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Best secondary schools in West Berkshire

9 of 13 secondary schools ranked by Progress 8 · all West Berkshire schools · primary schools

Ranked on Progress 8, 2023/24 — the most recent year each school has published. Official data, not our opinion — but the ranking is only as good as the measure, and a single number never describes a school. We hold real catchment boundaries for 10 of them.

7 of 13 rated Good or Outstanding
1 oversubscribed on first preference
4 Good or better and undersubscribed — the overlooked ones
Median Progress 8: 0.09 (best 0.6)

#	School	Progress 8	Ofsted	Places	Catchment
1	Park House School Newbury	0.6	Not judged	about even 0.96 first prefs per place, 2026/27	mapped
2	St Bartholomew's School Newbury	0.37	Outstanding	about even 1.04 first prefs per place, 2026/27	mapped
3	Denefield School Reading	0.16	Good improving	about even 1.07 first prefs per place, 2026/27	mapped
4	Kennet School Thatcham hidden gem	0.15	Good improving	about even 0.96 first prefs per place, 2026/27	mapped
5	Trinity School Newbury hidden gem	0.09	Good	about even 0.97 first prefs per place, 2026/27	mapped
6	The Willink School Reading	0.04	Good	about even 1.06 first prefs per place, 2026/27	mapped
7	Little Heath School Reading hidden gem	-0.15	Good declining	undersubscribed 0.84 first prefs per place, 2026/27	mapped
8	Theale Green School Reading hidden gem	-0.31	Good	undersubscribed 0.81 first prefs per place, 2026/27	mapped
9	John O'Gaunt School Hungerford	-0.53	Not judged	about even 0.92 first prefs per place, 2026/27	mapped

Also in West Berkshire

4 further secondary schools with no published Progress 8 for the latest year — usually too small a cohort to report, newly opened, or a special school. Listed because leaving them out would make this a misleading picture of West Berkshire, not a fairer one.

Applying in West Berkshire

Knowing which school is best is only half of it — these are the deadlines that decide whether you can apply at all.

Secondary application deadline 2026-10-31 · 2027 entry Secondary Common Application Form (CAF) deadline for September 2027 entry (Year 7). National statutory deadline 31 October 2026; apply via your home local authority. Selective/grammar registration, if any, is a separate earlier deadline.
Primary (Reception) application deadline 2027-01-15 · 2027 entry Primary (Reception) application deadline for September 2027 entry. National statutory deadline 15 January 2027; apply via your home local authority.
Secondary National Offer Day 2027-03-01 · 2027 entry Secondary National Offer Day for September 2027 entry — state school Year 7 place offers (1 March).
Primary National Offer Day 2027-04-16 · 2027 entry Primary National Offer Day for September 2027 entry — Reception place offers (16 April).
Secondary application deadline 2027-10-31 · 2028 entry Secondary Common Application Form (CAF) deadline for September 2028 entry (Year 7). National statutory deadline 31 October 2027; apply via your home local authority. Selective/grammar registration, if any, is a separate earlier deadline.
Primary (Reception) application deadline 2028-01-15 · 2028 entry Primary (Reception) application deadline for September 2028 entry. National statutory deadline 15 January 2028; apply via your home local authority.

Rankings compare published results. They do not tell you which school your child will get into — that depends on where you live, sibling and faith priority, and how many people apply this year. Ask below, or check the West Berkshire admission criteria.

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