Reading is one of the best state schools in the UK according to the GCSE and A-level tables and has consistently ranked in the top ten.

The main building of the hospitium still exists, but the refectory, which once housed the schoolroom, was demolished in 1785 and Reading Town Hall now stands on the site.

The school prospered at the start of the nineteenth century; in 1830, when Richard Valpy retired from the post of headmaster, there were 120 pupils.

[3] In 1915 Kendrick Boys' School (founded in 1875 from the legacy of John Kendrick), which had a large endowment but poor facilities, was taken over by Reading, which was poorly funded but had excellent facilities – this caused considerable controversy at the time but was ultimately seen as successful.

Patients are transported by land ambulance from the school to the hospital's accident and emergency department across the road.

[8] While this arrangement was only made official in 2007, the school field had been unofficially used on several occasions by the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance in previous years.

[9] In 2020, the school was found to have discriminated against a visually-impaired child by not making adjustments to enable him to take the eleven-plus entrance examination.

[11][12][13][14] The chapel is where the school's Christmas, Remembrance and Easter services take place, and every student attends once a week.

Work on the new sports facilities has begun, with a new fitness suite made on the location of the old squash courts next to chapel, and refurbishments on the gym and changing rooms completed.

[18] However, according to a report from Phoenix New Media, after completing construction in 2021, Reading School lost its license to operate there after failing its environmental assessment due to heavy soil pollution.

The plot was reclassified as industrial land by the municipal Natural Resources and Planning Bureau in 2023.

[20][21] They also hold the U16 Boys' VICTOR School Sport Magazine National Badminton Championship for the 2023/24 season.

The 2005 Key Stage 3 results were both the best in the country for value-added and for the average points score of each student.

[29] In the 2004 school league tables for England (including fee-paying schools), it came eighth for GCSE-level results (average 602.5 points), 106th for A-level results (average 409.3 points) and 170th for value-added between ages 11 and 16 (score of 1037.7 compared with a baseline of 1000).