Under the old youth training scheme, the club produced a number of first team players including Ady Williams, Scott Taylor and future England international Neil Webb.

Since the Academy opened in 1999, 89 graduates have gone on to play first team football for Reading including Gylfi Sigurðsson, who was later sold for a club record transfer fee.

The first Academy manager was John Stephenson who oversaw the club's youth development until October 2000 when he left to join Preston North End.

[6] The introduction in 2012 of the four-tier academy system under the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) forced the club to search for a new training ground in order to meet the criteria for Category One status.

[15] The teams were successful under the new format with the under-18s finishing as runners-up to Fulham in the inaugural competition,[16] and the under-21s winning the first U21 Premier League Cup the following year.

Neil Webb became Reading's youngest ever goalscorer aged 17 years and 31 days and made a total of 81 appearances for the club, later going on to win 26 England caps.

[24] Others to have come through the ranks include Johnny Brooks, Jerry Williams, Steve Hetzke, Scott Taylor and Maurice Evans, who made over 400 league appearances for Reading and later managed the first-team between 1977 and 1984.

[27][28][29] A number of players attached to the Academy as schoolboys and scholars, as well as those who signed professionally but never made a first team appearance, have gone on play league football elsewhere.

Peter Castle became the club's youngest ever player when he came on as a substitute against Watford on 30 April 2003 for his first and only Reading appearance, aged 16 years and 49 days, whilst Gylfi Sigurðsson holds the record for the highest transfer fee received when he moved to Hoffenheim in August 2010.