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Category 1League OneU9 to U21

Does Reading run academy trials?

Bearwood Park · Sindlesham, Wokingham, Berkshire

NoStraight answer

No open trials for the academy, but Reading's community trust runs bookable Talent ID sessions that sell out, and publishes the numbers. In 2025, 133 players moved from its Development tier to Advanced, 80 from Advanced to Elite, and 19 from Elite into academy football, with 18 more already this season. Reading is a Category 1 academy in League One, which is rare, and its own trial periods run up to eight weeks by invitation.

Category1, regained 2023
First entryU9
Talent IDBookable, U6 to U14
Into academy, 202519 players
Open trialsAcademy: none
Trial lengthUp to 8 weeks
The real routes in

4 ways players actually get in.

Trust tiers with half-termly fixtures, then an academy trial of up to eight weeks by invitation.

  1. 01
    Paid programmePaid, per term
    Community Trust Talent ID session

    Bookable, first come first served, one-hour sessions at Arborfield Green for U6 to U14 age bands. Entry point to a three-tier training centre programme: Development, Advanced, Elite.

    Official page ↗
  2. 02
    Official route
    Elite Centre into an academy trial

    The Elite tier trains weekly and plays other professional clubs' community programmes each half term. Graduates are invited on trial to an academy age group. The trust reports 19 progressions in 2025.

    Official page ↗
  3. 03
    Scouted
    Scouted at grassroots in Berkshire

    Academy scouts cover Berkshire, north Hampshire and south Oxfordshire. Trial periods of up to eight weeks follow.

  4. 04
    ReferralFree
    Send playing history to recruitment

    The club has said parents can send a player's playing history and current fixture list to the academy recruitment department, which may send a scout.

Where scouts watch
  • Reading and Wokingham
  • Bracknell, Newbury, Basingstoke
  • South Oxfordshire
  • EPPP limit: 1 hour travel U9 to U11, 90 minutes U12 to U16
If a scout calls
  1. Ask which tier. Development, Advanced and Elite are trust programmes. Only the academy registers players.
  2. Ask how many moved up last term. The trust publishes it, so the coach should know.
  3. Check the travel rule to Bearwood Park, near Wokingham. One hour at U9 to U11.
  4. Reading has changed ownership and league recently. Ask how academy staffing looks this season.
Watch out

Three things parents get sold.

Sell-out Talent ID sessions are a booking product. They are the start of a paid programme, not an academy trial.
Category 1 in League One is unusual. It brings national recruitment rights from U14, so competition for places is not local.
Older guides list Hogwood Park. The academy moved to Bearwood Park.
Sources

Last verified 5 September 2026. Spotted a change? Tell us and we will re-check within a week.

Nearby

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No open trials · 4 real routes in

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Walthamstow, north-east London · U9 to U21

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Category 1

Brentford

Osterley, west London · U9 to U21 and B team

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