Denefield School
Denefield School is a state-funded UK academy trust secondary school and sixth form in Reading, Berkshire, founded in 1976, serving approximately 800–1,000 pupils aged 11–18 through Years 7–13 and funded primarily by per-pupil grants via West Berkshire Council.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1976
- HeadquartersReading, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Denefield School does
Denefield School is a state-funded secondary school and sixth form located in Tilehurst, on the western edge of Reading, Berkshire, England. Founded in 1976 and operating as an academy trust (company number 07852122), the school serves approximately 800–1,000 pupils aged 11–18 across Years 7–13, with primary segments being students, parents/carers, and prospective staff. Its core products are secondary education (Years 7–11) delivering the National Curriculum and Sixth Form education (Years 12–13) offering A Levels and BTECs, supplemented by the Denefield Futures careers programme aligned with Gatsby Benchmarks, an extra-curricular programme featuring the Duke of Edinburgh Award, Combined Cadet Force (jointly operated with Pangbourne College), and Greenpower racing, plus a Pupil Premium intervention programme for disadvantaged students and teacher training pathways via OTT SCITT and Two Counties Teacher Training Partnership. The school's technology stack is built on third-party platforms — ClassCharts for behaviour, attendance and pastoral management; Scopay for parental payments; Microsoft SharePoint as staff intranet; and Unifrog for careers — rather than proprietary systems. The school is overseen by a Trust Board chaired by Stephen Lewis (from September 2025), with Members holding the trust to account under standard academy trust governance requirements. Revenue is not publicly disclosed but is derived primarily from Department for Education per-pupil funding administered through West Berkshire Council's coordinated admissions process, supplemented by Pupil Premium allocations, Sixth Form funding, the 16–19 Bursary Fund, and parental contributions for uniform (supplied by Price and Buckland), trips, and extra-curricular activities. The school reports oversubscription (largest-ever Year 7 cohort in September 2025) and a growing Sixth Form, with students progressing to Russell Group universities and Oxbridge, and is preparing for its 50th anniversary in September 2026.
Denefield School firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Denefield School
- Legal name
- Denefield School
- Website
- https://denefield.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1976
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Denefield School is a state-funded UK academy trust secondary school and sixth form in Reading, Berkshire, founded in 1976, serving approximately 800–1,000 pupils aged 11–18 through Years 7–13 and funded primarily by per-pupil grants via West Berkshire Council.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Denefield School industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Secondary Education
- NAICS
- Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Public High Schools (EDAJAAAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Public Middle Schools (EDAJAAAC)
Keywords
Where Denefield School is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Reading
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Denefield School business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Denefield School product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Denefield School is a UK secondary school and sixth form academy located in Reading, Berkshire. It delivers full-time education for students aged 11-18 (Years 7-13), covering Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4 (GCSE), and Sixth Form (A-Level and equivalent post-16 qualifications). The school also runs transition, careers, and teacher training programmes alongside extra-curricular and pupil welfare offerings.
Product overview
Denefield School is a secondary school and sixth form offering a unified educational service for students aged 11-18. The core provision consists of secondary education (Years 7-11) delivering the National Curriculum through a broad, ambitious academic programme, complemented by a Sixth Form (Years 12-13) offering A Levels and vocational qualifications. Supporting modules include the Denefield Futures careers programme aligned with Gatsby Benchmarks, a comprehensive extra-curricular programme featuring the Duke of Edinburgh Award and Combined Cadet Force, Pupil Premium intervention support for disadvantaged students, and teacher training partnerships. The school motto 'Success for Life' underpins all provision, with CHARACTER values (Confidence, Happiness, Articulacy, Resilience, Ambition, Courage, Tolerance, Empathy, Respect) integrated throughout.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Secondary School Education (Years 7-11)
- Sixth Form (Years 12-13)
- Denefield Futures Careers Programme
- Teacher Training Programme
- Extra-Curricular Activities Programme
- Pupil Premium / SEND Support Targeted pastoral, academic and welfare support for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and disabilities.
Quantifiable outcome
- Students progress to Russell Group universities and Oxbridge
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Denefield School
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Denefield School technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature1 record
Denefield School partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- OTT SCITTcoreInitial teacher training partnership providing School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) for aspiring teachers. Denefield works with OTT SCITT to train the next generation of teachers, with many trainees going on to secure employment at Denefield.
- Two Counties Training PartnershipcorePostgraduate Initial Teacher Training partnership. Denefield collaborates with Two Counties Teacher Training Partnership to provide teacher training pathways and ECT (Early Career Teacher) support beyond initial training.
- Pangbourne CollegeminorJoint operation of the Combined Cadet Force (CCF), available to all students from Year 10 onwards. The CCF provides opportunities for personal development through military-style activities.
- UnifrogcoreCareers platform providing all students with personal accounts for career exploration and planning. Used during dedicated lesson time in KS3 and KS4, helping students make informed decisions about GCSE options, post-16 choices, university applications, and apprenticeships.
- Price and BucklandminorOfficial school uniform supplier providing online ordering for parents. Price and Buckland supplies the school's branded uniform items including polo shirts, jumpers, and sports shirts featuring the school's soaring kite logo.
- ClassChartscoreStudent behaviour and information platform used by the school for attendance tracking, behaviour management, and pastoral care. Accessible to parents via the app for monitoring their child's school experience.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Denefield School competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Little Heath School: Co-educational comprehensive secondary school in Tilehurst, Reading - physically adjacent to Denefield and competing for the same West Berkshire admission cohort. Strong peer comparison given shared location and similar student profile.
- Reading School: Selective boys' grammar school located in central Reading, Berkshire. Directly comparable to Denefield by geography, age range (secondary), and serving the same West Berkshire/Reading catchment, with overlapping feeder primary schools.
- Theale Green School: Co-educational secondary school in Theale, West Berkshire. Directly comparable to Denefield in terms of funding model (state academy), governance (academy trust), and West Berkshire Council catchment area.
- Kendrick School: Selective girls' grammar school in Reading, Berkshire. A direct peer to Denefield in terms of geography, intake area, and rigorous secondary education; both schools compete for high-attaining students in the same catchment.
- Pangbourne College: Independent co-educational boarding and day school in Pangbourne, West Berkshire. Already a partner of Denefield through joint Combined Cadet Force operations; comparable in Berkshire location and post-16 (Sixth Form) offering, though operating under a different funding model.
- Prospect School: Co-educational comprehensive secondary school in Tilehurst, Reading. Operates in the same immediate neighbourhood as Denefield and shares the same West Berkshire admissions process, making it one of the closest direct competitors.
- Maiden Erlegh School: Co-educational comprehensive secondary school in Earley, Reading. A comparable state-funded secondary with a sixth form in the same Reading-area admissions geography, competing for similar parental cohorts.
- Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre: Non-selective co-educational secondary school and sixth form in Emmer Green, Reading. Closely comparable to Denefield as a state-funded comprehensive secondary with a sixth form, serving the same Reading-area families.
- The Abbey School: Independent girls' school in Reading, Berkshire. Comparable to Denefield in Reading location and secondary education offering, including a sixth form; competes for the same high-attaining families in the Reading area.
Emerging players
- UTC Reading: University Technical College in Reading serving ages 14-19 with a STEM and technical curriculum. Comparable in Reading location and post-16 offering, but differentiated curriculum focus; competes for a narrower STEM-focused subset of the same Reading-area cohort.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Denefield School social profiles
Digital presenceDenefield School financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Denefield School leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Denefield School funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Denefield School M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Denefield School
What does Denefield School do?
Denefield School is a UK secondary school and sixth form academy located in Reading, Berkshire. It delivers full-time education for students aged 11-18 (Years 7-13), covering Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4 (GCSE), and Sixth Form (A-Level and equivalent post-16 qualifications). The school also runs transition, careers, and teacher training programmes alongside extra-curricular and pupil welfare offerings.
Is Denefield School a public or private company?
Denefield School is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Denefield School founded?
Denefield School was founded in 1976. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Denefield School based?
Denefield School is headquartered in Reading, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
Who are Denefield School's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Little Heath School, Reading School, Theale Green School, Kendrick School, Pangbourne College, Prospect School, Maiden Erlegh School, Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre and The Abbey School. UTC Reading is listed as an emerging player.
Does Denefield School have an API?
No public API is recorded for Denefield School.
What industry is Denefield School in?
Denefield School's product category is Secondary Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJAAAD, Public High Schools, with a secondary code of EDAJAAAC, Public Middle Schools. Its NAICS code is 6111 and its SIC code is 8200.