Welcome to the RGS

We know how important your choice of secondary school is. Although there is no substitute for visiting a school in person, we hope this series of short films provide a genuine feel for what is such a vibrant, dynamic and welcoming community, enabling you to access the RGS from the comfort of your home at a time to suit to you and your family.  We hope you enjoy the experience.

The welcome from the Headmaster film provides a great starting point to gain an overview of the RGS: our 500 years of history, our ethos and our values. You can then hear from boys, staff and parents as they provide an honest insight into various aspects of the RGS experience. Follow a typical day-in-the-life of one of our wonderful students and take a virtual walk through our school to see some of the great facilities our students enjoy.  We also invite you to view our FAQS which we hope you find helpful.

To register for admissions for 2025 (Year 7 entry), please complete the form here. Registration deadline is Thursday 17 October 2024. We are always here to guide you through our admissions process, and we will run a Q&A Forum focused on Year 7 entry in the Michaelmas Term for those that have registered to sit the assessment.

REGISTER HERE

We hope this gives you a good sense of our thriving school community and we look forward to welcoming you on a visit to the RGS soon.

Dr Jon Cox, Headmaster

Open Events

The RGS traditionally holds an open weekend each year. In addition we invite families to attend a small group tour during the Michaelmas and Trinity terms. Bookings for a place on one of our small group tours in Lent and Trinity Terms 2024 exclusively for those students going into Year 6 in September. To register your interest in booking a place please click here.

REGISTER HERE

Our Open Day takes place in October every year. Details and bookings for our October 2024 event will be published on our website in the Trinity Term. Please check back for details.

 

View our Grounds

FAQs

To help prospective parents, we have answered many common questions below that are often asked at Open Days.

WHAT IS YOUR DIGITAL PROVISION?

All RGS students are required to bring a Microsoft Surface to school each day to support their learning.  The Surface is used across the curriculum and is a requirement for many school functions such as homework submissions and access to learning resources.  All boys are expected to take responsibility for charging their Surfaces sufficiently for the whole day, having headphones/earphones with them for each lesson, and for taking care over the security and safe keeping of their equipment.

We very much hope that our remote provision will not be required in the future; however, we are always prepared if we need to revert to online learning for any length of time.  The School uses Microsoft Teams and OneNote as the basis for its online learning experience.  When and if required, and as far as possible, a normal day is replicated including a strong pastoral provision through Tutor time and twice-daily registration, an assembly programme, a full time-tabled curriculum, online clubs and societies, and daily sporting activities and challenges.  The RGS has even competed in virtual sports events against other schools to maintain competitive sport.  As all our boys have Microsoft Surfaces, remote lessons remain fully dynamic, engaging and interactive: the focus remains on inspiring the students and ensuring their progress is in no way hindered by the online experience.

 

WHAT IS THE PASTORAL PROVISION AT THE RGS?

Treating each boy as an individual and providing a supportive, positive environment is at the heart of our philosophy.  The boys establish lasting relationships within the year group; in addition, the house system, mentoring, and role of all senior boys as prefects ensure friendships are forged throughout the School.  The outstanding pastoral care on offer from dedicated form tutors, Heads of Section, Heads of Year, peer mentors and personal tutors, all overseen by the Assistant Head (DSL & Wellbeing), enables the boys to thrive in a mutually supportive environment where every boy can flourish as an individual in a community which is felt to be secure, sympathetic and supportive.  The presence of the School Nurse, Head of Learning Support and the School Counsellor provide further professional, bespoke support as required.

HOW MANY APPLICANTS USUALLY SIT THE 11+ ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS? HOW MANY SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES COME FROM STATE PRIMARY SCHOOL?

The intake in First Form in Year 7 is usually around 150 boys from state Primary Schools, Independent and Prep Schools.

We have no quota as we treat each boy individually on their merit. This year around 45% of our First Form joined us from State Primary with the remaining balance coming from both Prep and Independent Schools.

ARE BOYS ‘SET’ IN FIRST FORM FOR ANY SUBJECTS?

No. The reality is that there is such a small difference in ability between all the boys joining that there is no need to set them in any subjects. They can, however, suggest a preference whether to study French or Spanish as their core language when they join us.

WHAT KIND OF SUPPORT IS THERE IF MY SON HAS A SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEED LIKE DYSLEXIA?

The School is committed to helping every boy at the RGS achieve his full potential academically, socially and in co-curricular activities. There is a Head of Learning Support (HoLS) who oversees the identification of specific learning support needs, the arrangement of suitable support, and communication with staff, parents and other agencies to ensure consistency of approach. In addition, the HoLS has an additional dedicated member of staff to assist them and the department works closely with colleagues in the Mathematics and English Departments to provide additional support classes where necessary, including dyslexia support, study skills, and classes to support emotional intelligence.

If your son has had any learning support in his previous school, it is very important that we are fully informed. Please send a copy of any reports from the school or any other professionals such as Educational Psychologists to me, so that we can ensure this is taken into account in our provision of support for your son.

DO BOYS HAVE TO PLAY RUGBY IN FIRST FORM?

For the first two years in their games sessions, the boys are expected to play rugby in the Michaelmas Term, hockey in the Lent Term and cricket and/or athletics in the Trinity Term. This arrangement is both to offer boys experience of a broad range of sports and to develop their wider sporting skills. As part of the First Form weekly timetabled Physical Education lessons, the boys have a half-termly rotation of swimming and a general sports programme.

HOW MUCH HOMEWORK IS THERE EACH EVENING FOR FIRST FORM?

Boys will be set three to four homeworks on each day of the school week that should last no more than 20 minutes per subject.

WHAT TIME DOES SCHOOL START?

The school day begins with form registration at 8.45am; boys are allowed to access the School from 8.30am. Should boys wish to access the school earlier, the Mallison Library opens for quiet study from 8.00am and the canteen is also open for boys to buy breakfast.

Our latest ISI inspection rated our school as excellent in all areas.

Read the full report

“Throughout all age groups pupils display outstanding depth, breadth and variety of knowledge, skills and understanding, both within the formal curriculum and beyond.”
“Pupils’ communication skills, both formally and informally, are excellent. They are respectfully confident and display a natural, polite, and engaging way of communicating with each other and adults.”
“Pupils have an excellent and deep sense of their self-knowledge and self-discipline from an early age. Respectful pupil and teacher relationships and amongst the pupils themselves create the right environment to enable pupils of all ages to grow in self-confidence in preparation for the next stage in their lives.”
“They [the pupils] highly value the ethos of the school which places inclusivity at its core and which permeates every aspect of their life.”
“Pupils make an excellent contribution to others, the school and the community, in line with the school’s values. This is because pupils are highly motivated and relish a sense of challenge, together with the many opportunities the school provides for pupils of different ages to contribute to the lives of others.”
“Pupils show an acute sense of respect for each other and recognise the school’s important role, underpinned by its inclusive values, in creating an academically challenging, positive and welcoming community where they can develop and flourish as true individuals.”
“Pupils themselves spoke of the positive impact on their personal development of the bursary scheme, which enables pupils of all backgrounds to benefit from the school’s high-quality education, following its original founding principles.”
“Pupils’ development of moral understanding and taking responsibility for their own behaviour is excellent. They have a clear and deep understanding of what is right and wrong.”
“Pupils of all ages respond extremely positively to the consistently high expectations of the teaching. They enjoy in equal part both providing challenge and being challenged intellectually.”
“Pupils display excellent attitudes to their learning. They are passionate, motivated and enthusiastic, and in many areas observed it is clear that pupils’ attitudes are wholly aligned in fulfilling the school’s aims which encourages scholarship for all, growth of intellectual curiosity and the opportunity to establish important life skills through a wide range of extra-curricular activities.”
“Pupils enjoy the challenge and are adept at researching, extracting, collating and presenting information coherently.”
“Pupils were unanimous in their belief that diversity is a normal part of life, that individuals matter, and that they operate within a very tolerant and inclusive community which would not allow any sense of exclusion of those from diverse backgrounds, lifestyles and beliefs. Pupils have an excellent understanding of the importance of diversity in all its forms.”