Founded 1125
15th May 2023
FAO Vikas Vaish
c/
o xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Dear Mr Vaish,
Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act, dated 12th May 2023.
Your Request:
Please provide ONLY ANONYMISED raw scores which are not linked to any other information.
Year 2023
| Row 001 | Raw Maths score | Raw English score | Final Standardised
| score|Distance to School Row 002 | Raw Maths score | Raw English score
| | Final Standardised score|Distance to School
....
Year 2022 (repeat of above information for 2022) Year 2021 (repeat of above information for 2021) Year
2020 (repeat of above information for 2020)
Our Response:
Please find below answers to your questions:
Raw Scores for Maths and English:
The examination provider, Future Stories Community Enterprise (FSCE), Contractor, will not allow us
contractually to release any information relating to the entrance test. This includes information relating to
raw scores of the entrance test or any other related information which impacts commercial sensitivity.
Section 43 (2) of the FoIA exempts information from release where its disclosure under the Act would, or
would be likely to, prejudice substantially the commercial interests of any person or public authority.
By way of clarification in relation to the reliance on section 43, FSCE maintains that it has a commercial
interest in the admissions procedure, because it is developed by them and could be adapted and used by
other institutions using the expertise and experience used to develop the test. Should this occur, it would
prejudice FSCE’s ability to sell the entrance tests in the future.
As a selective school, Reading School has to undertake entrance tests as the main function of the
admissions process. To publish the results, in the way in which has been requested by you, means you
would be able to reverse engineer the data given to you to calculate the number of questions in each
section. This could give an unfair advantage to those with access to private tutors. As a company,
registered at Companies House, release of this data would severely prejudice the effective administration
of the admissions process and undermine the validity and accuracy of the selection process and would
create circumstance where the school would incur significant costs.
The public interest of the School being able to carry out its admission process effectively outweighs the
limited transparency that can be gained from the release of the data requested.
READING SCHOOL, Erleigh Road, Reading RG1 5LW
T: 0118 9015600 F: 0118 9353505
E: xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx
W: www.reading-school.co.uk
Reading School is an Exempt Charity under Schedule 2 of the Charities Act 1993, and is recognised as charitable by HM Customs and Excise, ref. no. XT35863.
Registered address as above, a company limited by guarantee, registered in England no. 7475515.
Founded 1125
The contractors (FSCE) object to the release of raw scores on the grounds that it contains commercially
sensitive information in terms of a “trade secret”; and such a release would be actionable.
The contactor adopts a unique approach to the content of the test which gives it a competitive advantage
in the marketplace and allows it to provide a high-quality service to Reading School. The release of the
information would enable others to take advantage of the accumulated know-how and skill of the
contractor which currently gives it a commercial advantage. This would undoubtedly prejudice its
competitive position in future tender competitions. The public disclosure of this and other information
would make available to competitors commercially sensitive information and, as a result, would
undermine and prejudice the contractor’s financial status by undermining its ability to win future tenders
and future negotiations.
In relation to ‘Distance from the School’ – this information is not held.
Anonymised standardised scores and whether applicants were inside or outside of the catchment area
are available on the school website for 2021, 2022 and 2023 entry and can be found at the following link:
FOI Requests – Year 7 Entrance Tests
Information for 2020 is not held.
In applying this exemption, the School has undertaken a public interest test.
Factors Supporting Disclosure
Factors Supporting Non-Disclosure
There is clear public interest in the work of a
To reveal the details of the raw scores would
publicly funded school being closely examined to
seriously undermine our ability to ensure
encourage the discharging of public functions in
confidentiality of the entrance tests
the most efficient and effective way
There is an important public interest in the work of The contractors object to the release of their
public bodies being transparent and open to
information on the grounds that it contains
scrutiny to increase diligence and to protect the
commercially sensitive information in terms of a
public purse
“trade secret” and rates; and such a release
would be actionable.
The contactor adopts a unique approach to the
writing of the entrance tests which gives it a
competitive advantage in the marketplace and
allows it to provide a high-quality service to
Reading School at a highly competitive price. The
release of the information would enable others to
take advantage of the accumulated know-how
and skill of the contractor which currently gives it
a commercial advantage. This would undoubtedly
prejudice its competitive position in future tender
competitions. The public disclosure of this and
other information would make available to
competitors commercially sensitive information
and, as a result, would undermine and prejudice
the contractor’s financial status by undermining its
ability to win future tenders and future
negotiations in respect of such fees.
READING SCHOOL, Erleigh Road, Reading RG1 5LW
T: 0118 9015600 F: 0118 9353505
E: xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx
W: www.reading-school.co.uk
Reading School is an Exempt Charity under Schedule 2 of the Charities Act 1993, and is recognised as charitable by HM Customs and Excise, ref. no. XT35863.
Registered address as above, a company limited by guarantee, registered in England no. 7475515.
Founded 1125
The School has concluded that the arguments that support withholding the information outweigh those
supporting release.
I hope this clarifies the position for you, however, if you are not content with this response, you have the
right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the
date of this letter and should be addressed to
: xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx. If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to make a complaint to
the data protection supervisory authority in the UK, the Information Commissioner. For further information,
see the Information Commissioner's Office website at
https://ico.org.uk/concerns/. I trust this clarifies the position for you.
Yours sincerely,
Mr AM Robson
Headmaster
READING SCHOOL, Erleigh Road, Reading RG1 5LW
T: 0118 9015600 F: 0118 9353505
E: xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx
W: www.reading-school.co.uk
Reading School is an Exempt Charity under Schedule 2 of the Charities Act 1993, and is recognised as charitable by HM Customs and Excise, ref. no. XT35863.
Registered address as above, a company limited by guarantee, registered in England no. 7475515.
