Leighton Park School

Leighton Park School
Established	1890
Type	Independent School
Religion	Quaker
The Head	John Dunston MA
Deputy Head	Elizabeth Thomas
Founder	George Cadbury
Location	Shinfield Road Reading Berkshire RG2 7ED England
Staff	100 (Approx.)
Students	490
Gender	Male/Female
Ages	11 to 18
Houses	5 (4 Senior, 1 Junior)
Colours	Blue, Gold, Brown
Publication	The Park
Former pupils	Old Leightonians
Campus	60-acre rural campus
Website	www.leightonpark.com

Leighton Park School is a Quaker public school for both boarding and day pupils in Reading, Berkshire, England. The school was founded in 1890, thirteen years after Grove School Tottenham which had educated such people as Lord Lister, had closed. It is situated in a parkland rural estate setting just outside the town centre of Reading, adjacent to the Whiteknights Park campus of the University of Reading. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. In 2008, the school was accepted for teaching of the International Baccalaureate qualification which commenced at the beginning of the 2009/10 academic year.

The latest edition of The Good Schools Guide describes Leighton Park as "one of the most distinctive schools we'd visited and we came away with a renewed sense of hope for the future. More schools would do well to adopt the LP model - it has integrity and honesty at heart".^[1]

History

The teaching of young people has always been a priority for Quakers; from the late seventeenth century onwards, many were involved in establishing schools for their own children and others in need. In this light, Leighton Park was opened in 1890 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), as a public school for boys, with the specific aim of preparing academically able boys to enter university, to think for themselves and to develop self-reliance. Nicknamed 'the Quaker Eton' at the time, it has sent a high proportion of its pupils to Oxford or Cambridge.^[2] To this day it retains academic prestige, being described as a school that possesses "outstanding teaching, facilities and excellent academic results [that] give it the qualities that parents seek in a school" recently by ISBI schools.^[3]

Leighton Park grew from 4 boys in 1890 to 103 in the 1920s. By 1970 the school had 300 pupils, and in 1975 girls were admitted to the sixth form. Today the school is home to 490 pupils drawn from almost twenty different countries.^[4]

In 2004, 'Oakview', the new central-dining facility was introduced instead of traditional in-house dining. The facility was officially opened by Sir Steve Redgrave.

The development plans on the schools website state it plans to increase the school roll to a maximum of 510 in the near future.^[5]

Traditions and Routines

Leighton Park, due to its Quaker faith, has marked customs and traditions which differ from those in Anglican schools. Some of these traditions are:

• "Collect": The daily routine meeting similar to that of assembly in other schools, where the school gathers for presentations and talks. Every collect is then finished with a silence lasting several minutes to reflect on the topic addressed in the meeting. The distinct difference between "Collect" and other similar meetings in Anglican schools is the omission of hymn singing.

• "Meeting for Worship": A weekly event which replaces "Collect" on Thursday, similar to Quaker meetings across the country. The meeting is held in silence to reflect on thoughts and feelings, with a free forum for anyone to stand up and break the silence by speaking about the issue on their mind. "Meeting for Worship" currently lasts 20–25 minutes, reduced from longer lengths over the years.

• "Monthly Meeting": A meeting held once a month which gives the chance for the pupil body to air grievances on any matter (such as dress code, lunch queues etc.). It is usually chaired by the Head Boy or Head Girl, with the school senior management usually present to respond to grievances.

Houses

There are five houses at Leighton Park; four senior and one junior; with an average of 100 pupils in each senior house and approximately 90 pupils in the junior house. The first house established is named 'Grove', after Grove School Tottenham, which the school has historical links with. The junior house, 'Fryer', houses pupils aged 11–13. All houses are mixed sex, and they all facilitate boarding. Due to the pacifist nature of the Quaker religion, none of the houses have emblems or colours, so as to prevent apparent division between houses. This issue however is rumoured to have been frequently seen the student body as to take Quaker ideals too far. The same has also been the case in regards to awarding School Colours, which at present does not occur.

Press

Leighton Park has been in the press numerous times in the past, most recently in light of events such as the visit by Michael Foot, ex-Labour leader and a former pupil, and for the introduction of a music workshop in the school by ex-child soldier turned musician, Ben Okafor.^[6]

Trivia

The school is mentioned in the play and film, The History Boys, by Alan Bennett. The headmaster mentions schools he would like to emulate regarding high pupil entry to Oxford; Among them is Leighton Park.

Former Pupils

Leighton Park has an extensive range of distinguished former pupils, or Old Leightonians. These include the Oscar award-winning film director Sir David Lean; current Conservative party politician Tony Baldry; former Labour party leader Michael Foot; actor Jim Broadbent; BBC Newsnight reporter Robin Denselow; Labour party politician Quentin Davies; former UK ambassador to the United Nations, Lord Caradon; founder member of Jamiroquai bassist Stuart Zender; wildlife artist and ornithologist, Robert Gillmor, former GCHQ Director Sir John Adye,painter/founder of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London and also a friend of artist Picasso, Sir Roland Penrose.

Former Head Pupils

Further reading

• The Leightonian [school magazine]. (Pub. 1895).
• Old Leightonians Club. A list of names and addresses of the old boys of Leighton Park School. (Pub. 1945, 1957, 1973, 1990).
• Brown, S.W. Leighton Park: A history of the school. (Pub. 1952).
• Leighton Park School, Leighton Park: The first 100 years. (Pub. 1990).
• The Park [school magazine]. (Pub. Termly).

See also

• List of Friends Schools
• Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference
• Old Leightonians Cricket Club

References

1. ^ http://www.leightonpark.com/WhyChooseLP/GoodSchoolsGuide.aspx
2. ^ http://www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/index.php?option=com_schoollistings&fullwriteup=19222|B2619BB
3. ^ http://www.isbi.com/isbi-viewschool/329-Leighton_Park_School.html
4. ^ http://www.leightonpark.com/Home.aspx
5. ^ http://www.leightonpark.com/WhyChooseLP/BriefHistory.aspx
6. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/berkshire/4115570.stm

External links

• School website
• Old Leightonians website
• Old Leightonians Cricket Club website
• ISBI entry

Coordinates: 51°26′15″N 0°56′51″W / 51.4375°N 0.9475°W / 51.4375; -0.9475