Leighton was educated at the
University of Oxford,
matriculating as a member of
Trinity College on 24 June 1823 at the age of 16. He was a
demy (scholar) at
Magdalen College from 1823 to 1829, obtaining a second-class BA degree in 1828, and winning a prize for Latin verse in 1826. (a post in which he was "distinguished by his courtesy and hospitality", He was described as being "distinguished by an amiable and refined, but genial courtesy". ==References==