It is an exciting month. On 17 March, it will be exactly 100 years since the University of Reading was granted its Royal Charter, providing full University status and the ability to award degrees. This milestone provides an opportunity to commemorate what we have built together in our community over the past century. On our anniversary and throughout 2026 we will celebrate our shared history and look ahead to the future we want to create together.
Our story began in 1892, when University College Reading was formed from the merging of the former Reading Schools of Art and Science. As an offshoot of Oxford University, we had a mission to provide higher education for the people of Reading.
From the very beginning, we were created in, by, and for the people of this community. That local commitment deepened in 1904, when leading figures George Palmer, Alfred Palmer and Lady Wantage donated the then enormous sum of £200,000 to establish our London Road campus, still in use today.
More than a century ago, our community invested in us. Today, we are proud to return that investment many times over. Our activities contribute approximately £1 billion annually to the UK economy, with around half retained locally. That’s a major part of the economy of Reading and Wokingham, supporting jobs and businesses, as well as boosting art, culture, and education in the region.
But our impact runs much deeper than that. Professor Ed Hawkins’ warming stripes, a global symbol of the climate emergency, were created at our world-renowned Department of Meteorology. Our food and farming research has improved yields and supported nature globally, and gave Eve Balfour the training she later applied when founding the Soil Association. Generations of poets and artists have gone on from Reading to create cultural landmarks as varied as the poems of Wilfred Owen to the albums of Roxy Music.
While we celebrate our past, we know that education is a forward-looking endeavour. Every student who comes to Reading is working to build a better future for themselves, their families, and the world they will inherit.
We are committed to helping them on that path, as they prepare to navigate challenges that no previous generation has faced.
Over the next century, we will focus study on the challenges that matter most: the climate crisis, food security, mental health, the impact of AI, and building prosperity in an uncertain world.
Looking ahead to our celebrations in 2026, we have numerous activities in the calendar that we would love our students, colleagues and neighbours to get involved with.
Join us for our Community Festival on 16-17 May, where we will showcase the many projects, large and small, organised to mark our Centenary, alongside fantastic live music, performances and activities. Later in May, our Whiteknights campus will become a stage for an immersive theatre production, in partnership with South Street Arts Centre, uncovering the stories that have shaped generations of students, staff and the wider community. You can buy tickets for Sparks, Parks, Halls and Balls from whatsonreading.com. And later this year, we will open our new Outdoor Learning Garden, welcoming local schools and residents to explore climate solutions hands-on.
We hope you will join us as we mark 100 years of the University of Reading, and look forward together to the next century of creating possibilities for tomorrow.
By Professor Robert Van de Noort, Vice Chancellor of the University of Reading
