The Abbey School, Reading

The Abbey School is an independent selective day school for girls, in Reading, Berkshire, England. The school has Church of England traditions, although it accepts girls of all faiths. The Abbey School offers education for girls aged 3 to 18.

Founded in 1887, the school moved to its present site in 1905 under the leadership of headmistress Miss Helen Musson.

Notable alumnæ include the novelist and feminist Brigid Brophy, the novelist Elizabeth Taylor and the headmistress Baroness Brigstocke.

Around one hundred years before the school was founded in 1887, the novelist Jane Austen attended Reading Ladies' Boarding School within the Abbey Gateway circa 1785, which is commemorated by, and incorporated into, the Abbey School's crest.

History

The school was founded in 1887, named Reading High School, replacing the privately owned Blenheim House Ladies' School. It was at London Road (in the building which became the Gladstone Club). The Church Schools Company, instrumental in founding the school, felt that Reading, with its growing population reaching 60,000, was in need of a new school. The school aimed to provide high quality education with a Christian ethos at an affordable price. When founded, the school had an enrollment of 40 girls, which steadily increased to 120 by 1902, when Miss Helen Musson MA, the new headmistress, was appointed.