Each year we celebrate the founding of Reading School in 1125 and its historic ties with the Borough of Reading at the Reading Minster of St. Mary-the-Virgin. This year, Headmaster, Rev Dr Chris Evans, cordially invites you to join our students, staff and governors of Reading School at our annual Commemoration Service on Friday 18th October 2024. 

Thanks to the generosity of the Parish and Vicar of St. Mary the Virgin, we have the privilege of using the Reading Minster for this commemorative service at Minster of St Mary-the Virgin, St Marys's Gate, Chain Street, Reading, RG1 2HX.

This year, we are delighted to welcome Reverend Seminarian Luke Theobald, Archdiocese of Birmingham (OR 2003-2010) as our guest preacher. Luke Theobald was born in Reading in 1991 and lived in Sonning Common, South Oxfordshire. He joined Reading School in 2003-2010 and along with academic studies he was a sergeant in the RAF cadets and played rugby for both school and a local club. He graduated in 2013 with first class honours in economics from the University of Warwick.

After working a year as an economic consultant for Fideres, he was awarded an MPhil in finance and economics from the University of Cambridge in 2015. He then joined Citi Global Markets in London as a G10 short-term interest rate trader (STIRT); trading foreign exchange forwards and interest rate derivatives and specialised in the Australian and New Zealand Dollar.

In 2018 he moved to Sydney with Citi and managed the STIRT New Zealand franchise. In the middle of 2019 Luke stepped down as associate vice president at Citi to discern a vocation to the priesthood. After a year living in a Christian community, he was accepted into seminary for the Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham.

In 2020 he began formation at the Royal English College Valladolid Spain, completing the yearlong preparatory course. In 2021 he was sent to the Venerable English College Rome, for studies and has completed two years of philosophy at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.

In 2023 Luke began and is currently studying his bachelor of sacred theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University Rome.