ROYAL GRAMMAR SCHOOL, GUILDFORD

'RGS Guildford'
Founded:	1509
Motto:	'Dieu et mon droit'
Headmaster:	Dr JM Cox
Pupils:	889
Rgs-guildford-logo.jpg

The 'Royal Grammar School' is a public school in Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom. It is situated in the High Street in Guildford, Surrey. It has a rare example of a chained library.

Contents

History

Timeline

House System

Notable Past Pupils

Religion

Military

Politics

Sciences

Sport

Administration

Arts

External links

References

History

The school was originally built in 1509 after Robert Beckingham left an order in his will for a free school to be established in Guildford. In 1512, Beckingham's executors gave the lands in the will to a body of trustees, who included the Mayor of Guildford. With the rents, they were able to make a free grammar school.
Later on, the Mayor of Guildford petitioned Edward VI to grant him further money to improve the school. In 1552, Edward VI ordered that there was to be 'one Grammar School in Guildford called the 'Free Grammar School of King Edward VI' for the education, institution and instruction of boys and youths in grammar at all future times forever to endure'. RGS Guildford is the 19th oldest independent school in the UK. It was founded in the same year as St. Paul's.
In 1598, a court case referred to a sport called ''kreckett'' being played at the school around 1550. The Oxford English Dictionary gives this as the first recorded instance of cricket in the English language.
In the 1990s the school regularly placed in the top 10 secondary schools in the country in the league tables of GCSE and A-level results, but by 2004 this has slipped to being merely top 40 [1]. This is not to indicate that the school's actual performance has declined - on the contrary, statistics show that RGS exam results have actually ''improved'' year on year [2] - but rather that national GCSE and A-Level results have improved faster than RGS's own rate of improvement. The RGS itself still only offers the traditional A-levels and has not succumbed to the need to include what are regarded as weaker A-levels in order to improve its league table standing. However, more recent developements at the school have included the provision for Drama up to A2 level and recently AS Physical Education has been introduced, though this has been brought about primarily though popular demand, rather than an abandonment of the school's traditional stance in these areas. (See also: grade inflation)

Timeline

★ 1509 Robert Beckingham's Will leaves money for setting up of the school.

★ 1512 Foundation of the governing body of school.

★ 1552 The granting of the charter.

★ 1555 Purchase of the High Street site.

★ 1557 Construction of the school began.

★ 1586 Building of the old school completed.

★ 1888 Restoration of the Old Building and its continuation as a day school only.

★ 1944 Education Act under which the school adopted ''Voluntary Controlled'' status; tuition was ''free''; and entry was to be by common entrance examination at the age of eleven.

★ 1958 The construction of the New Building started on Allen House Field.

★ 1977 The school withdrew from the government maintained system and became independent and fee-paying.

★ 1978 Acquisition of Lanesborough Preparatory School

★ 2002 Construction begins on a new £3 million pound Sports Centre and All Weather Training Area. It is opened a year later by Princess Alexandra. The old gymnasium was converted into an auditorium, and reopened in 2005.

★ 2005 Construction begins on a new Art Block, containing state of the art facilities including a sculpture studio, library and media centre, to be opened 2006.

★ 2006 Construction completed on the new art block, opened early 2006. 2006 also saw the retirement of Mr. T. M. S. Young as Headmaster.

★ 2007 New Headmaster Dr. J. M. Cox joins. Chairman of Governers Mr. Douglas May dies on 24th February^[1].. He was replaced by Dr Henry Pearson MBE.
The next phase in redevelopment is the total renovation of the Music facilities and the construction of a new Sixth Form Centre.

House System

There are 'six' houses at the 'RGS':

★ Austen ''(yellow)''

★ Beckingham ''(red)''

★ Hamonde ''(dark blue)''

★ Nettles ''(light blue)''

★ Powell ''(maroon)''

★ Valpy ''(white)''
Their house colours are also shown.
These six houses are named after various benefactors of the school.
Each pupil is assigned to one of the six houses upon joining the school, and a pupil's house can be indicated to others by a range of optional colour-related clothing: in normal dress via a striped tie in house colours as an optional alternative to the standard school tie; and in sports dress by means of rugby shirts in house colours.
At the end of the school year, the points from all the events done during the school year are added up and the house which has the most points wins the 'Cock-House Cup'. In the year ending July 2006, Powell won the cup for the second year running.
Since house assignations are arbitrary and non-dormitory related (as is the case in most public schools and in university house and collegiate systems), the houses lack any real sense of rivalry, apart from on such occasions as Sports Day.
The houses are named after the various benefactors to the school, Robert Beckingham being the founder and the other benefactors providing services to, or for, the RGS.

Notable Past Pupils

Religion

★ George Abbot - Archbishop of Canterbury

★ Robert Abbot - Bishop of Salisbury

★ Gareth Bennett - ecclesiastical historian

★ George Cotton - Bishop of Hull

★ John Cotton - Bishop of Bristol

★ William Cotton - Bishop of Exeter

★ Robert Horne - Bishop of Winchester

Military

★ Sir Thomas Byam Martin - Admiral of the Fleet

★ Mark Kerr - Admiral

★ Sir John Alison - Air Chief Marshal

★ Sir William Thomas Furse - General

★ Algernon G. Durand - Lieut.-Colonel

Politics

★ James Purnell MP, 2007 Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

★ Sir George Edward Grey - Prime Minister of New Zealand

★ Arthur Onslow - Speaker of the House of Commons, Treasurer of the Navy

★ John Rickman - Creator of the Census

★ Jonathan Stone - Former aide to the Prime Minister of Australia

Sciences

★ Ernest Carling - surgeon and developer of radiotherapy

★ Mark Hovell - Doctor to Emperor Friedrich III of Germany

★ Conwy Lloyd Morgan - comparative psychologist and philosopher

★ John Vincent - President of the Royal College of Surgeons

Sport

★ Bob Willis - England Cricket Captain

★ Jeremy Spencer - England Rugby Football International

★ A.E. Knight - Captain of England Association Football Team

★ K. Lintott - England Association Football International

★ Martin Tyler - Sky Sports Football commentator

★ Simon Lazenby - Sky Sports Rugby Pundit

★ Mark Lambert - Harlequins and England U-21 Rugby Union International

Administration

★ D.W. Stable - Director of the Prudential Assurance Company

Arts

★ Terry Jones - star of Monty Python's Flying Circus, Film Director

★ John Russell - Painter, member of the Royal Academy

★ Jean Jacques Burnel - The Stranglers

★ Victor Willing - Artist

★ Andrew Haveron - Musician, Leader of the London Symphony Orchestra

★ David Flood - Organist, Canterbury Cathedral

★ David Farr - Writer and Theatre Director

★ Nicholas Rice - Percussionist, Hadouken!

External links

★ Royal Grammar School Guildford Website

References

★ "GCSE results: The Times school league table 2004 ", ''The Times'', 2004, retrieved 1st November, 2006.
1. Royal Grammar School website