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Reading Blue Coat School

Reading Blue Coat is a leading independent co-educational day school for students from ages 11 to 18. As at September 2025, the School has over 850 students and is now into our third year of full co-educational from Year 7 upwards – our Sixth Form has been fully co-educational for over 40 years; all year groups will be co-educational by September 2027.

The School was founded in 1646 by Richard Aldworth, a Master of The Skinners’ Company, and a Governor of Christ’s Hospital in Horsham, West Sussex. Inspired by the philanthropic nature of of Christ's Hospital, Richard Aldworth set aside £4,000 in his Will ‘For the education and bringing upp of twenty poore boyes of Reading’  Through this one, simple act, Aldworth’s Hospital, now Reading Blue Coat, was created. In 1660 the first students walked through the doors of a former inn in Silver Street in the Centre of Reading. And in 1947, Reading Blue Coat moved to the magnificent estate of Holme Park in the Berkshire village of Sonning, where it remains today.

The ethos of the School derives from its Christian foundation and traditions, fostering care and concern within the community and enabling all students to develop their full potential. The School aims to provide a stimulating and friendly atmosphere in which each student can realise his or her full intellectual, physical, and creative potential. Students are encouraged to be self-reliant and adaptable, and the School intends that they will learn the basis of good citizenship, founded on honesty, fairness and understanding of the needs of others. The curriculum provides a balanced blend of academic and co-curricular activities that combine to meet these objectives.

In living this ethos, we strive to fulfil our purpose to:

  • Inspire in our students a life-long love of learning, and the confidence to individually flourish
  • Equip our students to thrive in a rapidly changing world
  • Cultivate a warm, kind, noticing culture where students are happy, inclusion is the norm, and diversity is celebrated
  • Develop grounded, socially responsible, outward looking students, ready to lead fulfilling lives and make a positive contribution to the world
  • Nurture a community based on our shared values of aspiration, compassion, courage, integrity and service

 The School employs more than 200 salaried staff, of whom about 50% are teaching staff. Reflecting the move to full co-education, nearly half of our teaching staff are female.

01/05/2026
Full time Permanent
HR Adviser
Reading Blue Coat School Sonning, Reading, UK
The main purpose of the Human Resources Adviser will be to undertake the full range of HR generalist activities in support of the Director of HR. They will deliver a first-class people service that meets the School’s objectives, working in partnership with department line managers. The post holder will be the first point of contact for staff and senior managers looking for employee relations advice, will work on a variety of HR projects, as well as helping to ensure that the School meets all its regulatory, legislative and statutory requirements through effective HR administration and process implementation. The team consists of the Director of HR, HR Adviser and HR Administrator. The HR Adviser will also work closely with the Bursar and Headmaster, as well as the Finance team, particularly in relation to the administration of staff pay and benefits. Resources: Will operate the My Blue Coat (CIPHR HR system), TES Develop, iSAMs, Bravo Benefits and Unum software systems...
Salary will be in the range of £40-45,000 dependent on skills and experience.