Highdown School and Sixth Form CentreKendrick School

Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side in Reading.

Summary of the comparison

Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre and Kendrick School are secondary schools in Reading.

  • Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre scores 62 out of 100 (grade C, average) and Kendrick School scores 89 out of 100 (grade A, exceptional). Kendrick School is ahead on our composite score.

  • Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre was judged Good and Kendrick School was judged Outstanding.

  • On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 50.4 for Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre and 84.0 for Kendrick School.

  • GCSE Attainment 8 has held broadly level at Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre (51.9 in 2021-22, 50.4 in 2024-25) and has fallen at Kendrick School (86.6 in 2021-22, 84.0 in 2024-25).

Side-by-side comparison

Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre versus Kendrick School compared on inspection, results, pupils and attendance.
Measure ReadingHighdown School and Sixth Form CentreReadingKendrick SchoolEngland average
Overview
Our scoreC62/100A89/100Stronger figure
Local ranking4th of 10 in Reading 1st of 10 in Reading Stronger figure
InspectionOfsted: GoodOfsted: OutstandingStronger figure
School typeAcademy converter Academy converter
PhaseSecondary Secondary
Age range11-18 11-18
GenderMixed Girls
Pupils on roll1,545 934
Capacity1,440 920
LocationReading, RG4 8LR Reading, RG1 5BN
GCSE results
Attainment 850.4 84.0 Stronger figure46.0
Grade 5+ in English & maths57.3% 100.0% Stronger figure45.4%
Grade 4+ in English & maths74.6% 100.0% Stronger figure64.8%
Entering EBacc39.1% 93.8% Stronger figure40.5%
EBacc average point score4.61 8.29 Stronger figure4.09
Cohort248 128
A-level results
A-level entries141 147
A-level average points34.4 44.5 Stronger figure35.0
A-level average gradeC+ B+
Best 3 A-levels points34.7 44.7 Stronger figure35.8
AAB+ incl. facilitating subjects16.8% 51.4% Stronger figure17.5%
Pupils
Pupils in the census1,545 934
Free school meals (ever 6)11.1% 9.2%
English as an additional language16.1% 22.4%
SEN support11.6% 3.6%
SEN with an EHC plan1.7% 0.6%
Attendance
Overall absence8.3% 4.9% Stronger figure6.2%
Persistent absence21.0% 11.1% Stronger figure15.8%

marks the stronger figure on measures with a clear direction. Rows describing a school's intake, such as free school meals, English as an additional language and SEN, carry no marker: they describe who a school serves, not how well it serves them.

Historical trends

Each solid line is one school; the dashed line is the national average.

GCSE Attainment 8

GCSE Progress 8

A-level average points

Overall absence

Free school meal eligibility (ever 6)

Pupils on roll

Ethnicity over time

One panel per school: the largest groups across this comparison, one colour per group, on a shared scale.

Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre

Kendrick School

Full profiles: Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre · Kendrick School