Read School

Read School was founded from an endowment declared in the will of Charles Reade dated 1667. The school, erected at Drax, was designed as a free school, for the habituation of the schoolmaster “to instruct the children of the parish without charge, to read, write and cast accounts, and further to teach them Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and other languages as occasion should require”. From 1902 until 1967 the school was known as Drax Grammar School and was a voluntary aided grammar school serving the Selby and Goole areas. In 1967, a decision was taken to extend the schools in Selby and the Governors at Read School had to decide whether to become independent or to close the school. The decision for independence followed and the school became known as Read School. Well-known and respected in the area, Read School is now a co-educational, day and boarding school, accepting children from the ages of 3 to 18. A wide range of academic and vocational subjects is offered in Senior School and Sixth Form, together with a full programme of sports, drama, music, CCF and adventurous activity. The school has a current roll of 220 and we celebrate our 353rd anniversary in 2020. OUR MISSION Read School delivers an education that is welcomed by parents and enjoyed by pupils and staff. It is considered a welcoming school that pays attention to individual needs, with small class sizes, excellent teaching, a broad extracurricular programme and a pervasive warm and friendly culture. We believe that, while academic success relative to ability is central to what we do, education is much more. We wish to see our pupils experience a wide range of educational opportunities, which includes learning outside the classroom. We expect the very best from our pupils in all aspects of their education and support them in their endeavours to rise to the challenge, preparing them for life after school.