Only 13% White British at Reading School!

Reading School, one of the most highly rated state schools in the South East, has just 13.2 per cent White British pupils, Department for Education figures show.

Founded in connection with the Abbey in 1125, the boysonly school is a state selective grammar, so pupils must pass an entry exam to get in. The Times has repeatedly named it among the best state schools in the region.

The low White British proportion has been seized on by right-wing media and the new party Restore Britain. Its leader, Rupert Lowe MP, posted:

"It's reported in the Times that one school in Berkshire was 49 per cent white British a decade ago and now is 13 per cent. Nationally, it has fallen in grammar schools from 66 per cent to 44 per cent in a decade. This is staggering. This is unacceptable. Immigration has totally transformed Britain, and we're told to accept it without question. No more. We are allowed to be upset about this, we are allowed to democratically resist it. That is exactly what Restore Britain will do. Demographic security matters."

Charlie Downes, campaigns director and spokesman for Restore Britain, reposted Mr Lowe's message on X, saying: "The White British were a minority in the classroom a decade ago in some places. We are so much closer to the abyss than anyone realises."

School leaders hit back. Reverend Chris Evans suggested some White British parents may wrongly assume their sons would be "hot-housed" at the grammar school, an idea the school is trying to counter.

Reading School says it is doing outreach to local primaries and has changed admissions to boost local state-school applicants. Assistant headteacher and director of admissions Greg Fairchild said:

"Under-representation of any and all groups is an issue that Reading School is determined to address."

"If we think of admission to Reading School as a funnel, we can best remedy this at the top."

"We want all bright local boys to consider Reading School as a welcoming and achievable option for their secondary schooling, irrespective of their ethnicity."

"That is why we have taken the bold step of giving priority to bright boys who live in Reading postcodes from Woodley to Tilehurst and Caversham to Whitley, and going one step further by also prioritising bright boys who go to state primary schools within a few miles of Reading School."

"We think that paying vast amounts of money for poor quality 11+ tutoring is damaging both to childrens' wellbeing and to parents' pockets, so our new entrance test now only covers topics that boys have learnt up until the end of Year 5 in their primary school."

"The test pattern and content is unpredictable so that 11+ tutoring is a waste of both your money and your free time!"

"We hope that this will encourage those curious boys with agile minds from all backgrounds to come and give our test a go."

He added: "Reading School's similarity in look to Hogwarts Castle is a huge barrier, as it can be mistaken for a stuffy private school - most local children were born at Royal Berkshire Hospital, without even realising that the school immediately opposite is free to go to and fantastic fun - last week we had boys cooking their lunch on open fires, test-firing rockets and winning national sports competitions!"

"We are well aware of the scale of the under-representation and will pull every lever possible to ensure that Reading School admissions reflects the diversity of talent found across our fantastic town."

"We encourage local primary school teachers and families to reach out to us on admissions@reading-school.co.uk with their questions so we can bust some misconceptions about Reading School."

"Research has shown that reasons for unevenness of admissions are complex - from socio-economic background to parental engagement, access to information to prior attainment and familiarity with process. To reduce this to ethnicity alone is therefore reductive, but we agree that the statistics are one narrow indicator of under-representation that we are determined to address."

Mr Lowe was elected as the Reform UK MP for Great Yarmouth in the 2024 general election, was suspended from the party in March 2025 over allegations of workplace bullying and threats, and then founded Restore Britain in June 2025, which became a political party in February this year.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter