Parents object to removal of Maidenhead from Reading School catchment area

Parents have launched a petition to stop Reading School from removing the Maidenhead area from its catchment zone.

The governors of the grammar school for boys are looking to remove all SL6 postcodes from the catchment area from the entry year 2022.

SL4 and SL5, covering Slough and Windsor, will remain – as will OX and GU postcodes..

The school admits 150 boys into Year 7 each year in total. More than 320 people have signed the petition so far to ‘appeal against Reading School’s decision’ to remove SL6'.

A consultation is running over the course of six weeks, beginning from December 15 and ending on January 26.

The move ‘comes as a surprise’ and is ‘very disappointing news’ to the petitioners.

It reads: “Parents of aspiring and current students have purchased homes in this Reading School catchment area and moving again is not a financially viable option.”

In a letter to Theresa May, concerned parents wrote: “If the decision goes ahead, it leaves hundreds and thousands of families without any grammar school option for their boys from 2022 and beyond.”

Mrs May has written to the school on behalf of parents outlining her own opposition. Further to this she is also planning to have a meeting with some of the parents.

Reading School had not responded to a request for comment at the time of going to print. Email consultation@reading-school.co.uk to respond to the consulatation

To see the petition, visit: tinyurl.com/y6umn3oc