Maiden Erlegh School in Reading Review 2026: A young, high-expectation secondary serving East Reading

Maiden Erlegh School in Reading is a relatively new secondary, opened in September 2015 to serve East Reading, and built at scale, with a published admission number of 180 for Year 7 entry. It sits within Maiden Erlegh Trust, which shapes the school’s culture and curriculum direction, while the day-to-day feel is anchored in calm routines and high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

Leadership has recently moved again, with Mr Matt Grantham appointed as headteacher from September 2025. For parents, the practical headline is simple: this is a state school with no tuition fees, an orderly learning environment, and competitive admissions shaped by the Reading coordinated process and the school’s own oversubscription criteria.

The school’s ethos is built around aspirational language and consistent routines. External evaluation describes a calm, orderly culture, with pupils generally positive about relationships with staff and the support they receive. That combination matters in a busy, urban secondary: when expectations are clear and applied consistently, pupils tend to feel secure enough to take academic risks, ask for help, and engage with challenge rather than avoid it.

A house culture and pupil leadership roles are part of how the school builds belonging. Older pupils have opportunities to hold responsibility, including roles such as house captains and positions within student leadership structures. This is not just a badge system; it is a framework for recognition and contribution, and it gives pupils who are not the loudest voices in a class a structured way to lead.

The school is also explicit about inclusion. Expectations apply to all groups, and the narrative from official review is that pupils with additional needs are identified accurately and supported in ways that allow them to access the same ambitious curriculum intent. For families, the implication is that the school’s default setting is mainstream ambition, with adaptations where needed, rather than a two-track experience where some pupils are quietly funnelled into lower expectations.

For GCSE outcomes, the school ranks 1,641st in England and 21st in Reading (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). That performance sits in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile), which is best read as solid, broadly typical performance rather than a headline outlier at either end.

The Attainment 8 score is 47.7, a useful indicator of overall GCSE outcomes across a pupil’s best set of qualifications. Progress 8 is 0.12, which indicates pupils make above-average progress from their starting points. An important nuance for parents is that Progress 8 is often the more informative measure of how effectively a school improves outcomes for its cohort, because it is designed to account for prior attainment rather than raw grades alone.

EBacc outcomes are more mixed. The average EBacc points score is 4.31, compared with an England average of 4.08, suggesting slightly stronger performance within EBacc entry where it applies. At the same time, 18.5% achieved grades 5 or above across the EBacc measure recorded here, which parents may want to interrogate through subject choice, entry patterns, and how the school advises pupils about the EBacc route.

Practical implication: the results profile is consistent with a school that is doing many things right, particularly in pupil progress and curriculum coherence, but it is not positioned as an exam-outlier in a highly competitive local market that includes selective and high-performing alternatives.

Curriculum ambition is a clear theme. Official review describes an ambitious curriculum, with knowledge and skills sequenced carefully through Key Stage 3 in most subjects so that pupils revisit content and build complexity over time. The “most subjects” caveat matters, because it points to a school that is broadly coherent, with a small number of areas still catching up to the best practice evident elsewhere.

Assessment and feedback appear strongest where departments have embedded simple, repeatable routines. In mathematics, for example, the use of short checks for understanding is described as a way to identify misconceptions and shape next steps. Where this is done well, pupils benefit in two ways: teachers correct misunderstandings early, and pupils receive quick signals about what to practise rather than waiting for a larger test.

Support is also described as targeted and practical, including additional help for pupils who have fallen behind and small-group support for reading, alongside specialist instruction for pupils who need extra help in mathematics. For families, the question to explore at open events is how support is triggered, who delivers it, and how quickly pupils move back into confident independent work.

A wider personal development programme is embedded through tutor time and taught content. The picture presented is of age-appropriate relationships and sex education, strong careers guidance for post-16 choices, and trips and visits used to extend learning beyond the classroom.

This is an 11 to 16 school, so the key transition is after Year 11. Support for next-step decision making is described as a strength, including access to independent careers advice and guidance. In practice, pupils are likely to move into a mix of sixth forms and further education colleges locally, depending on GCSE outcomes, preferred subjects, and the style of post-16 study that suits them best.

A sensible approach for families is to consider post-16 pathways early, not because choices are locked in, but because Key Stage 4 options and the balance between academic and vocational routes can shape what is realistic at 16. If your child has a clear ambition that depends on specific GCSEs, ask how the school supports subject guidance, revision planning, and course selection through Year 9 and Year 10.

Year 7 entry follows the Reading coordinated admissions timetable through Brighter Futures for Children, on behalf of Reading Borough Council. For September 2026 entry, the closing date for on-time applications is 31 October 2025, and Reading indicates national offer day emails are sent on 2 March 2026. The school’s own determined arrangements align to that same cycle and confirm late applications are treated as late after the published deadline, with some late submissions potentially treated as on-time if received by 31 December 2025 with an accepted reason and evidence.

The school is oversubscribed often enough to require clear prioritisation. After pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan naming the school, oversubscription criteria include looked after and previously looked after children, children eligible for Pupil Premium at the closing date, children of certain trust staff (including skills shortage roles), siblings, children attending named feeder primary schools, then other applicants. One distinctive feature here is that the feeder primary list is explicit, which can shape realistic expectations for families living outside those communities.

Distance is used as the tie-break within oversubscription categories, measured as a straight-line distance using local authority mapping, and based on a defined reference point at the junction of Hamilton Road and Bulmershe Road. If you are shortlisting seriously, use FindMySchool’s Map Search to check your home-to-school distance carefully and compare it with recent allocation patterns, while remembering that allocation patterns can shift year to year.

Open events for September 2026 entry were scheduled in late September and early October 2025, including an open evening and open mornings, with booking required for the latter. For future cohorts, the safest assumption is that open events typically run in the same autumn window, but families should rely on the school’s current postings for exact dates.

Pastoral support is described as both academic and caring, with a specific emphasis on positive mental health and pupils feeling supported by staff. The most important operational detail for parents is whether support is proactive or reactive. Here, the available evidence points to a school that monitors learning closely, intervenes where pupils fall behind, and builds wider wellbeing into the programme pupils experience weekly, rather than leaving it to ad hoc responses.

Safeguarding is effective, which is a baseline requirement but also a meaningful indicator of adult vigilance and clear reporting culture. Families can use open events to ask how safeguarding messages are reinforced, how online safety is taught, and how quickly pastoral leaders respond when concerns are raised.

Extracurricular provision is one of the clearest ways a school signals what it values. Here, the evidence points to a blend of enrichment for broad participation and structured extension for higher-attaining pupils.

A core offer includes clubs that develop thinking and discussion habits, such as chess, debating, and board games, plus structured extension routes referred to as gold and silver programmes. The implication is that pupils with a strong academic appetite can find extra stretch without having to rely solely on homework or external tuition.

Department-led clubs also show up in school-published activity lists, including homework club, GCSE drama drop-in sessions, GCSE music support, open access art, rugby, girls’ football, and art club for younger year groups. As with most secondaries, the exact menu changes over time, but the pattern matters: there is provision for performance and creativity, sport, and academic catch-up, which makes it easier for pupils to build routines beyond lesson time.

For parents, a useful question is not “how many clubs exist”, but “how many pupils take part weekly, and how does the school remove barriers to participation”. If your child is shy, anxious, or new to the area, club membership can be one of the fastest routes to friendships that are not confined to a tutor group.

The school day runs from 8.40am to 3.10pm, equating to 32.5 school hours per week. After-school activities operate at different points in the year, and families should check current schedules through school communications.

Travel planning matters in this part of Reading. The school encourages walking and cycling where possible, notes that Reading Buses routes 17 and 19 serve the site closely, and states that parents’ cars are not permitted on the school site or the adjacent Hamilton Centre car park. The practical implication is that drop-off routines need to be planned carefully, with an assumption of walking from nearby streets or using public transport.

• Key Stage 3 consistency varies by subject. Official review describes most subjects as well sequenced, with a small number still refining Key Stage 3 curriculum depth. This is worth asking about if your child has a strong preference for a particular subject area.

• Admissions prioritise specific feeder primaries. The determined arrangements list named feeder primary schools within the oversubscription criteria, which can materially affect chances for families outside that set.

• Pupil Premium applications require additional paperwork. Families applying under the Pupil Premium criterion must follow the school’s process for the supplementary information form so the application is ranked correctly.

• No sixth form on site. The post-16 pathway is a separate choice at 16, so families should consider how the school prepares pupils for sixth form and college applications and how guidance is delivered through Year 10 and Year 11.

Maiden Erlegh School in Reading is a well-ordered, inclusive state secondary with above-average pupil progress and a curriculum model that is coherent in most subjects. It suits families who want a mainstream, all-ability school with clear routines, structured pastoral support, and meaningful enrichment opportunities. The main challenge is not the day-to-day experience, it is navigating the admissions criteria and planning ahead for the post-16 transition.