The Abbey School, Reading

Private day school in Reading, Berkshire, England

The Abbey

Address

Kendrick Road

Reading

Berkshire

RG1 5DZ

England

Coordinates| 51°26′54″N 0°57′47″W﻿ / ﻿51.448333°N 0.963056°W﻿ / 51.448333; -0.963056
Information
Type| Private day school
Established| 1887
Department for Education URN| 110165 Tables
Chair of Governors| Liz Harrison [1]
Head| Will le Fleming
Gender| Girls
Age| 3 to 18
Enrolment| 1,006 (2020)[2]
Website| http://www.theabbey.co.uk

The Abbey School is a private selective day school for girls, in Reading, Berkshire, England.[3][4]

## Overview

[edit]

The Abbey School provides education for girls aged 3 to 18 years. The school is based in the centre of Reading, on Kendrick Road. The current Head is Will le Fleming. In 2006, the school had just over 1,000 students throughout the school, from Junior to Sixth Form.[5] The school became an International Baccalaureate World School in 2008. In 2020, the IB cohort averaged 39.6 points, compared to the global average of 30.[citation needed]

Founded in 1887,[6] the school moved to its present site in 1905[6] under the leadership of headmistress Helen Musson.

Notable alumnae include the novelist and social activist Brigid Brophy, the novelist Elizabeth Taylor[7] the educationalist Baroness Brigstocke,[8] and the historian Lucy Worsley. Around 100 years before the school was founded in 1887, the novelist Jane Austen briefly attended Reading Ladies' Boarding School within the Abbey Gateway,[9][10][11] which is commemorated by, and incorporated into, the Abbey School's crest. In 2017, HRH The Countess of Wessex visited the school as part of their 130th anniversary celebrations.

## History

[edit]

The school was founded in 1887, named Reading High School, replacing the privately owned Blenheim House Ladies' School. It was located at London Road (in the building which became the Gladstone Club). The Church Schools Company, instrumental in founding the school, felt that Reading, with its growing population reaching 60,000, was in need of a new school. The school aimed to provide high quality education with a Christian ethos at an affordable price. When founded, the school had an enrolment of 40 girls, which steadily increased to 120 by 1902.[6]

In 1905, the school moved to its current Kendrick Road site.[12] On 16 March 1905 William Methuen Gordon Ducat, the Archdeacon of Berkshire, laid the foundation stone of the school, which featured the inscription, "In aedificationem corporis Christi". This motto, taken from Ephesians IV:12, can still be seen on the school's crest and promotional t-shirts. The new site was a vast improvement on the old site: there were six classrooms, a hall and space for playing fields.[6]

The school changed its name to The Abbey School in 1913,[12] after parting from the Church Schools' Company. The name was chosen to commemorate a former Reading school dating from 1835, which was based in the Abbey Gateway. A previous school in the Abbey Gateway operating in the 18th-century, named Reading Ladies’ Boarding School, included Jane Austen among its pupils.[9][10][11] The Abbey is now a day school, after ceasing to accept boarding pupils in 1946, and was a direct grant (C. of E.) grammar school in the 1950s .[6]

As of 2006, roughly 45% of entrants in the Upper Third (year 7) came from the Junior School. Also, students from other schools in Berkshire attended.[13]

## Reports

[edit]

As an independent school, Ofsted do not perform inspections of the school.[14][15] However, Ofsted have inspected the Early Years Centre.[16] The independent schools Inspectorate performed an inspection on the whole school in 2002.[17] In 2004, Ofsted inspected the Early Years Centre only, that is, from ages 3 to 5.[18] The Good Schools Guide produced a report on the Abbey in 2005.[13][19]

## Notable former pupils

[edit]

This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (July 2022)

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See also: Category:People educated at The Abbey School

* Joyce Baird, trade union leader[20]
* Baroness Brigstocke, High Mistress of St Paul's Girls' School[8]
* Brigid Brophy, novelist, essayist, feminist[21]
* Jenni Falconer, television presenter
* Amy Flaxman, scientist, working on ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 at the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford (Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine)[22]
* Kate Humble, television presenter
* Joanna Kennedy, civil engineer
* Miranda Krestovnikoff, presenter of BBC TV 'Coast'[23]
* Krissi Murison, editor of the New Musical Express (NME)
* Claire Taylor, cricketer
* Elizabeth Taylor, author[7]
* Sally Taylor, television presenter (BBC South Today)[24]
* Minette Walters, novelist
* Alexandra Wood, violinist
* Lucy Worsley, historian, author, curator and television presenter

## See also

[edit]

* Reading Girls' School
* Reading Abbey Girls' School

## References

[edit]

1. ^ The Abbey School for Girls Reading
2. ^ "www.education.gov.uk". Gov.uk. 2020. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
3. ^ "The Abbey School". Retrieved 4 September 2006.
4. ^ "ISI Inspection October 2002" (PDF). pp. 6, section 3.1. Retrieved 4 September 2006.
5. ^ "Ethos". Archive.org. The Abbey School. Archived from the original on 20 September 2005. Retrieved 4 September 2006.
6. ^ a b c d e Laverack, Barbara; Sheldon, Barbara. A History of The Abbey School, Reading 1887–2001. Retrieved 4 September 2006.
7. ^ a b "Elizabeth Taylor's relentless Englishness". The Times. 7 June 2006. Archived from the original on 29 September 2006. Retrieved 5 September 2006.
8. ^ a b "Lady Brigstocke". The Daily Telegraph. 6 May 2004.[dead link]
9. ^ a b Reading Museum's local information on Jane Austen's school
10. ^ a b Dr Tony Corley. "Jane Austen's Schooldays 1785-6". Archived from the original on 15 October 2006. Retrieved 4 September 2006.
11. ^ a b JASA. "Jane Austen biography". Retrieved 4 September 2006.
12. ^ a b The Abbey School. "2005 Site Centenary Celebration and ASROGA Reunion". Retrieved 4 September 2006.
13. ^ a b The Good Schools Guide. "Guide to The Abbey School, Reading". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2006.
14. ^ Ofsted. "Reports for the Abbey School, Reading". Archived from the original on 5 November 2006. Retrieved 5 September 2006.
15. ^ Ofsted. "Why is there no report for the independent school I am interested in?". Retrieved 5 September 2006.
16. ^ Ofsted. "Nursery Inspection Report". Archived from the original on 27 April 2006. Retrieved 5 September 2006.
17. ^ Independent Schools Inspectorate. "Inspection Report on the Abbey School, Reading" (PDF). Retrieved 5 September 2006.
18. ^ Scarlett, Jenny (14 October 2004). "Nursery Inspection Report – The Abbey School". UK: Ofsted. Archived from the original on 27 April 2006.
19. ^ The Good Schools Guide. "Guide to The Abbey Junior School". Retrieved 5 September 2006.
20. ^ "Baird, Joyce Elizabeth Leslie", Who Was Who
21. ^ The Abbey School Archive, Reading, Berkshire, UK: The Abbey School
22. ^ "Amy Flaxman, 2004". Reading, UK: The Abbey School. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
23. ^ Hunt-Grubbe, Charlotte (14 September 2008). "The new women wildlife presenters". The Times. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
24. ^ The Abbey School. "Abbey Old Girls". Archived from the original on 9 October 2006. Retrieved 5 September 2006.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Abbey School Parents Association website
* Abbey School Reading Old Girls' Association
* Profile by the independent Schools Council
* Profile at The Good Schools Guide

* v
* t
* e

Schools in Berkshire, England1

Primary|

* Caversham Primary School
* Langley Hall Primary Academy
* Lynch Hill School Primary Academy
* Redlands Primary School
* Wescott Infant School

Secondary (non-selective)|

* Altwood CE School
* Baylis Court School
* Beechwood School
* Blessed Hugh Faringdon RC School
* The Brakenhale School
* The Bulmershe School
* Charters School
* Churchmead School
* Cox Green School
* Denefield School
* Desborough College
* The Downs School
* Edgbarrow School
* The Emmbrook School
* The Forest School
* Furze Platt Senior School
* Garth Hill College
* Highdown School
* Holyport College
* The Holt School
* John Madejski Academy
* John O'Gaunt School
* Kennet School
* King's Academy Easthampstead Park
* King's Academy Prospect
* The Langley Academy
* Little Heath School
* Lynch Hill Enterprise Academy
* Maiden Erlegh School
* Newlands Girls' School
* Oakbank School
* Park House School
* The Piggott School
* Ranelagh School
* Reading Girls' School
* St Bartholomew's School
* St Crispin's School
* St Joseph's RC High School
* Sandhurst School
* Slough and Eton CE Business and Enterprise College
* Theale Green School
* Trinity School
* UTC Reading
* Waingels College
* Westgate School
* Wexham School
* The Willink School
* Windsor Girls' School
* The Windsor Boys' School

Grammar|

* Herschel Grammar School
* Kendrick School
* Langley Grammar School
* Reading School
* St Bernard's RC Grammar School
* Upton Court Grammar School

Independent (preparatory)|

* Brockhurst and Marlston House School
* Eagle House School
* Elstree School
* Lambrook
* Ludgrove School
* Newbold School
* Papplewick School
* St Andrew's School
* St George's School, Windsor Castle
* St John's Beaumont School
* St Piran's
* Sunningdale School

Independent (senior)|

* Bradfield College
* Downe House School
* Eton College
* Heathfield School
* Leighton Park School
* Luckley House School
* Padworth College
* Pangbourne College
* Queen Anne's School
* Reading Blue Coat School
* St George's School, Ascot
* St Mary's School
* Wellington College

Independent (allthrough)|

* The Abbey School
* Claires Court School
* Licensed Victuallers' School
* Long Close School
* The Marist School
* Reddam House
* St Joseph's College
* St Gabriel's School

Special|

* Hamilton School
* Manor Green School
* Mary Hare School

Defunct|

* Amersham Hall
* Beaumont College
* Clewer House School
* Douai School
* Elvian School
* Heatherdown School
* Hemdean House School
* The Highlands School
* Imperial Service College
* Queensmead School Windsor
* Reading Abbey Girls' School
* Stubbington House School
* Wixenford School

1includes schools in Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor & Maidenhead and Wokingham.

Authority control databases |

* ISNI

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