WHAT? WHERE?

Reading Blue Coat is a selective day school that will be transitioning to co-ed from September 2023 (Sixth Form only until then). The aim is achieve a 50:50 split by 2027 when there will be girls in every year group. The planning for their arrival is gathering pace with facilities, curriculum and co-curricular being worked on to ensure opportunities are equal.

Strictly speaking it’s not in Reading, but 10 minutes down the road in the village of Sonning, where 46 acres stretch down to the River Thames. The school was founded in 1646 by Richard Aldworth. His mission was to provide a free education to 20 poor kids. Today, the school has swelled to 830 – including 14 foundation scholarships, worth up to 100% of the fees.

It’s academically strong, sporty and the new Adventure Education programme is an interesting new addition to RBC’s offering. RBC has invested heavily to modernise old buildings and add flashy new facilities – including a refurbished science block, 23-classroom block, a super-cool DT and IT space, Sixth Form study pods subtly accommodated in an old outbuilding, and the medical centre is getting makeover to create a wellbeing space that supports the pupils’ physical and mental health.

FACILITIES

View from the Richard Aldworth building at Reading Blue Coat School with etched coat of arms and the pristine pitches in the background — Work hard, play hard… the view form the Richard Aldworth building across the playing field

Impressive. There’s very little left that hasn’t had a facelift. It’s a modern campus, with new buildings sympathetically designed, with all the tech needed for today’s teaching methods. The Regency mansion is home to new economics and business classrooms, the library and Headmaster Peter Thomas’s office. As stunning as this is, your eyes are drawn elsewhere.

It’s the only school I have visited with a lab dedicated to rocks. Geology and psychology are taught in a converted 18th century building – the second biggest geology department in the UK . Who knew rocks were so interesting? But the kids love it. Elsewhere, a new Lower School common room has popped up in the walled garden and a high wire adventure course.

SPORT

It’s a sporty school. But the focus is not solely on the best players to fill the trophy cabinet, everyone has the opportunity to represent the school and the athlete development programme nurtures the talented few. Football and rugby are on an equal footing, which is pretty rare. Cricket is played in summer, rowing is good and improving all the time (eyes on their arch rivals across the river at Shiplake College) . Girls’ sport is still work in progress, but the Sixth formers currently play hockey, netball, rowing, football, athletics and tennis. Other sports on offer include: archery, shooting, squash, swimming in their funky pool with retractable roof, sailing, badminton, squash, tennis, basketball, climbing and golf, to name just a few.

As for the facilities, the grounds are immaculate with a number of pitches for rugby, football, hockey, cricket and netball and a mahoosive sports hall with climbing wall and state-of -the-art gym, with Ergos for rowers when then’re not on down at the Boathouse or on the river. Word of warning, if you head down for a nose, brace yourself for a steep climb back up to the main school.

CREATIVE SUBJECTS

Love the arts? Drama is popular and there’s plenty of opportunities to step into the spotlight. The sixth form musical is the hottest ticket in town with productions in the middle and lower schools, too. Think Billy Elliot, Footloose The Tempest, Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story, Canterbury Tales and Hamlet. Dance will be new from September 2023, offering boys and girls the opportunity to break loose and learn different styles from ballet and street dance to contemporary styles. Plans are also progressing for a new 300-seater performing arts centre.

Music hits the high notes, with all Y7 kids playing an instrument. Yep, you heard that right – the good, the bad and the squeaky all play and then perform in a raucous curriculum concert (ear plugs and a couple of paracetamol on standby). Does the take up fall off a cliff from Y8? Nope. Take up is pretty good and there’s never a shortage of musicians and there’s opportunities to flex their musical muscles in a 60-strong choir, Chamber and Treble choirs, Barbershop group, Concert Band, Swing Band as well as rock and pop group

The DT building is a knockout, providing three workshops full of essential kit from traditional tools to cool tech, like 3D printers and laser cutters. Some of the concept furniture I saw was jaw-droppingly good. The art studio is also a showstopper – light, bright and big. The head of art has broadened lessons so students can create using multi-media and a working artist also teaches (lucky things). His commissions go all over the world.

CO-CURRICUAR

Reading Blue Coat adventure education canoeing

With the advent of Y7 girls joining, a lot of work is being done to offer a dynamic co-curricular programme. Kirsty Richardson has been appointed Deputy Head (Co-Curricular) and is busy working with the students (pitching Dragons Den style) to bring some new ideas to the table. Lacrosse, dungeons and dragons, Enterprise Champions, Lego robotics, chess, riding, creative writing are all available and cookery, photography and cheerleading could be coming soon.

Adventure Education, introduced by head Peter Thomas, has been a phenomenal success. The idea is to get out of the classroom, learn a new outdoor activity, like sailing, mountain climbing, dragon boating etc. Why? Aside from the wellbeing benefits of outdoors it develops skills that will help our kids beyond school life: problem-solving, teamwork, resilience, leadership, crisis management. Coaching qualifications can be achieved and there’s many trips out. Including a hiking weekend in the Brecon Beacons. Although I suspect socials are the biggest draw. It snuggles up quite nicely with CCF (RAF, Army and Royal Navy) and Duke of Edinburgh which are both available here.

ACADEMICS

As you would expect from a selective school, the results are very good. The 2022 GCSE results – 79% achieving grades 9-7 (A-A* in old money), 57% achieving 9s. This year’s A-level results saw 71% of all grades awarded at A*-B. Jeepers! Although A Level maths and sciences are the most popular subjects to take (*gulp), it’s good to see some less traditional subjects on offer – film studies, politics, geology (obvs, also available as a GCSE option), electronics and business studies. The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is growing in popularity – much loved by universities and adds valuable UCAS points.

Where do they go on from here? Most (if not all) go on to Oxbridge and Russell Group unis to study. It’s definitely a school for bright kids to thrive. That’s not to say they only take the cream. The selection process – interview, assessment and references – is designed to discover ambitious, intellectually curious kids who’ll play an active part in school life. The result is a buzzy, can-do atmosphere.

THE HEAD

Head Peter Thomas is one of the brave few who took on the role during Covid. Fortunately for Reading Blue Coat School is was a familiar face during those uncertain times, having joined the school in 2015 as Second Master. Peter’s down to earth, approachable and has real life experience outside of teaching. He flipped burgers to fund his gap year, started his working life as a police officer and later joined the teaching profession. He started that new chapter at Judd Grammar as a geography teacher, before moving onto Dauntsey’s School in Wiltshire and then Reading Blue Coat.

Peter is ambitious for the school and approaches his work with humour, compassion and a keep calm and carry work ethic. He has driven the fully co-ed in 2023, which will inevitably lead to an increase in pupil numbers, and has shown leadership and steadied the ship when the school has hit bumps in the road.

Adventure Education is his baby. He benefitted hugely from a love of the outdoors and feels Reading Blue Coat pupils will too. Employers are not looking for brainiacs, but young people who can be kind, think on their feet, get involved and work as a team. It’s a jungle out there in the workplace, I know I would want my kids to have the survival skills to cope. I like him a lot. He’s kind, thoughtful and progressive. Just like his predecessors he is BIG on service. Giving back to the community so increasing the number of bursaries and scholarships is on the to-do list too.

PASTORAL

Firm but fair on discipline, with an inclusive ‘have a go’ energy. The head doesn’t overreact and teens are allowed to teens, knowing that if they overstep the mark, sanctions will be appropriate.

It’s a positive step to see the medical centre expanding its remit to normalise physical and mental health. For trickier societal issues, a number of student-led societies have been set up for peers to openly and safely discuss some of the trickier subjects. Safe Society deals with gender equality, Newton Society is LGBTQ+ and the Mandela Society tackles racial diversity and equality.

One sixth former I spoke to explained that being respectful of one another and joining in was the key to getting the most out if your time at Reading Blue Coat.

QUIRKS

Reading blue coat prefects wearing the original long coats and yellow stocking — Those yellow stocking! Enough said…

It’s location for starters. The only school with Reading in its name but is actually 10 miles down the road in the affluent village of Sonning (one of Muddy’s Best Places To Live, no less) and home to George and Amal Clooney, Jimmy Page and former PM Theresa May.

The original uniform was a blue coat, cap and some fairly lairy yellow stockings. Don’t panic this is NOT what they wear today, but the Prefects play dress up on special occasions (*whisper it, they actually love it). The everyday uniform has a modern flexibility, girls can wear trousers and sixth formers can express more individuality as long as it is smart.

The Old Blues are a showbizzy bunch – Actress Natalie Dormer (Games of Thrones, Hunger Games, Captain America), TV presenters Matt Allwright and Jeremy Kyle, round the world yachtsman Mike Golding and MP Alok Sharma, to name a few.

WHAT ELSE?

They’re really good a public speaking and debating. Good skill to have, right? And there’s lots of support for anyone keen to get involved, with opportunities to compete nationally and internationally. Teams have travelled to Canada and Hong Kong in the past. I suspect the kids probably put forward a persuasive argument (sorry).

Reading Bue Coat School community GArden

Family and Service are key to school life. Days start at 8.35am, lessons end at 4.10pm and there’s lots of co-curricular activities to enjoy until 6pm including alternatives like Duke of Edinburgh, Young Enterprise, public speaking, Lego robotics, film club and producing for the Aldworthian magazine. They can also grab breakfast in The Dining Room from 7.30am, if you’re dashing for a train or early Zoom meeting.

The community garden – worked on by the children – produces fruit and veg for a local food bank and in the past pupils have visited schools and old people and community groups to help out.. During lockdowns the DT department helped create visors for local hospital staff and there was a laptop amnesty to redistribute old tech to underprivileged children who didn’t have a device to use for home schooling. There’s a lot of talk about giving back, but I feel they walk the walk here.

Fees

An enticing £6,655 per term across all year groups. It’s definitely on the lower end of the day school scale, making it a more affordable option for working families (exams, lunches, trips and music lessons are all extra). There’s also an impressive array of bursaries and scholarships, so worth considering if your finances don’t quite stretch that far, but you think it’s perfect for your kids.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Naturally, the decision to transition to fully co-ed has divided some parents. The majority feel it is a natural next step. After all, girls have been joining Sixth Form for at RBC for 40 years. They hope the girls will challenge the boys academically, siblings can stay together and socially it all feels more reflective of the real world. There will always be a few who are not for turning on single sex boys’ schools. But the co-ed trend is string right now and they are rapidly dwindling in number. What else? Lots of positive murmurs about high academic standards, excellent exam results and sport. The new Adventure Education has gone down well, too – a welcome distraction from gaming and Snap Chat. Pupils past and present rave about the Combined Cadet Force. If you have a child who’s happy to join in, they thrive here.

ISI REPORT

The 2019 report flagged up a few issues. The school responded immediately: changes were made, parents were kept in the loop and new protocols introduced. ISI inspectors returned in 2022 were happy standards were met across the board.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: I’m hard pushed to think of a boy or girl who wouldn’t love it here. It’s friendly, inclusive, has amazing facilities and pristine playing fields. It’s academic but the style of teaching and huge amount of sport and extra-curricular activities mean the kids have a ball too.

Not for: Those who buckle in a healthily competitive environment. By which I mean the children need to want to progress – bright students are welcome, disinterested slackers need not apply. If you’re a stickler for single sex, you might not like the school’s new direction.

Dare to disagree: Contact admission for a private tour. Or register for the next Open Day on 13 May 2023.

Reading Blue Coat, Sonning Lane, Sonning, Reading RG4 6SU.

Reading Blue Coat, Sonning

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