Read Academy Education Review 2026: Small all through independent with an Islamic ethos and solid GCSE outcomes

A compact, all through independent school in Ilford, Read Academy Education serves children from age 3 through to Year 11, with a published capacity of 300 and around 290 pupils on roll in the latest Ofsted listing.

Established in 2013, the school positions itself as academically ambitious while also foregrounding Islamic values in daily life and curriculum content. Official listings describe its religious character as “None”, yet the website is explicit about its Islamic ethos and the integration of Arabic and Qur’aan alongside the National Curriculum.

For families who want a smaller setting with an ethos-led approach, the broad question is whether the school’s size and structure suit your child’s temperament. The school spans early years through GCSE, so it can offer continuity, but it also means you will want to understand how specialist teaching, facilities, and enrichment are delivered within a relatively small footprint.

Read Academy frames its culture around care, opportunity, respect, and excellence, and it places a strong emphasis on character development and leadership. That focus is visible in how the school describes student leadership as part of school life, and in the way personal development is treated as a planned thread rather than a bolt-on.

Leadership is closely tied to governance. The headteacher, Mr Gulam Abbas Hussain, is also described within official inspection material as the proprietor and chair, which typically means decisions can be implemented quickly, but it also places a premium on clear accountability and transparent communication with parents. Staffing information published by the school identifies a deputy headteacher, designated safeguarding leads, and a SENCo, which is useful for parents who want clarity on who holds which responsibilities.

Although official records list the school’s religious character as none, the ethos is clearly Islamic in the school’s own description, and that will shape daily routines, assemblies, and the broader cultural tone. Families considering the school should ensure the fit is genuine and comfortable, both for the child and for the parent community they will join.

Published performance information for earlier phases is limited in publicly available datasets, so the clearest quantitative lens here is GCSE. Within FindMySchool’s GCSE outcomes ranking, Read Academy Education is ranked 1031st in England and 11th locally in Redbridge, placing it above England average overall and comfortably within the top 25% of schools in England for this measure. (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data.)

On Attainment 8, the school’s score is 66.3. That is a strong headline figure for a school of this size and suggests good performance across a student’s best eight GCSE slots, with appropriate weight given to English and mathematics. The school’s average EBacc APS score is 5.04, which indicates mid to high grades across the EBacc entry set where applicable.

What this means in practice is that the school’s outcomes sit in a credible, above-average bracket, rather than being dependent on a single standout cohort. For parents, the important next step is to ask how consistently those outcomes are achieved across year groups, and how the school supports students who are not natural high attainers, particularly given the all through structure and the transition into secondary phase expectations.

Reading is treated as a priority from the early stages, with phonics introduced from the start of Reception and structured intervention for pupils who fall behind. That early emphasis matters in an all through setting because it tends to raise the floor for later subject access, particularly in humanities and science where comprehension and extended writing are decisive.

Across secondary, the curriculum is described in inspection material as well sequenced, with English and mathematics given clear attention, and relationships education taught in an age-appropriate manner, with sex education planned within that wider structure. The school also sets out a careers education approach aligned to the Gatsby Benchmarks, and it identifies a named careers lead, which helps indicate that careers is organised rather than informal.

The school’s website indicates that some curriculum pages are being updated, so parents should expect to rely more heavily on conversations during a tour, policy documents, and departmental discussions to understand subject breadth and resourcing. A practical question to ask is how specialist teaching is deployed across the upper years, for example separate science teaching, modern languages, and options blocks at GCSE.

As the school’s age range ends at 16, the key transition point is Year 11. The school’s published information emphasises independent careers guidance, exposure to education and training routes, and workplace learning. In the most recent inspection material, Year 10 work experience is described as part of the programme, which is a helpful concrete marker for families who want employability and real world exposure alongside exam preparation.

Because the school does not have a sixth form, families should plan early for post 16 options, whether that is school sixth form elsewhere, a sixth form college, or a technical route. The right question to ask is how the school supports applications and references for external sixth forms and colleges, and how it prepares students for the different teaching style and scale those settings can bring.

In an all through setting, continuity can sometimes make the Year 11 transition feel more abrupt, simply because it is a hard end point rather than a choice to stay on. A good school will normalise that reality from Year 9 onwards, so students understand that post 16 planning is part of the expected journey.

Admissions are handled directly by the school rather than via local authority coordination. The published process is staged and practical. For early years, it begins with an enquiry and tour, followed by an admissions form and a short “stay and play” session, then an enrolment offer and transition support.

For primary and secondary entry points, the process similarly starts with enquiry and tour, then an admissions form and a taster day. The taster day is described as including experience of a typical day, age aligned entry assessments in core subjects, a written reference from the student’s current school, and an interview with senior staff. In an independent setting, this is a fairly clear signal that the school wants to confirm both academic readiness and behavioural fit.

Places are secured once administrative and first payment requirements are met, so families should treat the process as time sensitive once an offer is made, particularly if applying mid year when year groups can fill unevenly.

For parents trying to shortlist realistically, FindMySchool’s Saved Schools feature can help you track where you are in each admissions process, and ensure you do not miss stages such as references, interviews, or acceptance steps.

Fees & Financial Aid

As an independent school, Read Academy Education publishes annual fees rather than the state funded model. Current published fees are £5,625 per year for Reception to Year 6, and £5,868 per year for Year 7 to Year 11, with payment shown as three instalments across the year. The school also lists an admissions fee of £200 and a holding deposit of £500.

Nursery arrangements include funded hour options for eligible families, and additional hours are priced separately. Nursery fee details change most often, so parents should rely on the school’s published early years information when budgeting.

The website does not clearly publish a bursary or scholarship policy on the pages reviewed, so families who need means tested support should ask directly whether financial assistance is available, what evidence is required, and how awards interact with payment schedules.

Safeguarding structures are clearly signposted, including named designated safeguarding leads. The latest Ofsted inspection (July 2023) judged the school Good. The same report confirms that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Behaviour expectations are described as high and consistently applied, with a culture that emphasises pupils taking responsibility for their conduct. For parents, the key practical question is how the school balances warmth and boundaries, particularly across a wide age range, and how it responds to low level disruption before it escalates.

Attendance guidance on the school website includes clear start times and a firm stance on punctuality. That kind of clarity can work well for families who value routines and predictability, although it is still worth asking how the school supports pupils whose lateness is linked to anxiety, special educational needs, or complex family logistics.

The school promotes enrichment through educational visits, themed days, visitors, and structured student leadership opportunities. While the enrichment page is high level rather than a detailed club list, there are concrete examples elsewhere in official documentation and school communications that help parents picture what participation looks like.

Older inspection material refers to clubs such as computing, henna, and arts and crafts, alongside activities like swimming and horse riding, which give a sense of the school’s willingness to broaden experiences beyond the classroom. More recent school updates reference events and visits such as a British Library storytelling workshop for Year 2, and the use of virtual formats for special guests via “Read Meta School”.

For secondary age students, careers education is a prominent strand, with an approach mapped to the Gatsby Benchmarks and workplace exposure through work experience. For families, that matters because a school without a sixth form needs a clear post 16 pathway, and careers education can be the mechanism that keeps choices open and practical.

The school publishes start times of 8:00am for primary and secondary, and 8:15am for early years. End of day times and wraparound care arrangements are not clearly published on the pages reviewed, so parents should check directly if they need breakfast or after school provision.

Lunch provision is described as hot meals with a per meal cost, booked termly, and the school states its catering facilities hold a 5 star food hygiene rating. The uniform information includes a reuse and recycle shop, which is a practical touch for cost control and sustainability, especially helpful in an independent setting where uniform expectations can be strict.

For transport, Ilford rail station on the Elizabeth line is the most obvious nearby hub, with local buses connecting into Ilford town centre and the surrounding Redbridge area. Parents who commute should ask about drop off management, parking constraints, and whether staggered start arrangements apply for early years.

• Ethos fit matters. Official listings describe the school’s religious character as none, yet the school presents itself as strongly grounded in Islamic values and includes Arabic and Qur’aan alongside the National Curriculum. Make sure that alignment is genuine for your family, because it will shape daily life.

• No sixth form. The school ends at 16, so every student transitions after Year 11. Ask early how post 16 guidance is delivered, how references are handled, and which destinations are typical.

• Limited published detail on some practicalities. Start times are published, but wraparound care and end of day times are not clearly set out on the pages reviewed. Families with tight childcare logistics should confirm details before committing.

• Fees are low by independent standards, extras still exist. Fees are published clearly, and the uniform reuse and recycle shop is helpful, but parents should still budget for lunch, uniform, and trip costs.

Read Academy Education offers an all through independent education with a clearly articulated Islamic ethos and GCSE outcomes that sit above England average overall, placing it within the top quarter of schools in England on the FindMySchool GCSE measure. It is best suited to families who want continuity from early years through Year 11, value structured expectations around behaviour and character, and are comfortable with a faith shaped culture even though official listings do not designate a religious character. The main decision point is whether the school’s size, facilities, and post 16 transition planning match your child’s needs and your family’s longer term pathway.