from charity mastermind

Reading Students Learn How to Make a Difference From Charity Mastermind, Julian Page Date:  Monday 25th September 2023   Legendary Changemaker Inspires First Ever Oakleaf Diploma Students Julian Page, Old Leightonian and founder of the Livingstone Tanzania Trust, a charity that believes that education can change poverty for the better, has legendary status at Leighton

Top of the Charts: Grade 9s Up on 2019!

Head of Leighton Park School, Matthew Judd, congratulated his Year 11s on their iGCSE/GCSE successes this morning, pleased that the results have bucked the national trend.   With the media focussing on the fall in top grades, our cohort have amazingly achieved more grade 9s this summer than our pre-pandemic 2019 students. Nationally the 2023 grades

  Leighton Park School’s Sixth Formers were celebrating this morning as the top A Level grades for A*-B reached 57%, 2% above the 2019 pre-Covid levels. Matthew Judd, Head, commented “Set against the context of the national picture where the results are back to pre-pandemic level we are delighted that our grades have continued to

International Baccalaureate Students at Leighton Park Celebrate Success!

The IB Class of 2022 were excited to receive the results of two years hard work today as the International Baccalaureate Organisation shared their Diploma Programme grades worldwide. The international qualification is excellent Sixth Form preparation for future studies, offering a broad base of subjects supplemented by compulsory modules that prepare students for university and

Phenomenal A-Level Results at Leighton Park

Sixth Formers at Leighton Park were delighted to receive their phenomenal results this morning, with 72% A*/A and 93% A*/B. It has been a challenging two years of learning in the pandemic with lockdowns and isolation periods adding another layer of difficulty to courses that are already academically rigorous and making today’s achievements even more

Top performing school in Berkshire celebrates best IB results ever!

Sixth Formers on Leighton Park’s International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme have graduated today with beaming smiles and the highest average point score ever achieved by the School since the two-year course was first offered more than ten years ago. The cohort has celebrated an average score of 35.5 points, well above the required pass mark of

Leighton Park is delighted to announcement of their Diversity and Inclusion Officer

Leighton Park is delighted to announce the appointment of Shaun Dellenty as our Diversity and Inclusion Officer, after a rigorous selection process that involved student panels and interviews with senior staff. Although common in business and government organisations, such a role is rare in independent schools. True to our Quaker heritage, Leighton Park is keen

ISA Award Winners for Outstanding Local Community Involvement!

The Leighton Park community are celebrating an impressive achievement today (Friday 26th February) as the Independent Schools’ Association (ISA) selected the School as the winner of its prestigious Award for Outstanding Local Community Involvement. The moment is captured on video ( https://youtu.be/M3HQRbxAOaM )  for all those wanting to cheer along with our students! At Leighton

Leighton Park STEAM Interactive 2021

With National Science Week on the horizon Leighton Park is gearing up for an exciting week of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths (STEAM) interactive workshops for children in Year 5 at local primary and prep schools across Berkshire. Many people are familiar with the concept of STEM and the importance of the sciences in

Leighton Park students celebrate GCSE results

Leighton Park’s Year 11s were back at the school for the first time in five months this morning to celebrate their exam successes with their families, friends and teachers. Having witnessed the difficulties surrounding the A-level and International Baccalaureate results, our GCSE students were pragmatic in their acceptance of the delayed grades from Cambridge Assessment

Face Shields Team Support ScrubHub

The Leighton Park face shields initiative has taken the next step in providing personal protective equipment (PPE) for the NHS. Teaming up with the ScrubHub, a network of volunteer community groups who love to sew, Leighton Park has provided fabric for 250 sets of scrubs. Director of Outreach and Partnerships at Leighton Park, Natasha Coccia,

Leighton Park teacher starts face shields factory

Leighton Park School’s Head of Design & Technology has started an amazing initiative to help the NHS frontline tackle Covid-19. Mark Smith launched the project last Thursday (2nd April), with the idea of creating Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to support NHS workers facing coronavirus in their workplaces. Referring to the shortage of medical PPE, Mark said:

Leighton Park named top performing school in region

Leighton Park has been recognised as the best performing school in Berkshire for academic progress. The school has also been ranked the 27th best in England for the achievements of its 2019 leavers, adding 0.6 of a grade onto its previous ranking. The School’s value-add contribution has secured a ranking of 8th in England when looking at

Top grades a triumph at Leighton Park School

The highest proportion of top level GCSE grades for 14 years has been achieved by Leighton Park’s Year 11 students. Celebrating 55% of results at grades 7-9 equivalent, an impressive year-on-year increase of 4% on the highest scoring results, the 84-strong cohort racked up 35% at grades 8-9 equivalent with 15% at grade 9. Matthew

Leighton Park School Appoints New Head

Leighton Park School is delighted to announce the appointment of Matthew Judd as Head from 1st September 2018. Matthew comes to the school with a very impressive track record of success from Haberdashers’ Aske’s School, where he is Second Master (equivalent to Deputy Head) and Executive Head of the preparatory school. He has been instrumental

Green Meets Grey

Under the slogan of ‘Dream big, start small, act now’ (Robin Sharma) 60 enthusiastic Sixth Formers and a plethora of engaging industry experts were ‘full STEAM ahead’ as they generated an audible buzz at the CISCO Offices on Green Park on the 9th and 10th November. 15 excited Leighton Park students teamed up with pupils

Leighton Park School Wins Exciting Technology Prize

Hewlett Packard (HP), Intel and IT solutions specialists XMA have awarded Leighton Park School the exciting Ripple Effect Prize. The prize recognises schools at the forefront of using technology to support student learning. The school will be presented with an HP STEM & Creative Learning Studio, worth over £20,000. As well as specialist laptops, the

Celebrating STEM Success at Leighton Park!

Eager GCSE students were keen to collect their results at 8am this morning as the 84-strong cohort awaited the outcome of two years dedicated study. “I didn’t sleep at all; not at all!” laughed Hannah Pither, looking forward to celebrating her excellent results by getting back into bed! “She didn’t believe these were her results!”

Leighton Park’s IB Students Celebrate

Leighton Park’s IB students were excited to receive their International Baccalaureate Diploma (IBDP) results yesterday. Their top flight marks will see them taking full advantage of this internationally recognised qualification, accepting their places at UK, European and international universities. Kara Ellis whose 42 points have earned her a place at UCL to read Biochemistry, was

School Video Award Success!

On Thursday 25th May, Eye Film won Best Promotional Programme at The Royal Television Society East Awards 2017 for their school film they made with Leighton Park School, located in Shinfield Road, Reading. Charlie Gauvain, Managing Director at Eye Film, in Norwich, Norfolk, commented, “Leighton Park School has a unique quality that is hard to put

IB Results 2016 from Leighton Park School

Leighton Park’s IB Students Celebrate Leighton Park’s IB students were excited to receive their International Baccalaureate Diploma (IBDP) results yesterday. Their top flight marks will see them taking full advantage of this internationally recognised qualification, accepting their places at UK, European and international universities. Robert Beckett, who lives in Reading, was delighted to receive his

The Demon Barber of Fleet Street comes to Leighton Park School

Last year, students of Leighton Park School reached new heights in their performance of Phantom Of The Opera but this year’s production of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, in itself a difficult story to tell with little to recommend it in terms of morality and human decency, saw a very different but equally brilliant performance. Rosemary Scales,

Leighton Park Students Achieve Top Grades!

Anxious students arrived early at Leighton Park School this morning, eager to learn what the future holds beyond their A Level examinations. Nervous chatter was replaced by laughter, hugs and tears of relief as students were delighted to discover the reward for all their hard work was a fantastic set of results. 62% of candidates

Leighton Park’s IB Students Go Global!

Leighton Park’s IB students received their International Baccalaureate Diploma (IBDP) results today with their sights set on a global future. Hugh Macdonald, whose musical talents have been regularly showcased at school events and on the Reading music scene, was delighted that his 37 points will be taking him to Boston, Massachusetts. Having secured a place

Leighton Park celebrates 125 years with a specially commissioned Peace Pole

This year has been one of celebration for Leighton Park School with birthday parties, special performances and events all to commemorate its 125 anniversary. In planning the celebrations Nigel Williams, Head, always had in mind the creation of a more permanent reminder of the school’s birthday. “I wanted Leighton Park to have a lasting reminder

Leighton Park students inspired by visit from Ugandan Orphan

The planning stages for Leighton Park’s next Sixth Form Africa Trip will be taking place in the next few months, and students in Year 11 and Lower Sixth will soon be given the opportunity to decide which country they wish to visit. A key highlight for students from Leighton Park’s Sixth Form is the biennial

Leighton Park Gala screening tickets on sale

Tickets are still available for a gala fundraising screening on Tuesday (March 3) of a powerful documentary looking at the barbaric treatment of people with albinism in Tanzania. The award-winning film, In the Shadow of The Sun, will be shown at Leighton Park School. Former pupil Jon Beale, 26, worked as a Swahili translator when

Leighton Park Releases Books into the Wild!

Leighton Park School is celebrating its 125th anniversary with a special event to coincide with next week’s World Book Day (5th March); a bookcrossing involving 125 books, one from each of the past 125 years. The initiative by the independent school in Reading, Berkshire, will see books being left at bus stops, in leisure centres,

Leighton Park School Puts On A Hauntingly Spectacular Performance

Leighton Park School has taken on the challenge of staging the most commercially successful stage show of all time and produced their most spectacular production ever.   Based on the classic novel “Le Fantôme de l’Opera’ by Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a masked figure who lurks beneath the

Leighton Park School Celebrates 125th Anniversary

Celebrating 125 Years: Happy Birthday Leighton Park School! Leighton Park School enjoyed a fabulous day of celebration on Thursday 22nd January commemorating the 125th anniversary of our founding. The day started in style with a party-themed birthday breakfast in Oakview surrounded by balloons and bunting to accompany the bangers and bacon rolls. Collect (similar to

Leighton Park School’s Remembrance Day and WW1

On Tuesday 11th November a quiet stillness fell over Leighton Park School at 11am marking the silence for Remembrance Day. Sixth Formers, William Otty and Owen Turner, played the haunting notes of ‘The Last Post’ standing  outside Old School in the heart of the grounds and the sound echoed poignantly across the lawn and playing

Leighton Park School’s GCSE Results

Fantastic GCSE Results for Leighton Park School! Delighted students are celebrating a fantastic set of GCSE results at Leighton Park School today. A* to A grades are up on last year by an impressive 8% to 44% of the overall total. “The increase provides a fantastic launch pad for Sixth Form study in International Baccalaureate

Leighton Park Students Delighted by A Level Results!

Leighton Park School’s Sixth Formers were delighted to receive their A Level results this morning. 32% of candidates received A*/A grades, 6% higher than the national average, and with an average of 281 points per pupil there were plenty of happy smiles from students looking forward to joining their chosen universities in the Autumn. The

Leighton Park Students Raise £3K For Charity

Leighton Park Students Secure £3K For Local Charity A five-strong student team from Leighton Park School on Shinfield Road, have secured £3,000 for a local charity, Decibels, in a fiercely contested competition. The three boys and two girls in year 10 at the independent school, were overjoyed to win the cash prize in support of

Leighton Park Celebrates IB Success!

Leighton Park School’s Sixth Formers were again proud of their achievements as they received their International Baccalaureate Diploma (IBDP) results. Leighton Park students were delighted to achieve an average of 34 points – far exceeding the pass mark of 24 points out of a maximum 45, This year’s results continue to build on the excellent

Leighton Park Supports Oxfam with a Fashion Extravaganza “Rags to Runway – Restyled”

All the glamour of the catwalk came to Leighton Park, as for the second year running, the school was delighted to host the “Rags to Runway restyled” fashion show, which this year was in aid of the Oxfam Philippines Project. Students, staff and parents of the school worked collaboratively with the Oxfam shop in Caversham,

Leighton Park School Holds a Book Festival Bonanza

Last week, Leighton Park School did not just celebrate Word Book Day but instead arranged a Book Festival. Organised by Librarian, Chris Routh, the week was jam-packed with visiting authors including Nicola Morgan,[1] talking to Sixth Formers about managing stress, and Kevin Crossley-Holland talking to Years 7 & 8 about Anglo Saxons and Norse mythology. World

Leighton Park puts on Double Bill with “The History Boys” and “Daisy Pulls It Off”

Putting on one play can be a challenge for any school, but producing two, might prove too much for most Drama Departments. Leighton Park’s Head of Drama, Geraint Thomas, explained, “I have always wanted to put on The History Boys, because of the reference to Leighton Park as one of the schools within the play

Leighton Park Visited by Lord Owen to Deliver Michael Foot Memorial Address

Leighton Park School was, on Friday 29th November, delighted to welcome Lord David Owen to deliver a lecture on Britain’s place in Europe. This event commemorated the life of Michael Foot, former Labour Leader and Old Leightonian, and is the second such event held at Leighton Park following a previous address by Lord Kinnock. A

Leighton Park School wins ‘European Language Label’ Award

At a ceremony held on 26th September at the EU Commission’s Offices in London, Leighton Park School, was selected as a winner of the European Language Label Award by CfBT Education Trust. The European Language Label (ELL), funded by the European Commission through the Department of Education and managed by CfBT on behalf of Ecorys,

Leighton Park GCSE Results Impress Once More

GCSE students at Leighton Park School received an impressive set of results this year with 92.7% of students achieving 5 or more GCSE passes at A*-C and 36.28% of grades at A*-A. Several students received all A*/A grades, including Harry Day who achieved 8A*s and 3 As. Harry now plans to study Maths, Further Maths,

Leighton Park Sixth Form Students Celebrate A Level Success

Students of Leighton Park School are celebrating another year of fantastic A Level results.  Over 65% of grades were A*-B, with over 36% A*-A. Nigel Williams, Head at Leighton Park, said, “I wish to congratulate all our students on their results. I am very pleased that the overall pass rate exceeded 99% again this year

Music for a Summers Evening

On the last Saturday of every academic year at Leighton Park School, everyone from across the school community gathers in the open air of the beautiful park for ‘Music for a Summer’s Evening’. It provides an opportunity for the musicians from the department to perform to their family and friends in a relaxed atmosphere, whilst

Rags to Runway Fashion Show – ‘The Fashion of the Future”

On Thursday night June 20th, a collaboration between the “Oxfam Reworked” Project based at Oxfam in Caversham and Leighton Park School, resulted in a spectacular ‘Rags to Runway’ Fashion Show. An audience of more than 160 friends, parents, students and the local community watched as students modelled items created by Oxfam volunteers and Leighton Park

Leighton Park School has an exciting visitor!

On Thursday 6th December, Claire Moore, star of the original cast of Miss Saigon, will be visiting students  of Leighton Park School as they rehearse for their own production of Miss Saigon, School Edition. Claire Moore, who played Ellen in the original West End production, will be passing on her expertise to the whole cast as well

Breaking down barriers through dance

On Tuesday 2nd October 2012 Leighton Park pupils were visited by special guest, Alan Martin who led an inclusive contemporary dance workshop based around the theme of friendship. Pupils from Holme Grange School also took part in this fun and unique experience. Alan, who uses a communication aid and a wheelchair, frequently delivers his dance

Leighton Park Sixth Form Students Celebrate Exam Success

A fantastic 73.7% of grades were A* to B grades, demonstrating the excellent academic standards at the school, especially as a number of our students are not included in these results due to their participation in the International Baccalaureate. Alex Abraham, a day boarder from Reading, received three A* grades and plans to study Mathematics

Leighton Park School – International Baccalaureate Diploma goes from strength to strength

For the second year running, Leighton Park School IB students have exceeded expectations, producing an excellent set of diploma results. All the students gained the full diploma, as a group achieving an average point score of 36, one point higher than last year’s smaller IB cohort and well above the international average of 29. Notably,

Leighton Park School athletes run in the Gold Challenge event at the Olympic Stadium.

Funto Fabunmi-Alade and George Williams, both in their final year at Leighton Park School, could have been forgiven for wondering if there was an April Fool’s joke in the offing, when they were asked if they would like to represent the ABC Trust, a charity dedicated to helping the most vulnerable children and young people

Leighton Park School Perform “Our Country’s Good”

The audiences of the Leighton Park Senior School production of “Our Country’s Good” were in total awe of the performances by the young cast who transported them back in time to the penal colony at New Sydney Cove, New South Wales in 1789. The play by Timberlake Wertenbaker is a modern classic and tells the

Lord Kinnock celebrates the life of Michael Foot, former Labour Leader and Leighton Park School student

Leighton Park School’s Head Boy, Theo Masters-Waage and Head Girl, Alex Cheng, were delighted to welcome Lord Neil Kinnock to the school, to help commemorate the life and contribution to British Politics of Michael Foot, the former Labour Leader, and student of Leighton Park School from 1927-1931. Lord Kinnock, who succeeded Michael Foot as Labour

Leighton Park School Student wins the Senior Girls 200 metres at the English Schools Athletics Championships

Just after midday on the 2nd July Jakki Marr, Head of Girls PE at Leighton Park, was delighted to receive a simple text from Leighton Park student Funto Fabunmi-Alade, “I won”. Not only had Funto won the Senior Girls 200m English Athletics Championship race, but she had done so in a personal best time of

Leighton Park School performs “Evita” for senior school production

The week before Half Term saw the staging of this year's senior production "Evita" at Leighton Park School. The performances achieved way beyond the expectations of the two directors. Standing ovations were experienced on each night and the whole cast, crew and orchestra responded magnificently to the challenge of this complex and emotional work. The

Leighton Park School is ‘excellent’ according to the ISI

In December Leighton Park School in Reading underwent their ISI Inspection. The resulting report highlighted the many successes in the school’s academic achievements along with its strong pastoral care, where pupils gain excellent personal development which is seen to be a real strength of the school. The report demonstrates how pupils at Leighton Park follow

Former Leighton Park pupil scoops Best Female Solo Artist at Brits

Laura Marling, who studied GCSEs and A-levels at the Reading Quaker School Leighton Park, has scooped herself the title of best Female Solo Artist at the Brit Awards. During her time at the School, Laura gained herself a music scholarship when she was in Year 8. By the time Laura had reached Year 10, her

24 pupils from Leighton Park School get poetry published

During the Autumn term pupils from Years 7-9 from Leighton Park School entered the Young Writers competition in order to gain a place in the publication "Poetry Matters – Poems from the South". Twenty Four of the poems entered by Leighton Park pupils have been selected from the nationwide entries to be published in the

Leighton Park School hosts The Politics Show

Leighton Park School in Reading welcomed the BBC One's The Politics Show to its grounds on 3 December whilst the school was holding a seminar in memory of Michael Foot, MP, who had attended the school between 1927 and 1931. Leighton Park was extremely fortunate to have four MPs attending: Sir George Young, Leader of

Leighton Park introduce Global Citizens Day

On 4th November Year 9 pupils at Leighton Park School in Reading experienced their first ever Global Citizens Day. During the day the pupils had the opportunity to experience aspects of different cultures with the aim of making them more aware of the wonderful diversity we have on our planet. John Dunston, Head, said ‘Leighton

Leighton Park School teacher becomes Elvis ‘Images of the King’ World Champion

Ben Portsmouth, who teaches electric and acoustic guitar at Leighton Park School has just been crowed World Champion at the ‘Images of the King’ contest in Memphis, Tennessee against 27 other finalists. Ben went through to the final in Memphis after being announced as a winner in a Europe-wide search for the Best Elvis performer

Dreamcatchers Publishing launched at Leighton Park School

Pupils and staff at Leighton Park School have been busy preparing for the launch of their first book with their very own publishing house. Pupils from the School’s Creative Writing Group wanted to let the wider community read some of their work and benefit from the insights of a Quaker school. Ken Sullivan, Head of