Welcome
Ofsted report November 2022 "The Kendrick Pledge emphasises friendship, kindness, respect, equality, tolerance and justice, and these values underpin all that the school achieves. Pupils flourish in this exceptionally caring and inclusive learning environment. Secure, trusting relationships between staff and pupils ensure pupils feel very well supported and safe here. In turn, pupils’ excellent behaviour and impeccable manners make Kendrick a very special place to be".
To listen to an audio with staff and students talking about Kendrick's history, life at school and what the school means to us all, please click on the link below.
Kendrick Voices
Kendrick School is an 11-18 selective girls’ school with academy status. It has a local and national reputation as an outstanding school and has an impressive record of achievement as a centre of excellence for girls’ education.
In its last five OFSTED inspections, Kendrick was judged an “outstanding” school. In our most recent inspection in November 2022, OFSTED stated "Pupils and sixth-formers are justly proud of their school community. They delight in their learning and truly excel here. One parent spoke for many when reflecting, ‘The school does a great job of creating well-rounded, kind, human beings who will hopefully go on to make the world a better place. The academic results are important, of course, but far from the only focus.’ Inspectors totally agree.
Kendrick is a forward-looking school that grasps the opportunities that present themselves. A love of learning is at the heart of Kendrick with a strong emphasis on high-quality teaching. The curriculum is organised to meet the needs of all students and is engaging, rich and ambitious. All staff are hardworking and dedicated; students are bright, enthusiastic and curious; they love being at their school.
At Kendrick, students enjoy a rich and varied extracurricular education. The House System provides opportunities for healthy competition with numerous annual house events, which are key activities in the school year. Kendrick Student Leaders work energetically and collaboratively with staff to support this vital community element of the school. In addition, we have a School Council, which discusses and drives change for students.
Safeguarding and students’ mental health and wellbeing are prioritised above all else. As stated by Ofsted in November 2022, ‘The arrangements for Safeguarding are effective at Kendrick’ and ‘there is a culture of vigilance’ where ‘staff care deeply about pupils’ wellbeing’.
As part of Kendrick’s Widening Horizons strategic initiative, we actively pursue partnerships with schools and businesses in our local area and beyond. These associations benefit the students of Kendrick, as well as those in neighbouring schools. We share our good practice and offer opportunities to work with primary and secondary schools in the Reading area.
Kendrick has expanded in recent years, a process that started in September 2020 and finished in September 2024 when an additional 32 students joined Kendrick in all year groups making Kendrick a four-form entry school for Years 7-11. This year the majority of the 128 students from Year 11 have moved into our sixth form, and we have welcomed an additional 40 students from other schools, making the whole school roll, 940 students, the largest the school has ever been. In our admission arrangements and policies, priority is given to pupil premium students and students living in the Reading area, which is called Priority Area 1. Our Widening Horizons initiative commits us to achieving greater participation and access for students from local primary schools and the local area. In July 2024 and again in July 2025, we were awarded the Sutton Trust Fair School Admissions Award at Gold level. This demonstrates our commitment to fair admissions and is a great accolade for the school to receive which we are immensely proud of.
As the Headteacher of Kendrick, it is my vision to lead, inspire and make a difference to the lives of girls and young women. I believe passionately in girls’ education and know that Kendrick School affords its students the very best education there is.
Ms Christine Kattirtzi
Headteacher
September 2025
Weekly UPDATE - FRIDAY 1st may 2026
Please click here for previous weekly updates.
WEEKLY UPDATE – FRIDAY 1st MAY 2026
Letter from Ms Kattirtzi, Headteacher
I would like to formally introduce our Kendrick Student Leaders (KSL) to you. As you can see, they are a group of 18 Year 12 students who have been elected and appointed to be the KSL Team. Their term of office is from now until the end of Term 4 in April 2027. They make up three committees: Curriculum and Current Affairs (CCA), Community and Wellbeing, plus the three Houses - Cedars, Palmer, and Sidmouth. Between them they organise and coordinate activities and events that involve students across the school. They have been most proactive in these last few weeks, supporting at Open Day last week and this week the CCA Committee launched Kendrick’s Mock Local Elections. Kendrick students and staff will be going to the polls next Wednesday (one day before the real local elections) to cast their vote in our own school mock local elections. I will let you know the outcome of this next week. It is important to reflect on the ambition and leadership of these students who have organised this event and by doing so giving the opportunity to all other students to participate in a mock election and experience such a process. I am expecting some lively debate on local and national issues as students try to make sense of the messages from the main political parties standing at these elections. Of course, I am sure there may be some debate on current affairs, nationally and globally, as well as specific issues related to Reading. I am sure many students, and staff are deeply troubled by the news and development we have seen and heard in the last couple of days, and these topics may feature in the discussions over the next few days. The practice and understanding of how local government works will be very useful lessons for all students and many will have the opportunity to articulate their views on the policies of the mainstream parties to their peers. Recently a group of our students participated in a Youth Parliament Conference at King’s Academy, Prospect with other local schools and I received feedback to say how impressive they were in their discussions and contributions. Who knows a prominent politician might yet emerge from Kendrick School! I am aware of former students who have entered politics both locally and nationally.
A couple of items on the website for you to look at and listen to:
Yesterday saw the launch of the sixth Kendrick School Poets’ Society Anthology. Once again, the Poets’ Society has produced a beautiful compendium of poems which have been written, discussed, and critiqued by students and published in a superb professional booklet. The theme for this year’s anthology is Sense, as Mr Dilley says in the introduction, is ‘a theme that provides a rich stimulus for poems which range widely in subject matter, style and tone- from the playful to the eerie to the profound’. At the launch yesterday, we heard several poems read by the writers themselves and one I liked very much, in the Nonsense Poems section and written by Hana reminded me of the challenges students have answering exam questions. Entitled A History 16 Marker on the Cold War, Hana assesses the significance of the Cuban Missile Crisis in playful verse!
A reminder that next Tuesday 5th May is our Lower School Chamber Concert, please come along to support our students and the Music Department.
We have a long weekend ahead which I am sure is most welcome. Students in Year 11 and 13 will appreciate the extra day off on Monday to prepare themselves mentally for their coming exams. Speaking to Year 11 yesterday at their farewell assembly, I reminded them that they are in a very good position to do very well in these exams. They have worked hard, been taught well and have a focused and determined attitude. Nevertheless, the tensions and anxiety that exams have on young people need to be understood, so we must continue, school and families, to support our students as best we can over the next two months.
Wishing everyone a pleasant and long weekend.
Ms Christine Kattirtzi
Headteacher
School Notices
KENDRICK SCHOOL LOWER SCHOOL CHAMBER CONCERT 2026: TUESDAY 5TH MAY, 6:30PM
Our Lower School Chamber Concert will feature remarkable performances from students in Years 7-9. There will be a diverse range of music to listen to from throughout musical history, both vocal and instrumental, which will feature soloists and small ensembles. This event is a celebration of the talent we have in our Lower School and is not to be missed! We expect the concert to finish at approximately 8:30pm.
There will also be some lovely refreshments provided by KPS both before the concert (from 6pm) and during the interval. Doors will open at 6.05pm and we ask the performers to sit on the left and the rest of the audience to sit on the right.
Travel and arrival
Where possible, students should go home between the end of the school day and the start of the concert, but please leave plenty of time to get to school before the event starts– traffic congestion is always a problem on concert evenings and car parking is extremely limited on the roads around the school. Visitors should aim to be seated in the School Hall by 6.20pm at the latest. Performing students should aim to arrive back at school at about 6.00pm and go straight to their meeting room (L).
If the journey is a particularly difficult one, students may stay in the Library/Conservatory until 5pm, then move to room M1 until 5.30pm, before coming to Room L for 5.45pm. If your child is intending to stay in school until the performance, please provide them with a snack for the evening. Students will not be permitted to go into town or to Tesco’s from 3.30pm and must stay in school. Please note this does not apply to any Sixth Form students.
If possible, we hope that you can attend the concert to see your child perform. If you are unable to do so, you must collect your child/children after the concert from the Hall.
Please may we remind you that no parking is available on the school site unless you have a disability requiring the need for a car-parking space. If this is the case, then please contact Reception to discuss reserving a parking space.
Tickets
This is a free event and we will therefore not be selling tickets for this concert; instead, we kindly request a donation which will be collected at the end of the evening. All monies donated will be used to buy equipment/resources for the Music Department. Information about concerts and other Arts-based events later in the year will be available in your programme. We look forward to seeing many of you at the concert.
Safeguarding
Safeguarding at Kendrick School
BBFC Guide to choose age-appropriate films, videos and websites. Using the BBFC age ratings can help you and your family choose what’s right for you and avoid what’s not.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Mental Health and Wellbeing at Kendrick School
Anna Freud Self Care – Walking.
SEND
Reading’s SEND Local Offer. The SEND Local Offer is here to help you find information about local services, support, activities and events for children and young people aged 0 - 25 years who have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).
School Fund
Please donate to our School Fund here. You can make one-off payments through your ParentPay account or complete a standing order form for more regular payments. If you are a UK taxpayer, please ensure you also complete a Gift Aid Form.
A school fund is maintained by voluntary contributions from the parents/carers of students. Its purpose is to provide an additional source of funding for the provision of facilities and educational resources for the benefit of students. We use our School Fund to support so many activities in and out of school that have now become essential to school life.
Canteen
The Spring/Summer menu can be found here. Please ensure that you regularly check your child's canteen balance on their ParentPay account and settle any 'overdrafts' quickly. Overdrafts should only be issued on an exceptional basis and not as a regular occurrence.
Lessons from Auschwitz podcast
Year 13 student Biology success
Week commencing 4th May 2026 – Week B
- Monday 4th May – Bank Holiday – school closed for staff and students
- Tuesday 5th May – Lower School Chamber Concert, 6.30pm
- Thursday 7th May – Public Exams begin; Trustees Resources Meeting 4.30pm
Student Careers and Work Experience
Business and Economics Teacher. For September 2026. Closing date for applications 9am Friday 15th May 2026.
ParentPay and Evolve Reminders
Latest Reminders for ParentPay and Evolve
Kendrick Parents' Society (KPS)
Weekly News – Friday 1st May 2026
Letter from Mr Charles Ramsden, Chair of the Board of Trustees
On behalf of the trustee body, I would like to welcome everyone to the 2025-2026 academic year. I particularly welcome students joining us for the first time who will get the support they need to settle in quickly and make a positive contribution to the school.
As trustees, we are responsible for working with Ms Kattirtzi, Headteacher and the Senior Leadership Team to agree on the strategic direction of Kendrick. We assist with setting the school's vision, aims and objectives. To do this, we are organised into three committees – Learning & Teaching, Performance and Review, and Resources. Each of these committees meets regularly, and we meet as a full board three times a year. All the trustees are committed to supporting the ethos of the school, and many have direct experience of the school – as a student, the parent of a student or as a staff member.
We want to ensure that every student at Kendrick has the opportunity to thrive – academically, as a member of the school community, and in their personal development. Kendrick has something for everyone: a huge range of extracurricular activities including music, sports, and drama; opportunities to show leadership, as part of the School Council or the Student Leadership Team; and, of course, the chance to help others.
I do hope that you will take advantage of the opportunities to engage with the school. We are always keen to get your feedback, and as Chair of the Board of Trustees, I am always happy to hear from any of you. Please feel free to contact Lisa Hillan, Governance Officer to the Trustee Board lhillan@kendrick.reading.sch.uk if you would like to get in touch.
On behalf of the trustees, I wish everyone a successful year ahead.
With best wishes
Charles Ramsden
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
September 2025