• A Grammar School was founded here in 1384 - known as the Katharine Lady Berkeley School.

• Sir Isaac Pitman, the inventor of shorthand, was a master at the British School in Bear Street, which he founded in 1837 (another source says 1832). Updated 14 Jan 2007.

There are several Research Guides from The National Archives giving an excellent overview of the history of education in this country. Also look under keywords 'educational history' and 'schools'.

• UK Schools & Colleges Database: provides information on more than 31,000 UK state and independent Schools and Colleges, and over 29,000 UK School, College and University websites (as of June 2016).
• MissingAncestors.com (archived copy) - contains information on staff and students at Industrial/Reformatory Schools & the like during the 19th and early 20th century.
• Anguline Research Archives (archived copy) produce CDs of a number of major public school registers.
• Universities: Brief biographical details of graduates of Cambridge or Oxford Universities are provided in either Alumni Cantabrigienses by JA Venn or  Alumni Oxonienses : the Members of the University of Oxford, by Joseph Foster, respectively, which are particularly useful for C of E ministers.  They are available in various forms:
  • Hard copies are held by many public libraries, including Reading Central Library.  
  • Cambridge Alumni Database free online from Cambridge University.  See also their research guide. 
  • Alumni Oxonienses: The Members of the University of Oxford, 1500-1714 and 1715-1886 free from Internet Archive.  
  • Online subscription access from Ancestry:  Oxford University Alumni, 1500-1886  and  Cambridge University Alumni, 1261-1900.