The school is based in a 65-acre parkland estate just south of Reading town centre, next to the University of Reading's Whiteknights Park campus. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It offers both the International Baccalaureate and A Levels at Sixth Form and sends a high proportion of its pupils to Russell Group universities, such as Oxford, UCL or Imperial and specialist arts institutions, such as Central St Martins or Conservatoires.
Matthew Judd has been the headmaster since September 2018. UK Government Sixth Form analysis places Leighton Park as a top performing school for Sixth Form students' academic progress, including being the best performing school in Berkshire and one of eight schools in the country to have always appeared in the top 100.
The school has a holistic curriculum but is known for Sciences, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM), as well as the Creative Arts, with music a long standing focus for the school.
The school won the Award for Excellence in STEAM Education 2021 and the national Community STEM Awards for secondary schools in 2017 for its iSTEM+ programme. This programme takes a creative problem-solving approach to learning and incorporates projects supported by the school's industry partners, notably Cisco, Intel, Pfizer and BION-Tec. The school offers a wide range of GCSE, A Level and IB courses to reflect these strengths, including offering both Engineering and Design and Technology at GCSE.
"Young people must be engaged and inspired to ensure we grow the next generation of scientific talent. We can only do this through close collaboration between industry and schools such as Leighton Park, that focus on excellence in STEAM.” - Rohini Beavon, Clinical Scientist Lead (Director), Pfizer Ltd
For Creative Arts, the school is a Yamaha Flagship Music Education Partner, the only school in Europe to hold this prestigious status. Over 50% of student study an instrument in the school, with 27 music teachers covering a very wide range of instruments.[2] The school also offers dance with a new studio and a GCSE qualification available. The school has a new music and media centre, with impressive facilities to support student learning in this area.
Leighton Park has a long association with film, with the Oscar-winning film director Sir David Lean studying at the school. Today the school teaches a BTec in Digital Media Production and works closely with nearby Pinewood Studios.
Old School and attached laboratories at Leighton Park are Grade II listed buildings.[3] Grove House was designed by notable Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse, who also designed the Natural History Museum in London.
We are a school that inspires Achievement with Values, Character and Community. This is the Leighton Park difference and has been since our Quaker foundation in the nineteenth century. The School is distinctive and original in each of these areas.
