Leighton Park School
| Leighton Park School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
| Information | |
| Type | Independent, co-educational |
| Established | 1890 |
| Principal | John Dunston |
| Enrollment | 470 |
| Age range | 11 – 18 |
| Website | www.leightonpark.com |
Leighton Park School is an independent coeducational Quaker secondary school for both boarding and day pupils in Reading, Berkshire, England.
The school is located next to the Whiteknights Park campus of University of Reading, situated in a parkland setting close to Reading town centre.
Leighton Park's Headmaster is John Dunston.
Alumni
Notable Old Leightonians include:
- Ronald Allen, Crossroads and Shakespear actor
- Sir John Adye, Head of GCHQ, Chairman of Country Houses Association. Governor of Dean Close School, Cheltenham
- Maxwell Armfield, Watercolour Artist early to mid 21st Century
- Tony Baldry, Conservative Politician. Former Front Bench Spokesman
- Giles Barber, Librarian, The Taylor Institute, University of Oxford. Musicologist
- Andrew Barker, Chairman Bankers Trust
- Sir John Barlow Bt., Liberal and Conservative politician. Company Chairman.
- Quentin Bell, Son of Clive and Vanessa Bell. Writer and Art historian at Sussex University. Lived at Charleston nearby
- Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, World renowned Composer/pianist
- Christopher, 2nd Lord Brain, Peer, Photographic Administrator and Senior member of City Livery Companies
- Hon Michael Brain, Professor McMaster University, Canada
- David Buxton, Entemologist and British Council Worker, writer and anthropologist. Son of Roden Buxton, Labour MP. Mother set up Save the Children Fund.
- Robert Gillmor, President of wildlife artists. Artist and illustator
- Jim Broadbent, Hollywood Oscar winning Actor
- Basil Bunting, North East born poet
- Peter Cadbury, Television entrepreneur
- Quentin Davies, Conservative politician. Former Banker and Diplomat
- Richard Drabble QC, Government Council. Member of Council of the Bar. Leading QC
- R. H. C. Davis, Mediaeval historian at Birmingham University
- Prys Edwards, Architect, member of Eistedfod and senior figure in Welsh affairs
- Owen Edwards, Founder Director of Welsh Channel 4
- Hugh Foot, Baron Caradon, Life Peer , former Governor of Cyprus and West Indies and UK's Ambassador to the United Nations
- Robert Gavron, Baron Gavron, Printer and founder of St Ives Printing firm. Owner of Folio Books and active member of the House of Lords
- Michael Foot, Former Labour politician, Party Leader. Also a writer (biographer) and former journalist
- Martin Griffits, UN Senior Advisor on World Affiars
- Robert Hodgkin, Provost Queen's College, Oxford, Professor of History
- Canon Rodney Hunter, Scholarly priest turned missionary of great integrity who was devoted to Central Africa. Ex Chaplian to Exeter College, Oxford who was brutally murdered in Africa
- Andrew Forge, Painter, Art Critic and Former Dean of Yale School of Art
- Sir Lancelot Fox, Editor of The Lancet
- Robert Fox, Editor Various Scholarly Medical Reviews
- Prince Hassan Aziz Hassan, Egyptian Prince who remained in Cairo after Farouk's fall. Writer and Highly Accomplished pinaist and painter
- John Hall, War time Fighter Ace and modern day Barrister QC and Head of Chambers
- John Heap, Diplomat, polar scientist and Architect of the Polar Treaties
- Robin Hodgkin, Mountainer, Headmaster of Abbotsholme School and Writer on education
- Tim Horder, Jesus College Oxford, Academic
- John Hoyland, Contemporary artist
- Paul Huson, Member Arthors Guild of America, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
- Muluti Imasiku, Rapper
- Robin Langdon-Davies, Air Force pilot, Governor of Oxfam (Honourary Treasurer)
- Peter Landon-Davies, Barrister, Head of Chambers. Air Force pilot
- Sir David Lean, Hollywood winning film director, Director of Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge over the river kwai and Brief Encounter to name a few
- David Loewi, Managing Director Conran Restaurants
- Noel Marshall, Diplomat - Ambassador to Europe
- Uday Mehta, MIT teacher - Dept of Political Science
- David McFarland, Balliol College, Oxford - Fellow in Animal Behaviour.
- Avrion Mitchison, Professor at University College, London - physiologist
- Nicholas Moore, Poet
- Sir Oscar Morland, Diplomat, Ambassador to Japan after WW11.
- Lesslie Newbigin, World respected missionary and theologian who founded a faith and a Church in Southern India
- Nathaniel Parker, Film and television actor
- Alexander Penrose, Fellow King's College, Cambridge. Deputy Lieutenant Cambridgeshire. Restorer of Country Houses
- Sir Roland Penrose, Surrealist painter and Art Collecteor. Friend of Picasso, Miro, and most of ther fashionable artist of the day, Penrose set up the Institute of Contemporary Arts in Piccadily, London. An avid collecteor with his brother, Beacus Penrose, most of Roland's collection now is housed in Tate Modern at Banklside in London.
- Mathew Ponsonby, 2nd Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede, Member of House of Lord's
- Karel Reisz, Hollywood film director
- Marshall Sissons, Early to mid British 21st Century Artist
- John Whitney, Company Chairman - Friends Provident and Really Useful Group Plc. Theatre Director and former Managing Director of Capital Radio in 1980's
- Professor Tim Williamson, Wykeham Professor of Logic at Oxford University
- John Wolfers, Famous Literary Agent of 50's and 60's based in London's Bedford Square
- Stuart Zender, Musician. Founder member of Jarimoquai (bassist)
- linus o brien, Musician - Vancouver based Techno writer and performer
Further reading
- Brown, S.W. Leighton Park: a history of the school. (Pub. 1952).
- Leighton Park School, Leighton Park: the first 100 years. (Pub. 1990).
- The Leightonian [school magazine]. (Pub. 1895).
- Old Leightonians Club. A list of names and addresses of the old boys of Leighton Park School. (Pub. 1945, 1957, 1973, 1990).