Whitley, Reading
| Whitley | |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SU723704 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
Whitley is a suburb of Reading in Berkshire, England.
Governance
Whitley lies within the Borough of Reading and all local government responsibility lies with the borough council. Whitley is within the Reading West parliamentary constituencyWhitley is locally most famous for being the setting of Ben Dovers film suburbia starring Marc King who is a very familiar face of reading.
Geography
Whitley, commonly known as one of the larger suburbs of Reading, Berkshire, is bounded to the north and east by a ridge of high ground carrying the road to Shinfield, to the west by the valleys of the River Kennet and the Foudry Brook, and to the south by an ill-defined boundary with the suburb of Whitley Wood. The former main road to Basingstoke passes just to the west of the center of Whitley, dividing largely residential areas to its east from a largely industrial zone to its west. The current A33 relief road to Basingstoke passes to the west of the industrial area, as does the parallel railway line. Between the relief road and railway can be found the recent Green Park business park, the Madejski Stadium, and Reading Gate retail park.
Nearby towns and cities: Reading
Nearby villages: Three Mile Cross, Shinfield
Nearby suburbs: Whitley Wood, Earley
Education
The Whitley Excellence Cluster (WEC)[1] was officially launched in January 2004. It is funded through the Government's Excellence in Cities (EiC) programme to raise school standards in challenging areas. The cluster comprises eleven schools – Infant, Primary and Secondary. The project aims to raise standards through Learning Mentors supporting KS2-3 transition, pupil inclusion activities, a gifted and talented programme and creative approaches to teaching and learning.
In 2005 WEC formed ASPIRE2, a charity that raises funds to benefit children who access education in Whitley. The charity was successful in winning a Meridian People’s Millions grant to build sensory gardens in 10 of the Cluster schools. The gardens are expected to be built by summer 2006. ASPIRE2 is also supporting WEC in developing a summer programme for Whitley children and young people, including a summer camp in partnership with Vision Ltd at Wokefield Park. In 2005, 2 camps were funded by WEC as a pilot project, with 50 children aged 9-13 taking part in team building activities, camp-craft and trips to local farms and the Hawk Sanctuary in Hampshire. The summer camp offers opportunities to experience the countryside, and to develop skills and attitudes to cope with challenging situations.