King’s Academy Prospect Review 2026: A large Reading secondary with a strong improvement story and an unusually broad vocational offer

A big, busy 11 to 18 academy serving Tilehurst and wider Reading, King’s Academy Prospect is defined by scale and range. With capacity for 1,500 students, it has the kind of timetable breadth that smaller secondaries often struggle to match, including clear vocational pathways alongside GCSE and A-level routes. The facilities profile is a headline feature, with extensive outdoor sports space including a 400m track (seasonal), an all weather pitch, and indoor provision that extends beyond a standard sports hall into a fitness studio with cardio machines, free and fixed weights, boxing equipment and a dedicated yoga space.

Leadership is structured with an Executive Headteacher, and a Head of School overseeing day to day operations. David Littlemore has been the permanent headteacher since January 2020, and the school sits within King’s Group Academies, having joined the trust in October 2020.

The school positions itself as a community shaped by shared values, with Honesty, Faith and Courage presented as a simple, repeatable anchor for expectations. That values language is reinforced by a house model, with four houses (North, East, South and West) used to structure identity, leadership opportunities and belonging in a large setting.

The current leadership model is also worth understanding. David Littlemore is the Executive Headteacher, while Mary Morris is Head of School, and also the Designated Safeguarding Lead. This split can work well in bigger secondaries, particularly when operational discipline and safeguarding visibility are priorities, because it allows the day to day experience to be managed closely without losing strategic direction.

Historically, this is a school shaped by merger and evolution. Prospect School was formed in 1985 through the combination of earlier local schools, and later became an academy, before taking the King’s Academy Prospect name. That layered history matters mainly because it explains the sense of a large site and a community that includes long standing local alumni alongside newer trust era identity.

On the available GCSE performance measures, the data points to outcomes that are below England averages overall, with some areas that families will want to interrogate during open events and conversations with leaders.

Attainment 8 is 38.2, compared with an England average of 45.9. Progress 8 is -0.39, indicating that, on average, students made less progress than similar students nationally from the same starting points. EBacc average point score is 3.49 versus an England average of 4.08, and 11.8% achieved grades 5 or above in the EBacc measure reported here. These figures suggest that core academic outcomes remain a work in progress, even while broader aspects of school culture have strengthened.

In the FindMySchool rankings (based on official data), the school is ranked 2,970th in England for GCSE outcomes and 30th locally within Reading, placing it below England average in the distribution of ranked secondary schools. The combined GCSE and A-level composite rank is 2,187th in England.

At A-level, the reported grade distribution is also below England averages in this measurement period. A* is 0%, A is 5.81%, B is 16.28%, and A* to B is 22.09%. England averages in the same display are 23.6% for A* to A and 47.2% for A* to B. In the FindMySchool A-level ranking, the school is ranked 2,405th in England and 26th locally within Reading, again below England average.

A practical implication for families is that the school’s story is less about headline exam dominance, and more about whether the curriculum model and pastoral structures deliver strong progress for an individual child, including those who benefit from applied, technical and career linked pathways.

The curriculum narrative is intentionally inclusive, with a stated aim to offer both academic and vocational routes rather than pushing every student through the same narrow template. At Key Stage 3, students follow a common curriculum including languages, humanities, arts and computing alongside the core subjects, with structured tutor time that includes a reading programme.

At Key Stage 4, the vocational and technology strand is unusually explicit for a mainstream Reading secondary. Published areas include Hair and Beauty, Construction, Food and Catering, Work Skills, and Product Design, presented as a breadth feature rather than an add on. The educational implication is clear. For students who thrive through practical application, visible end products and industry shaped assessment, these pathways can create momentum and purpose that translates into better attendance, behaviour and eventual destinations.

Ofsted’s latest full inspection notes that the curriculum is ambitious and designed to include all pupils, and highlights prioritisation of reading and writing support, with strong provision for students who speak English as an additional language. It also identifies consistency of SEND adaptations as an area where some students could achieve more if support is matched more precisely.

Where Students Go Next

The school does not publish clear, comparable headline destination statistics on its sixth form destinations page, so the most useful picture is the official destination outcomes available for the 2023 to 2024 cohort.

In that cohort, 35% progressed to university, 6% started apprenticeships, 2% went into further education, and 30% entered employment. The remaining proportion is recorded in other or unreported categories, which is common in destination datasets.

For families evaluating sixth form fit, the detail underneath those categories matters. University progression at 35% suggests that higher education is a meaningful route for a portion of the cohort, but not the dominant one, so students who want a strongly university concentrated sixth form should compare carefully with other local options.

Oxbridge is not a defining feature of the pipeline in the reported period. Three students applied and none received offers or acceptances in the measurement window. The implication is not that aspiration is discouraged, but that the school’s strongest proposition is likely elsewhere, particularly in applied progression and in building confident routes into work, training and a mix of university options.

Year 7 entry is coordinated through Brighter Futures for Children, which runs Reading’s admissions service. For September 2026 entry, the local timetable shows the online admissions portal open from 01 September 2025, with the national closing date on 31 October 2025. National Offer Day is 02 March 2026, and the local deadline for parents to accept is 15 March 2026.

The school’s own admissions policy for 2026 to 2027 sets a published admissions number of 240 for Year 7 entry. Its oversubscription criteria prioritise, in order, children with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, looked after and previously looked after children, children with strong medical or social grounds, then distance related criteria that distinguish between those inside and outside the designated area, and siblings. Where a tie break is needed, places are allocated to those living nearest, measured in a straight line using Ordnance Survey address points.

Demand is material. In the most recent entry route data provided here, there were 330 applications for 127 offers at the relevant point of measure, which is approximately 2.6 applications per place, and the route is described as oversubscribed.

Families who are weighing realistic probability should use the FindMySchool Map Search to check location and local alternatives, then use the Local Hub comparison view to see how outcomes and sixth form profiles differ across Reading schools without relying on anecdotal impressions.

Safeguarding leadership is clearly identified. Mary Morris, Head of School, is the Designated Safeguarding Lead, supported by named Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads across student services, senior leadership, attendance and pastoral roles. This level of published clarity is helpful for parents, because it signals that safeguarding is structured rather than informal.

The house system is also used as a pastoral organising tool, with heads of house named publicly, and a student leadership model that includes house roles and student ambassadors.

The latest Ofsted inspection states that safeguarding arrangements are effective. It also notes that behaviour is generally strong, but identifies occasional discriminatory or derogatory language from a minority, and some antisocial incidents at break times that leaders address. This is a useful reality check. In a large, diverse secondary, the question is often less whether issues ever occur, and more whether systems are consistent and whether staff intervene early and predictably.

The sports programme is unusually well resourced for a mainstream 11 to 18, and the published facilities provide a good sense of what students can access. Outdoors, there is enough space to run seasonal configurations, with athletics features and cricket squares in summer, then full sized rugby and football pitches in winter, plus an all weather pitch and courts. Indoors, provision includes a multi purpose sports hall, a gymnasium, a fitness studio, trampolining use, and table tennis space.

On specific activities, the published extra curricular timetable (Term 2 2024 to 2025) shows sport clubs that run across year groups, including table tennis, boys and girls rugby, girls football, gymnastics, badminton, basketball, netball, fitness sessions and trampolining. That mix matters because it offers both team and individual routes, and includes accessible entry points for students who are not already competing at club level.

There is also evidence of a broader enrichment pattern beyond sport. The school highlights its relationship with Ufton Court Educational Trust, including day and residential visits and weekend revision trips in Year 11, which combines outdoor education with targeted support for older students approaching exams.

A key caveat, however, is that Ofsted notes participation rates in extra curricular activities are relatively low, even though the offer is described as good quality. The implication for parents is straightforward. A motivated student may access a lot here, but a less confident student may need a nudge and structured encouragement to take part consistently.

The school day is clearly structured. Gates open at 8.10 with free breakfast available in the main canteen, tutor line up is at 8.25, and the day starts formally at 8.30 with tutor reading and assembly. Taught lessons end at 3.10, when extra curricular activities begin. The published weekly total is 33 hours and 45 minutes.

Because this is a large site with year group gates and locked entrances after 8.30, punctuality is treated as a safeguarding and learning priority. Families should factor travel time carefully, particularly if coming across Reading at peak traffic times.

• Academic outcomes remain below England averages on the headline measures. Progress 8 of -0.39 and Attainment 8 of 38.2 indicate that many students are not yet making the progress families would ideally want from their starting points. This makes it important to ask about subject level improvement work and how the school targets support for your child’s profile.

• SEND consistency is an improvement priority. The latest Ofsted report notes that some students with SEND could achieve more where classroom adaptations are not consistently matched to needs. Families should ask how individual plans translate into daily lesson practice and how leaders check consistency.

• A strong extracurricular offer does not automatically translate into high take up. With participation described as relatively low, students who are quieter or less confident may need active encouragement to engage.

• Admission is competitive. With 330 applications for 127 offers in the most recent entry route snapshot, demand exceeds places. Families should plan early and keep realistic alternatives on their application list.

King’s Academy Prospect is a large Reading secondary with a clear improvement narrative, strong safeguarding structure, and a facilities and curriculum offer that leans into both academic and practical routes. It suits students who benefit from breadth, including vocational and technical study options, and those who will make use of the sports and enrichment infrastructure. Families should weigh the advantages of range and community against the reality that exam outcomes, on the headline measures provided, remain below England averages. For many, the decision will come down to fit and trajectory, not reputation alone.