85-536: Reading School is a state grammar school for boys with academy status in the English town of Reading , the county of Berkshire . It traces its history back to the school of Reading Abbey and is, thus, one of the oldest schools in England, although it closed for a few years in the 1860s. It is a state boarding school . There are no tuition fees for day pupils, and boarders only pay for food and lodging. Reading
170-667: A dilapidated block of flats and the closing of the public house the Jolly Londoner in Wentworth Avenue and replacing them with new homes, as well as relocating the shopping parade in the street to nearby Kennedy Park. As part of the Heart of Slough project, construction work on a new bus station began in March 2010, following weeks of demolition work to half of the existing bus station and the removal of Compair House near
255-703: A few dozen partially selective schools . A significant minority of state-funded schools are faith schools , which are attached to religious groups, most often the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church . All state-funded schools are regularly inspected by the Office for Standards in Education , often known simply as Ofsted. Ofsted publish reports on the quality of education, learning outcomes, management, and safety and behaviour of young people at
340-648: A field near the Great Western Road Railway Station belonging to the North Star Inn . Originally held on the first Tuesday of every month, the Cattle Market's popularity soon saw this increased to every Tuesday. A move to Wexham Street was necessitated by the postwar redevelopment of the town. The Slough Cattle Market was run by Messrs Buckland and Sons until its final closure in 1988. In 1906, James Horlick , one of
425-720: A form of the previous selective system (with students selected for grammar school ). There are also a number of isolated fully selective grammar schools, and a few dozen partially selective schools . Specialist schools may also select up to 10% of their intake for aptitude in their specialism (performing arts, art and design, humanities, languages, business studies, science, technology, etc). They are not permitted to select on academic ability generally. The intake of comprehensive schools can vary widely, especially in urban areas with several local schools. Sir Peter Newsam , Chief Schools Adjudicator 1999–2002, has argued that English schools can be divided into 8 types (with some overlap), based on
510-597: A higher budget per pupil from the Department for Education . There are a number of categories of English state-funded schools including academy schools , community schools , faith schools , foundation schools , grammar schools , free schools (including studio schools, maths schools and university technical colleges ), and a small number of state boarding schools and City Technology Colleges . About one third of English state-funded schools are faith schools ; i.e. affiliated with religious groups, most often from
595-729: A large area of agricultural land to the west of Slough developed as an army motor repair depot, used to store and repair huge numbers of motor vehicles coming back from the battlefields of the First World War in Flanders . In April 1920, the Government sold the site and its contents to the Slough Trading Co. Ltd. Repair of ex-army vehicles continued until 1925, when the Slough Trading Company Act
680-627: A mixed-use complex, multi-functional buildings, visual landmarks and a public space in the Thames Valley . Approval was given for the £400 million project by Slough Borough Council's planning committee on 9 July 2009, and work began in 2010 for completion in 2018. In December 2009, two key components of the project were signed: the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) signed its agreement to provide £11m of funding for infrastructure and Thames Valley University (TVU) courses which were due to remain in
765-583: A non-statutory programme of study in the National Curriculum are also taught, including Religious education in all Key Stages, Sex education from Key Stage 2, and Career education and Work-related learning in Key Stages 3 and 4. Religious education within schools may be withdrawn for individual pupils with parental consent. Similarly, parents of children in schools may choose to opt their child out of some or all sex education lessons. There
850-403: A particular school on a regular basis. School inspection reports are published online and directly sent to parents and guardians. Children are normally placed in year groups determined by the age they will attain at their birthday during the school year. In most cases progression from one year group to another is based purely on chronological age, although it is possible in some circumstances for
935-453: A result of a raid on the 13th), and an emergency hospital treating casualties from London was set up in Slough. Local air raid deaths and deaths at the hospital account for the 23 civilian lives recorded lost in the borough area. After the war, several further large housing developments arose to take large numbers of people migrating from war-damaged London. Between 1955 and 1957 the town was
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#17327917876961020-507: A review of the decision. During November 2016, the Slough Queensmere and Observatory shopping centres were sold to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) in a deal worth £130 million. Slough is 20 miles (32 km) west of Charing Cross , central London , 2 miles (3 km) north of Windsor , 5 miles (8 km) east of Maidenhead , 11 miles (18 km) south-east of High Wycombe and 19 miles (31 km) north-east of
1105-531: A school running in Reading before this. In 1486, the school was refounded as a "Free Grammar School" ("free" here meaning teaching the free, or liberal, arts, not that no fees were paid) by Henry VII on the urging of the then Abbot , John Thorne. From at least this time, the School was housed in the former Hospitium of St John . The main building of the hospitium still exists, but the refectory, which once housed
1190-545: A simplified view based on changing policies and legislation, the reality on the ground changed more slowly and is more complex. Since 1998, there have been six main types of maintained school in England: In addition, 3 of the 15 City Technology Colleges established in the 1980s still remain, the rest having converted to academies. These are state-funded all-ability secondary schools which charge no fees but which are independent of local authority control. There are also
1275-430: A small number of state-funded boarding schools . Nearly 90% of state-funded secondary schools are specialist schools , receiving extra funding to develop one or more subjects which the school specialises excellence in, which can select up to 10% of their intake for aptitude in the specialism. In areas children can enter a prestigious grammar school ; there are also a number of isolated fully selective grammar schools and
1360-475: A state school, attendance is compulsory beginning with the term following the child's fifth birthday. Children can be enrolled in the reception year in September of that school year, thus beginning school at age 4 or 4.5, but parents of children born between April and August may choose to delay school admission until the September following their child's fifth birthday. Unless the student chooses to stay within
1445-461: A student to repeat or skip a year. Repetition may be due to a lack of attendance, for example from a long illness, and especially in Years requiring standard tests. A child significantly more advanced than their classmates may be forwarded one or more years. State-funded nursery education is available from the age of 3, and may be full-time or part-time, though this is not compulsory. If registered with
1530-719: A subsidiary in 2018 to participate in its cooperation with Lunhua Education and Lujiazui Corporation to establish international schools with "fusion" curricula called Suzhou Reading School in China. The first school, located on plot 2 in the town of Xushuguan in Suzhou New District , was planned to have a site area of 35,100 and construction area of 50,772 m. 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
1615-700: Is Heathrow Airport , about 5 miles (8 km) east of Slough town centre. This part of the Thames Valley is notable for generally having the warmest daytime summer temperatures on average in the British Isles . Typically, according to 1981–2010 normals, the average high temperature in July is 23.5 °C (74.3 °F.) Rainfall is low compared to most of the British Isles, with under 600 mm (23.62 in) annually, and 105 days reporting over 1 mm of rain. Faith in Slough (2021) According to
1700-518: Is a town in Berkshire , England, in the Thames Valley 20 miles (32 km) west of central London and 19 miles (31 km) north-east of Reading , at the intersection of the M4 , M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire . In 2021 Census, the population of the town was 143,184. In 2021, the wider Borough of Slough had a population of 158,500. Slough borders
1785-406: Is concern that some types of discipline are harsh and can harm pupils. Prolonged periods of isolation are criticised as are excessive suspensions. There is concern that schools, especially academies are choosing punishments that cost less to administer. All state-funded schools are regularly inspected by the Office for Standards in Education , often known simply as Ofsted. Ofsted publish reports on
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#17327917876961870-487: Is equivalent to "Upper Third Form", Year 8 would have been known as "Lower Fourth", and so on. Some independent schools still employ this method of labelling Year groups. The table below describes the most common patterns for schooling in the state sector in England: GCSE A-level , BTEC , International Baccalaureate , Cambridge Pre-U , etc. All maintained schools in England are required to follow
1955-615: Is housed in the Mere. Recent new offices include those of Nintendo , Black and Decker and Abbey business centres . The registered office of Furniture Village lies in the town. The motor trade has long been represented in Slough. Until 1966, Citroën assembled cars in a Liverpool Road factory (later used by Mars Confectionery ), and it retains its UK headquarters in the town. Ford built D Series and Cargo lorries at its factory in Langley (a former Hawker Aircraft site) from 1936 to
2040-624: 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. Reading School was founded as part of Reading Abbey . The date of the Abbey's charter, 29 March 1125, is taken as the foundation date, despite the closure of the school in the 1860s. This date makes it the 10th oldest school in England , although there are hints that there may have been
2125-547: Is significantly lower due to the large shares of the British Asian and Black population speaking English as their first language. Aside from English, the most commonly spoken languages are Punjabi , Polish , and Urdu . Figures from the 2021 census showed that 32% of Slough's population identified as Christian, 29.4% as Muslim, 11.4% as Sikh, 7.8% as Hindu, 0.5% as Buddhist, 0.1% as Jewish, 0.5% as having other religions, 13% as having no religion and 5.4% did not answer
2210-458: Is the largest industrial estate in single private ownership in Europe, with over 17,000 jobs in 400 businesses. Blackberry , McAfee , Burger King , DHL , Telefonica and Lego have head offices in the town. The name was first recorded in 1195 as Slo . It first seems to have applied to a hamlet between Upton to the east and Chalvey to the west, roughly around the "Crown Crossroads" where
2295-428: Is where the school's Christmas , Remembrance and Easter services take place, and every student attends once a week. The chapel has four groups of pews, facing towards the central aisle. Above the entrance is the organ , and at the far end is the altar and vestry. Plans have been developed for improved sports and science facilities as part of the "1125 campaign". Work on improving science facilities began in 2015 and
2380-485: The 2021 census , Slough is a large town with a population of 158,400 of which 46.9% of the population was Asian , 35.9% white , 7.5% black , 4% mixed race , 1.2% Arab and 4.5% of other ethnic heritage. This makes the town one of the most ethnically diverse local authorities in the country outside of London. Despite its diverse population, English is the most spoken language in 2021, with over 110,212 citing English as their first language. Those stating other languages
2465-624: The A-level years. While most secondary schools enter their pupils for A-levels, some state schools have joined the independent sector in offering the International Baccalaureate or Cambridge Pre-U qualifications instead. Some independent schools still refer to Years 7 to 11 as "first form" to "fifth form", reflecting earlier usage. Historically, this arose from the system in public schools , where all forms were divided into Lower, Upper, and sometimes Middle sections. Year 7
2550-629: The Church of England (approximately 2/3 of faith schools), or the Roman Catholic Church (around 3/10). There are also schools affiliated to other religions; in 2011, there were 42 Jewish, 12 Muslim, 3 Sikh and 1 Hindu faith schools. These faith schools include sub-categories such as faith- academy schools , voluntary aided schools , and voluntary controlled schools : most voluntary controlled schools are faith schools. All of these are funded through national and local taxation. A number of state-funded secondary schools are specialist schools , receiving extra funding to develop one or more subjects in which
2635-459: The GCSEs . 3. ^ Additional Maths is taken by the top four sets at the same time as their GCSEs. Further Maths is optional at A Level, with some students being able to take it in one block with Maths. 4. ^ The top half of the year take an externally-assessed AS-level Philosophy exam at the end of Year 11. Those who score a B or higher can either opt-out of the subject, continue onto
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2720-575: The Humanities , specialising in English , Geography and Classics – the first school to specialise in Classics – despite entry being selected by Mathematics and verbal and non-verbal logic ability. In 2005 the school was awarded the Sportsmark gold award for a four-year period. In the same year Reading was one of just 35 schools nationally to be made a Microsoft Partner School. In 2007,
2805-587: The Municipal Borough of Slough was replaced by a larger non-metropolitan district with borough status called Slough. The enlarged district gained the Britwell and Wexham Court areas, and was transferred from Buckinghamshire to Berkshire. The borough was enlarged in 1995 to take in Colnbrook with Poyle . In 1998 Slough Borough Council became a unitary authority when Berkshire County Council
2890-693: The National Curriculum , which is made up of thirteen subjects. Under the National Curriculum , all pupils undergo National Curriculum Tests towards the end of Key Stage 2 at Year 6 in the core subjects of English, Mathematics and Science. Pupils normally take GCSE exams in the last two years of Key Stage 4 at Year 11, but may also choose to work towards the attainment of alternative qualifications. The core subjects— English , Mathematics and Science—are compulsory for all students aged 5 to 16. A range of other subjects, known as foundation subjects, are compulsory in each Key Stage : In addition to
2975-587: The Natural History Museum, London ), was laid by the Prince of Wales Edward VII in 1870, and in 1871 the school moved in. 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. The Education Act 1944 saw
3060-479: The Sutton Trust as the third highest state school, and among the top 30 schools in the country, for proportion of higher education applicants accepted at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. The report found that 16.7% of pupils were accepted to Oxbridge and 81.5% were accepted to the highly selective Sutton Trust 30 universities over the previous three years. Reading School was given the "State School of
3145-570: The county town of Reading . Slough is within the Greater London Urban Area and on the border with London Borough of Hillingdon and London Borough of Hounslow . Heathrow Airport is 5 miles away. Nearby towns are Uxbridge to the northeast and Beaconsfield to the north. Most of the area that now makes up Slough was anciently part of Buckinghamshire , however, Poyle was historically in Middlesex. The town developed by
3230-544: The eleven-plus entrance examination. The current school site consists of a main block (with two wings), a Science block , the Page building, the John Kendrick building, South House, Music School (formerly known as Junior School) and a chapel. The main school building, the chapel, South House and the building to the east of South House have all been designated as Grade II listed buildings by English Heritage. The chapel
3315-557: The 1950s until the site was redeveloped for housing in the 1990s. Ferrari , Mercedes , Fiat and Maserati now have offices in the town. Located roughly 20 miles (32 km) west of Central London , Slough is a commuter town near Heathrow Airport (7 miles (11 km) south-east), Uxbridge (6 miles (9.7 km) north-east), Maidenhead (5 miles (8.0 km) west) and Staines (7 miles (11 km) south-east). Slough residents also commute to Windsor, Reading and Bracknell as well as Central London. There are large passenger movements in
3400-539: The 1960s, Gerry Anderson 's film company was based in Slough, and his Supermarionation series, including Thunderbirds , were filmed there. The UK headquarters of Mars, Incorporated is in Slough, the main factory having been established in 1932 by Forrest Mars Sr. and Frank C. Mars . It produced the Mars Bar in Slough over 70 years ago. One of the Mars factories has been demolished and some production has moved to
3485-557: The A2 or redo the exam the following year. Those who didn't score a B or higher can redo the exam the following year. 5. ^ ^ In the sixth form , P.E. can optionally be taken as an examined A-Level . Those that do not do this must still take part in games weekly, though this is not examined or graded in any way, or must take part in Community Service during Games lessons. In Years 10 and 11, certain students are given
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3570-468: The Czech Republic. The European head offices of major IT companies such as BlackBerry , McAfee , Computer Associates , PictureTel and Compusys (among others) are all in the town. O 2 is headquartered in the town across four buildings. The town is also home to the business support organisation Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Group and National Foundation for Educational Research , which
3655-533: The Year" award by The Sunday Times newspaper in 2010 and 2019, in recognition of the school's academic achievements and community orientated ethos. 1. ^ ^ ^ ^ French, German, Spanish and Latin are compulsory in Year 7, while Mandarin can be chosen to replace a language except Latin. In Year 8 students must take 2 modern languages and Latin. 2. ^ ^ ^ ^ At least one ancient or modern language must be taken for
3740-514: The ability range of their intake: This ranking is reflected in performance tables, and thus the schools' attractiveness to parents. Thus, although schools may use the phrase "Comprehensive" in their prospectus or name, the schools at the higher end of the spectrum are not comprehensive in intake. Indeed, the variation in the social groupings in school intake, and the differences in academic performance, are enormous, and there are wider variations between supposedly mixed-ability comprehensive schools at
3825-428: The abolition of fees (apart from boarding charges), with the cost of education now being met by the local authority. The 1960s saw the rise of comprehensive education in England and Wales , but Reading was exempted in 1973 (along with the girls' grammar school in Reading, Kendrick ) after a petition of over 30,000 local people (a third of the voters of Reading) was handed to the government. On 6 July 2007 Reading School
3910-539: The ceremonial counties of Greater London and Buckinghamshire . Slough's population is one of the most ethnically diverse in the United Kingdom, attracting people from across the country and the world for labour since the 1920s, which has helped shape it into a major trading centre. In 2017, unemployment stood at 1.4%, one-third the UK average of 4.5%. Slough has the highest concentration of UK HQs of global companies outside London. Slough Trading Estate
3995-524: The compulsory subjects, students at Key Stage 4 have a statutory entitlement to be able to study at least one subject from the arts (comprising art and design, music, photography, dance, media studies, film studies, drama and media arts), design and technology (comprising design and technology, electronics, engineering, food preparation and nutrition), the humanities (comprising geography and history), business and enterprise (comprising business studies and economics) and one modern language. Other subjects with
4080-506: The corporation liable for the salary of the headmaster and gave them the power of appointing him. There were interruptions to schooling in 1665, when Parliament , forced out of London by the Great Plague , took over the schoolhouse. The English Civil War also interrupted, with the school being used as a garrison by royalist forces. The school prospered at the start of the nineteenth century; in 1830, when Richard Valpy retired from
4165-425: The country for value-added and for the average points score of each student. 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). It has recently become a DFES specialist school for
4250-627: The education system, compulsory school attendance ends on the last Friday in June during the academic year in which a student attains the age of 16. In the vast majority of cases, pupils progress from primary to secondary levels at age 11; in some areas either or both of the primary and secondary levels are further subdivided. A few areas have three-tier education systems with an intermediate middle level from age 9 to 13. Years 12 and 13 are often referred to as "lower sixth form" and "upper sixth form" respectively, reflecting their distinct, voluntary nature as
4335-471: The existing elementary schools, to fill up any gaps. The Education Act 1902 allowed local authorities to create secondary schools. The Education Act 1918 abolished fees for elementary schools. This table gives a simplified overview of how the compulsory provision of education by the state (yellow) and compulsory education (purple) developed since 1870, and also how the types of schools used for this purpose evolved. Use some caution with this table which gives
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#17327917876964420-518: The expansion and amalgamation of villages along the Great West Road . Over the years Slough has expanded greatly, incorporating a number of different villages. Original villages that are now suburbs of Slough include Chalvey , Cippenham , Colnbrook , Langley , Poyle , Upton , and Wexham . Named neighbourhoods include Brands Hill, Britwell , Huntercombe , Manor Park, Salt Hill , Upton Lea and Windsor Meadows . The urban area merges into
4505-429: The founders of the eponymous malted milk company, opened a purpose-built red-brick factory near Slough Railway Station to manufacture his malted milk product. In 2015, the business was sold by Glaxo Smith Kline and in 2017, manufacturing at the site ceased altogether. The site is currently proposed to become residential making use of the original buildings as much as possible. Starting in the 1920s, Slough Estates Ltd ,
4590-431: The higher and lower end of this scale, than between some grammars and secondary moderns. Almost all state-funded schools in England are maintained schools, which receive their funding from local authorities , and are required to follow the National Curriculum. In such schools, all teachers are employed under the nationally agreed School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document . Slough Slough ( / s l aʊ / )
4675-509: The last 20 or so years, there has been a major shift from a manufacturing to an information-based economy, with the closure of many factories (some of which had been in Slough for many decades). The factories are rapidly being replaced by office buildings. Hundreds of major companies have sited in Slough Trading Estate over the years, with its proximity to London Heathrow Airport and good motorway connections being attractive. In
4760-598: The mid-17th century, stagecoaches began to pass through Slough and Salt Hill (later absorbed into Slough), which became locations for the second stage to change horses on the journey out from London. By 1838 and the opening of the Great Western Railway , Upton-cum-Chalvey's parish population had reached 1,502. In 1849, a branch line was completed from Slough to Windsor & Eton Central , opposite Windsor Castle , for Queen Victoria 's convenience. Slough has 96 listed buildings . There are 1918 saw
4845-680: The mid-19th century, the only major employer apart from the brickfields was James Elliman , who started as a draper in Chandos Street. In 1847, he changed business and manufactured his Elliman's Embrocation and Royal Embrocation horse liniment at factories in Wellington Street and Chandos Street. Elliman became a major benefactor to the town, and is remembered today in the names of local roads and schools. In September 1851, William Thomas Buckland , an auctioneer and surveyor from nearby Wraysbury , began livestock sales in
4930-868: The morning and evening rush hours. Road transport in Slough includes: Slough is served by Great Western Railway stations at Burnham , Slough and Langley . Slough station is a junction between the Great Western Main Line and the Slough to Windsor & Eton Line to allow passengers to connect for Windsor & Eton Central . Reading : Great Western Railway operate fast services to Reading every half an hour which take about 15 minutes, as well as slow services every fifteen minutes which take 30 minutes. London Paddington : Great Western Railway operate express services to London every half an hour which take 14 minutes, as well as slow services every fifteen minutes taking 26 minutes. Slough has services on
5015-657: The neighbouring parishes of Burnham , a small area of Taplow near Cippenham , Farnham Royal and Stoke Poges which remain in the county of Buckinghamshire and Datchet which is in Berkshire. Eton is narrowly buffered by the Jubilee River and by green space (mainly the college playing fields) from part of Slough, and the two areas formerly formed the Eton birth, marriages and deaths registration district. The nearest Met Office weather observing station to Slough
5100-453: The operator of the original Slough Trading Estate , created and operated many more estates in the UK and abroad. The Slough Trading Estate meant that the town was largely insulated from many of the effects of recession . For many years, Slough's economy was mainly manufacturing-based. The company Zwicky Limited, a manufacturer of liquid pumps, filters, compression valves and aircraft refuelling units, runway sweepers were based in Slough. In
5185-476: The option of taking the GCSE as an additional subject. All students must complete Games lessons. 6. ^ ^ Not examined. State-funded schools (England) English state-funded schools , commonly known as state schools , provide education to pupils between the ages of 3 and 18 without charge. Approximately 93% of English schoolchildren attend such 24,000 schools. Since 2008 about 75% have attained "academy status", which essentially gives them
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#17327917876965270-512: The parish of Upton-cum-Chalvey (including the old village of Upton) and a smaller part of the neighbouring parish of Stoke Poges . The town was then governed by an elected local board. Such local government districts were converted into urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894 . In 1900 the Slough urban district was enlarged to absorb most of the residual parts of the old Upton-cum-Chalvey parish that had been outside
5355-585: The post of headmaster, there were 120 pupils. By 1866 disagreements between the town and school and problems with the lease on the school buildings had led to falling numbers. The school closed in the 1860s. The school re-opened, however, with the Reading School Act 1867 ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. 5) setting out its administration and funding. The foundation stone for new buildings in Erleigh Road, designed by Alfred Waterhouse (who also designed
5440-446: The quality of education at a particular school on a regular basis. Schools judged by Ofsted to be providing an inadequate standard of education may be subject to special measures , which could include replacing the governing body and senior staff. Test and inspection results for schools are published, and are an important measure of their performance. English secondary schools are mostly comprehensive , except in many areas that retain
5525-417: The question. Further information can be found on the page Demographics of Slough . There is one main tier of local government covering Slough, at unitary authority level: Slough Borough Council , which is based at Observatory House in the town centre. Most of the urban area is unparished , although some of the suburbs are included in civil parishes , including Britwell and Wexham Court . Slough
5610-459: The railway station. It was opened in May 2011. Redevelopment on this scale has been strongly criticised by conservation groups. The Twentieth Century Society has stated that [A] tragically high quantity of good buildings have been demolished in Slough in recent years, including grand Art-Deco-styled factories by the likes of Wallis Gilbert and high-quality post-war offices. More are to come down as
5695-653: The road to Windsor (now the A332) met the Great West Road. The Domesday Survey of 1086 refers to Upton, and a wood for 200 pigs, worth £15. During the 13th century, King Henry III had a palace at Cippenham. Parts of Upton Court were built in 1325, while St Mary the Virgin Church in Langley was probably built in the late 11th or early 12th century, though it has been rebuilt and enlarged several times. From
5780-647: The road to service the passing trade. Until the town developed as an industrial area, nurseries were prominent in the local economy; the Cox's Orange Pippin apple was first raised in Colnbrook (not then within Slough) around 1825, and the dianthus "Mrs Sinkins Pink" was first raised at some point between 1868 and 1883 by John Sinkins, the master of the Eton Union Workhouse , which lay in Slough. In
5865-522: The school specialises, such as Cirencester Deer Park School which currently has 5 specialisms. State schools may request payment from parents for extracurricular activities such as swimming lessons and field trips, provided these charges are voluntary. Until 1870 all schools were charitable or private institutions, but in that year the Elementary Education Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75) permitted local governments to complement
5950-448: The school to the hospital's accident and emergency department across the road. 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. The school became an academy in 2012. In 2020, the school was found to have discriminated against a visually-impaired child by not making adjustments to enable him to take
6035-462: The school was identified by the Sutton Trust as one of only 20 state schools among the 100 schools in the UK responsible for a third of admissions to Oxford and Cambridge Universities over the five preceding years. 16.0% of pupils went to Oxbridge and a 62.1% in total went to universities identified by the Sutton Trust as "top universities". In July 2011, the school was further identified by
6120-463: The schoolroom, was demolished in 1785 and Reading Town Hall now stands on the site. After the dissolution of Reading Abbey in 1539, the school fell under the control of the corporation of Reading, its status being confirmed by Letters Patent issued by Henry VIII in 1541. This was reconfirmed in the royal charter granted to the Corporation of Reading by Elizabeth I in 1560, which made
6205-552: The site of the Slough experiment , a large-scale road safety trial. The old Slough library was opened on 28 November 1974. It was officially called the Robert Taylor Library, named after Alderman Taylor in recognition of his contribution to the library service. The library was officially opened by the Mayor, Councillor DR Peters, on 15 May 1975. It was demolished in May 2017 as part of the programme of redevelopment in
6290-480: The surrounding residential areas. It was claimed that the plan would create more than 4,100 new jobs and contribute around £100m a year to Slough's economy. If both plans went ahead, nearly £1 billion would be spent on redeveloping Slough over the next 20 years. In 2009, Herschel Park (known as Upton Park until 1949), named for astronomer William Herschel , was relandscaped in a multimillion-pound effort to bring it back to its former Victorian era glory. The park
6375-440: The town centre. In the 21st century, Slough has seen major redevelopment of the town centre. Old buildings are being replaced with new offices and shopping complexes. Tesco has replaced an existing superstore with a larger Tesco Extra . The Heart of Slough Project is plan for the large-scale redevelopment of the town centre as a focus and cultural quarter for the creative media, information and communications industries created
6460-634: The town found a new home at the Centre in Farnham Road, Slough. In parallel to the town centre redevelopment plan, Segro (owner of the Slough Trading Estate) planned to spend £600 million over the following 20 years on the estate. This was intended to create environmentally sustainable buildings, open green spaces, two hotels, a conference centre, cafés, restaurants and better transport facilities to improve links to Slough town centre and
6545-478: The town tries to erase its past and reinvent itself from scratch. Despite famously heckling Slough, John Betjeman 's praise for the town hall's architecture as 'a striving for unity out of chaos' in 1948 has never been so relevant as today. C20 believes that the redevelopment of the town hall would be an act of vandalism to the civic centre and is supporting the Campaign to Save Slough's Heritage in their request for
6630-519: The urban district, including Chalvey . The urban district was further enlarged in 1930, when it was significantly expanded to take in most of the neighbouring parish of Langley (including the village), the Salt Hill area from the parish of Farnham Royal , and the Cippenham area from the parish of Burnham . In 1938 the urban district was incorporated to become a municipal borough . In 1974,
6715-455: Was abolished and the borough council took on the former county council's functions in the borough. Since 2015, Slough has had a Youth Parliament to represent the views of younger people. Slough is twinned with: Before the 19th century, the main businesses of Slough were brickfields and agriculture. The bricks for the building of Eton College were made in Slough. Later, as the Great West Road traffic increased, inns and pubs sprang up along
6800-514: Was completed in Spring 2017 as stated above. 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. Work to refurbish the Physics block began in 2022, finishing with an official reopening in early 2023. The school established
6885-512: Was featured in an episode of the documentary programme Who Do You Think You Are? focusing on the TV presenter Davina McCall . In 2010, £2 million was set aside to improve disabled access to Slough railway station in preparation for an expected increase in use during the 2012 London Olympics. Preparations were under way for the regeneration of the Britwell suburb of Slough, involving tearing down
6970-464: Was historically a hamlet in the parish of Upton , also known as Upton-cum-Chalvey, in Buckinghamshire . Until 1863 it was administered by the parish vestry and manorial courts , in the same way as most rural areas. As Slough began developing into a town, the need for more urban forms of local government grew. In 1863 a local government district was established for Slough, covering part of
7055-690: Was officially designated as the landing site for the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance when it needs to transport patients to the nearby Royal Berkshire Hospital. Previously, seriously injured or ill patients from the Reading area had to be flown either to Wexham Park Hospital near Slough , or to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford for treatment. The new arrangement means that the school field can now be used for emergency touchdowns. Patients are transported by land ambulance from
7140-599: Was passed allowing the company (renamed Slough Estates Ltd ) to establish an industrial estate . Spectacular growth and employment ensued, with Slough attracting workers from many parts of the UK and abroad. Slough Town Hall , which was designed by Charles Holloway James and Stephen Rowland Pierce , was completed in 1937. During the Second World War , Slough experienced a series of air raids , mostly in October 1940 (the largest number of people, five, dying as
7225-408: Was reclassified as industrial land by the municipal Natural Resources and Planning Bureau in 2023. An OFSTED report concluded that "examination results place the school in the top five per cent nationally", "Pupils' attitudes to learning are outstanding" and "The school goes to exceptional lengths to broaden and enrich the education of all pupils". The 2005 Key Stage 3 results were both the best in
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