The Royal County of Berkshire, commonly known as simply Berkshire, is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London to the east, Surrey to the south-east, Hampshire to the south, and Wiltshire to the west. Reading is the largest settlement and the county town.
Bracknell Forest is a unitary authority area in Berkshire, southern England. It covers the two towns of Bracknell and Sandhurst and the village of Crowthorne and also includes the areas of North Ascot, Binfield, Warfield, and Winkfield. The borough borders Wokingham and the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead in Berkshire, and also parts of Surrey and Hampshire.
Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. In the 2021 Census, it had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Buckinghamshire. The town is situated 27 miles (43 km) west of Charing Cross, London and 13 miles (21 km) east-northeast of the county town of Reading. The town differs from the Parliamentary constituency of Maidenhead, which includes a number of outer suburbs and villages, including villages which form part of the Borough of Wokingham such as Twyford, Charvil, Remenham, Ruscombe and Wargrave.
Bracknell is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the borough of Bracknell Forest. It lies 11 miles (18 km) to the east of Reading, 9 miles (14 km) south of Maidenhead, 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Windsor and 25 miles (40 km) west of central London. Bracknell is the third largest town in Berkshire.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a local government district with royal borough status in Berkshire, England. Its council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. The borough is named after its two largest towns of Maidenhead and Windsor. The borough also includes the towns of Ascot and Eton, plus numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. It is home to Windsor Castle, Eton College, Legoland Windsor and Ascot Racecourse. It is one of only four boroughs in England entitled to be prefixed royal.
Eton is a town in Berkshire, England, on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor, connected to it by Windsor Bridge. The civil parish, which also includes the village of Eton Wick two miles west of the town, had a population of 4,692 at the 2011 Census. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Buckinghamshire, in 1974 it came under the administration of Berkshire following the Local Government Act 1972; since 1998 it has been part of the unitary authority of Windsor and Maidenhead. The town is best known as the location of Eton College.
The University of Gloucestershire is a public university based in Gloucestershire, England. It is located over three campuses, two in Cheltenham and one in Gloucester. In March 2021, the university purchased the former Debenhams store in Gloucester City Centre, with a new campus due to open there in 2023.
The University of West London (UWL) is a public research university in the United Kingdom with campuses in Ealing, Brentford, and Reading, Berkshire.
The Council of the Royal County of Berkshire, also known as the Berkshire County Council, was the top-tier local government administrative body for Berkshire from 1889 to 1998. The local authority had responsibilities for education, social services, public transport, planning, emergency services and waste disposal, and had 87 members. Berkshire County Council shared power with six lower-tier district councils, each of which directed local matters.
Bray, occasionally Bray on Thames, is a suburban village and civil parish in the Windsor and Maidenhead district, in the ceremonial county of Berkshire. It sits on the banks of the River Thames, to the southeast of Maidenhead of which it is a suburb. The village is mentioned in the comedic song "The Vicar of Bray". Bray contains two of the nine three-Michelin-starred restaurants in the United Kingdom and has several large business premises including Bray Studios at Water Oakley, where the first series of Hammer Horror films were produced.
Eton Wick is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Eton, in the Windsor and Maidenhead district, in Berkshire, England. Historically it was part of Buckinghamshire. Between the River Thames and the Jubilee River, the village is close to the towns of Windsor, Eton and Slough. The village has a long history, with evidence of habitation dating back over 5,500 years, including a Neolithic causewayed enclosure and a variety of later historical periods marked by significant agricultural and social development.
Maidenhead is a constituency in Berkshire represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by Joshua Reynolds, a Liberal Democrat, since 2024. Following its creation at the 1997 general election, the seat was held for twenty-seven years by Conservative Member of Parliament Theresa May, who served as Home Secretary from 2010 to 2016 and as Prime Minister from 2016 to 2019.
Windsor (/ˈwɪnzə/) is a constituency in Berkshire, currently represented by Jack Rankin of the Conservative Party. It was re-created for the 1997 general election after it was abolished following the 1970 general election and replaced by the Windsor and Maidenhead constituency.
Strode's College is a sixth form college located in Egham, Surrey. It was founded in 1704, when Henry Strode bequeathed £6,000 to set up a free school in his native parish of Egham. In the twentieth century, Strode's became a boys' grammar school, before being designated a sixth form college in 1975. The college also provides a range of day and evening Adult Education courses. Strode's has been part of the Windsor Forest Colleges Group since May 2017. Alumni of the college are sometimes referred to as Old Strodians.
Sunninghill and Ascot is a civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and takes up most of the south-east corner of the English county of Berkshire. It covers the town of Ascot, and the village of Sunninghill including the neighbourhoods Cheapside and South Ascot. As well as part of the village of North Ascot.
Churchmead School is a co-educational Church of England voluntary aided secondary school that caters for 11- to 16-year-olds. It is located in Datchet, near Slough, England. The school's motto is "Believe to Achieve". The school has also gained Specialist Arts College status.
Windsor Forest Colleges Group is a group of further education colleges located in Berkshire and Surrey, England. It was formerly known as East Berkshire College. It consists of Strode's College, Windsor College, Langley College, and the Berkshire College of Agriculture (BCA).
The Berkshire Young Musicians Trust is a music education charity operating in Berkshire, United Kingdom.
UTC Reading is a university technical college (UTC) that opened in Reading, Berkshire, England in September 2013. The University of Reading, Reading College and Oxford and Cherwell Valley College are the lead education sponsors of the UTC, while business partners include Agilent Technologies, CGI Group, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Peter Brett Associates LLP and Network Rail. In 2023, Ofsted marked the college as "Inadequate".
Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council is the local authority for the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, a local government district in Berkshire, England. Since 1998, the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council.
