User:Glanis/RGSTest/Royal Grammar School, Guildford

The Royal Grammar School (originally Schola Regia Grammaticalis Edvardi Sexti) is an English independent day school for boys in Guildford, Surrey. It was founded in 1509 by the will of Robert Beckingham, a wealthy grocer, and moved to the present site on the High Street after the granting of a royal charter from King Edward VI in 1552. The school is home to a rare example of a chained library established by John Parkhurst, Bishop of Norwich, in 1575 and is also the site of the first recorded game of cricket around the year 1550.[a] The current headmaster is Dr. Jon Cox who has occupied the post since 2007 and is the 35th headmaster of the school. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and has a reputation for being one of the top schools academically in the country.

Tuition at the school was initially free, but with the introduction of comprehensive education and the abolition of grammar schools the school became independent and fee paying in 1977. The school now has approximately 900 students, about 300 of whom are in the sixth form. However the school maintains a grammar school ethos, and as such operates numerous outreach schemes for local students in maintained education.

History
The founding of the school dates to 1509 and the death of Robert Beckingham, a wealthy grocer, a member of the Worshipful Company of Grocers and a Freeman of the City of London. In his will he requested that the parishioners of St Olave's church, Southwark, should obtain a licence to endow a chantry priest to say masses for his soul. If they failed to do this within two years of his death, his executors had discretion either to use the property to 'make a free scole at the Towne of Guldford' or to put the income to some other good charitable use. The license was not obtained within the required time, and so in 1512, Beckingham's executors formerly conveyed the lands in the bequest to a body of trustees consisting of the Mayor of Guildford and four 'sad and discrete men' who had formerly been mayors. With the rents they were to provide a free grammar school in Guildford with a 'sufficient schoolmaster', to teach thirty "of the poorest-men's sons" to read and write English and cast accounts perfectly, so that they would be fit to become apprentices.



Over the coming years the school ran into considerable finical difficulty and so The Mayor and Approved Men of Guildford petitioned Edward VI to grant them further endowments for maintenance. One of the kings closest advisors, William Parr, had a particular affection for the town having himself spent a large amount of time at the Kings manor house in Guildford, and it was he who advised the King to re-appropriate some of the funds arising from the Abolition of the Chantries Acts to the school. Thus in January 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", along with a grant of 20 pounds per year. The high street site was purchased in 1555 with the construction of the Grade I listed Tudor Old Building starting in 1557. It was finally completed in 1586.

The death of Dr.John Parkhurst, the Bishop of Norwich, in 1575 resulted in the founding of the schools' chained library. In his will he gave "the most parte of all my Latten bookes whereof shall be made a catalogue as shortelie as I may God sendinge me lief." although obtaining these books was not without its difficulties. Since this date the library has been added to, most notably between 1600 and 1800. The library is housed within the Gallery (now the Headmaster's Study) in the Old Building, with the present bookcases dating from 1897. The oldest book within the library was printed in Venice around the year 1480, with the oldest english book printed in circa 1500 bearing the imprint of Wynkyn de Worde. Today the library is one of the few remaining examples of a chained library located within a school.

In 1598, a court case about an ownership dispute over a plot of land located somewhere along the lower high street referred to a sport called kreckett being played at the school around 1550. John Derrick, one of the queens coroners for the county of Surrey attested that some 50 years earlier "When he was a scholler in the free school of Guldeford, he and several of his fellowes did runne and play there at kreckett and other plaies." The Oxford English Dictionary gives this as the first recorded instance of cricket in the English language.



After the granting of the charter, it took 50 years before the first set of statutes to govern the school were completed. They were finally approved by the Bishop of Winchester on 16 September 1608, and they constituted a major change in the way the school was run. Up until this point the boys were instructed in English and accounting, but following the statutes lessons were in the subjects of Latin and Greek; with students required to speak in Latin unless licensed by the master to do otherwise. Admissions following the charter also changed, with "none to be admitted scholar into the said school before he be brought to the schoolmaster of that school, and upon his examination shall be found to have learned the rudiments of grammar, called the Accidence." All scholars from the town of Guildford were required to pay the master 5 shillings on admission to the school, and for those from outside the town the charge was 10s. The number of pupils at the school was capped at 100, although this number was rarely reached. The statues also saw the introduction of school fees. Although defined as a "free" school, fees were still charged at the rate of 4s per annum, paid as 9d per quarter for the provision of "rods and brooms", with an additional shilling due on the feast of St. Michael, which was used to pay for "clean, wax candles".

On the death of Joseph Nettles (an old boy of the school) in 1691 the school's first university scholarship was founded. Nettles left eleven acres of land in his Will, first to his daughter Elizabeth Brindley, then following her death to Sir Richard Onslow and his heirs, with the rents from the land to be payed to the school for the maintenance of a scholar at Oxford or Cambridge. The scholar was to be a son of a freeman of the town of Guildford who "should have read some Greek author" and "be well instructed and knowing in the Latin tongue". His fitness in these fields was tested by the Master of the school, and the Rectors of the parishes of Stoke next Guildford and St. Nicholas in Guildford. If admitted to any college within the universities, he would then receive the rents from the lands for six years. At the end of six years; upon the scholars death; or his removal from the university, whichever the sooner, another scholar was selected. If there was a vacancy at any time, then upon the next scholars selection he would also receive all the rents acquired during the vacancy, along with the standard yearly rate. The rents arising from the lands were roughly £23 per year. The scholarship lasted until the reorganisation of the school in 1888.

In 1866 the then headmaster Revd Henry G Merriman (Headmaster 1859-75) purchased Allen House, a large house set in extensive grounds which stood opposite the school. The house took its name from Anthony Allen, Master of Chancery and Mayor of Guildford in 1740. This was initially used as a boarding house for the school between 1866-74 before later being purchased by Surrey County Council in 1921 and was used by the school up until its demolition in 1964. The grounds surrounding the house were purchased in 1914 by HA Powell and donated to the school as playing fields.

During the mid to late 19th century the school fell into disrepair and decay. Guildford Municipal Charities established a committee to report into the general condition of the school and the buildings. The committee reported in 1881 that the school had no funds available for repairs and that there were only 9 boys 'instead of the former ordinary number of 100'. Various suggestions were made by the Charity Commission to raise funds for the school, including a reorganisation with Archbishop Abbot's School, The Committee for Maintaining Higher Education in Guildford was established in Mar 1887 to oppose the Charity Commission's draft scheme to amalgamate the RGS, Nettle's Charity and Archbishop Abbot's School. The committee raised £2,238.15s.4d (approximately £108,000 in 2010) towards the restoration of the RGS, ensuring its survival. A new Charity Commission scheme came into effect in November 1888 which resulted in the Old Building being restored, and the schools continuation as a day only school. Several years later under the Education Act 1944 the school adopted voluntary controlled status; tuition was therefore free and entrance was to be by common examination at the age of eleven.

The construction of the New Building started in 1958 in the grounds of Allen House and initially consisted of a gymnasium, assembly hall, dining hall and kitchens, caretaker's flat, staff common rooms, junior library, cloakrooms and changing rooms, eight classrooms, science lecture theatre, five science laboratories, geography and art rooms, and various offices, stores and smaller rooms arranged in a J shape. The construction of the initial building was finished in 1963.

On the morning of Sunday 2 December 1962 a fire ripped through the Old Building, gutting a large part of the building including the two oldest rooms in the school, School Room and Big School. It is thought that the fire started in the Hamonde room (English master JC Mallison’s classroom), although the actual cause of the fire is still unknown. The main priority of the numerous members of staff and friends of the school who tried to help was to save the books in the Chained Library from being damaged by flames, smoke or water from the Fire Brigade’s hose pipes. The books were saved but one casualty of the rescue was Art master Ron Smoothey, who was injured by a water-filled lampshade falling on his head. Rebuilding took two and a half years, partly because the Big Freeze of early 1963 meant that work could not proceed normally with temperatures dropping to -17C at night.

The School became independent in 1977 when the parents and staff of the school, lead by the Chairman of the Governors, John Fergrieve Brown, raised sufficient funds to purchase the school. As a result the RGS withdrew from the government maintained system becoming independent and fee paying. This was followed the following year by the purchase of Lanesborough Preparatory School which became the junior school, preparing boys for entry to the RGS at either 11 or 13.

More recently in 2003 construction finished on a new £5 million Sports Centre and All Weather Training Area with Shooting Range. Followed shortly after in 2006 refurbishments were made to the Old Building site with the old gymnasium being converted into a Sixth Form Centre and the Victorian science laboratories (some of the earliest in the country) have been converted to the Art School.

In the year 2009/2010 the school celebrated the Quincentennial Anniversary of the founding of the school by Robert Beckingham, numerous events were organised, including the commissioning of a new musical work by the Director of Music, Peter White, entitled "Shall Life Inherit" based loosely on the school hymn To be a Pilgrim by John Bunyan. This year also saw a visit from HRH The Princess Royal.

Headmasters of the Royal Grammar School (1554 - Present day)
The post of headmaster (schoolmaster or just master as it was originally known) was created following the grant of the Royal Charter in 1552, with the first appointment made in 1554. There have been 35 appointments since the creation of the position. . Up until the re-organisation of the school in 1888 the post was almost exclusively filled by those of religious background, with the first headmaster being Sir Lawson, a friar from the monastery in Guildford that was dissolved in 1538. The most notable headmaster was Roger Goad (1569-1575), who was Provost of Kings College, Cambridge and three times Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, he was headmaster during the time when George Abbot (Archbishop of Canterbury from 1611-1633) was at the school.

Academic
The school has a First Form (Year 7) intake of 3-4 classes; followed by another intake in the Third Form (Year 9) of 2 or 3 classes depending on the cohort's size from the First Form, this results in an average year size of 150, and a sixth form of about 300.The pupil teacher ratio is approximately 10:1 and is low be general school standards. Class sizes range from twenty to twenty-five in the First Form through to GCSE, but are less than 16 by the final two years.

Pupils are required to take at least 10 GCSE subjects during Fourth and Fifth forms, which must include Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, English Literature, English Language and a Humanity (History, Religious Studies or Geography). In recent years the school has moved offering the iGCSE in Maths, Sciences, History and Technology. Boys in the Sixth Form usually take four AS Levels and continue with three to A2 level.

RGS is one of the most academic schools in the country. The school enjoys consistent 100% pass rates, and is consistently one of the top performing schools at both A-Level and GCSE level. Pupils at the school are very successful at gaining places at both Oxford and Cambridge universities, often featuring within the top 20 in the country with regards to number of places awarded. In the 2009/10 leavers' year, a record 42 boys have received offers from Oxbridge, and the school sends many pupils to other top universities, including Durham, Imperial and UCL.

Terms
As in most schools in the UK there are three terms in the Academic year:
 * The Michaelmas Term from early September to mid-December. This is the normal term for new boys to be admitted into the school
 * The Lent Term from early January to a time a week or two before whenever Easter falls that year
 * The Trinity Term from mid-late April to early July, during which time boys sit most public exams

House system
There are six houses at the RGS, 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 optional colour-related clothing. If someone joins as the second in their direct family to do so, they are put in the same house as their relative. There are inter-house competitions throughout the year (e.g. Rugby, Hockey, Reading, Chess, etc..) and then at the end of the year the points awarded in each event throughout the year, and the winning house is awarded the Cock House Cup.

The school's official livery colour is green, picked as a house-neutral colour.

School uniform
The school's uniform up to the end of Fifth Form consists of a white or grey shirt, black or grey long trousers and a navy blue school blazer. For the lower and upper sixth, dark coloured suits are instead worn, and upper sixth formers are permitted to wear coloured shirts. All years are required to wear an approved school tie, of which there are a vast number. Various ties are awarded for sporting, artistic or social achievements, along with house colours awarded for services to the house, and Senior Prefect ties awarded to those with the position. Recently there have also been commemorative ties celebrating 450 years since the granting of the Royal Charter, and 500 years since the founding of the school.

Sport
Sport plays an integral part of life at the RGS, it is compulsory for all years during games periods and if selected for a team can require compulsory attendance on Saturdays. Sport is also important in the history of the school, as it was the site of the first recorded game of cricket around the year 1550.[ see above ]


 * In the Michaelmas Term Rugby Union is the dominant sport, although Hockey is also played.
 * In the Lent Term Hockey is the dominant sport however Rugby sevens is popular above the Fourth form.
 * In the Trinity Term Cricket is the main sport, although Athletics is also a popular option.



The sports of Badminton, Cross Country, Fencing, Football, Golf, Judo, Rowing, Sailing, Swimming and Tennis are also available to certain year groups during the games period, and the list varies by term. Sixth form also carries a "Spectrum" games option where boys are permitted to use any of the facilities at Guildford Spectrum during the games period.

The school has enjoyed some success in the sporting arena especially in Rugby where they have had many first and second place finishes at various levels of the Daily Mail Cup. Since 2003 the six Royal Grammar Schools (Colchester, High Wycombe, Guildford, Lancaster, Newcastle, Worcester) have held the "RGS Cricket Festival", hosted by a different school each year. It is based on a round robin format and held over a period of five days towards the end of the Trinity term. In 2010 RGS Guildford and RGS Worcester came in joint first place.

Due to the town centre location the school has no playing fields on site, however a 20 acre site, called Bradstone Brook, located a few miles away in the village of Chilworth. The site was originally the grounds of a Grade II listed manor house of the same name located to the south of the site. This house was originally built in 1791 for Thomas Gibson, a wealthy London merchant, but has since been converted into a series of family homes. The site is the location of the Rugby, Football and Cricket pitches. There is a single AstroTurf located on the main school site, however the majority of Hockey takes place at Guildford Hockey Club, located at Broadwater School in Farncombe. Athletics and Swimming both take place at Guildford Spectrum.

Music
Although Music is part of the core curriculum for First to Third Form the majority occurs outside of the classroom. A large number of boys takes lessons with peripatetic music staff across numerous instruments and there is a full Symphony Orchestra composed of students, along with several other smaller classical ensembles. The majority of the Old Building is now occupied by the Music Department and as a result there are a number of performing venues, including the historic Big School, as a result the school hosts a large number of small concerts within the school as well as playing at much larger events, including a special quincentenary concert on 6 May 2010 at St John's Smith Square and another at Guildford Cathedral. In addition to classical music, there are also a number of jazz and rock bands within the school as well, and to recognise this in addition to the four main music prizes awarded each year, there is an additional contemporary music prize.

Drama
Drama is not offered as an academic subject until the Sixth Form, but numerous plays are staged throughout the year for all year groups in association with local girls schools. The department has a state-of-the-art auditorium which was converted from the old gymnasium as well as a studio called the Hansford Room sited in the North Building.

Period 8
Period 8 is the general term used to describe a specific set of extra-curricular activities that occur during an extended period eight on a Monday afternoon and includes a Combined Cadet Force which is over 100 years old, Outdoor Pursuits, Scouts, Lifesaving and Community Service among others. There are also five field days spread throughout the year on which these activities also take place. In the third form boys have the opportunity to decide between CCF (Army and Navy Sections only), Outdoor Pursuits and Scouts. More options open up through the school, including the RAF section of the CCF. The Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme was, until recently, available as a Period 8 option, however it has recently moved to be available to all students, regardless of their option, so no longer officially constitutes part of Period 8.

Clubs and societies
There are several dozen clubs and societies at the school, many of these are where pupils get together to discuss a topic of particular interest sometimes with a guest speaker. Past speakers include the ex-government drug adviser Professor David Nutt among many others. There are a wide variety of different societies ranging from the normal such as Badminton and Amnesty International to the more obscure like "Quirks and Remnants" and the "RumDoodle Society".

Publications
The school has two sets of publications acting to summarise recent school events; one is the Guildfordian published annually, it contains pieces ranging from images of impressive student artwork to university destinations of the leaving school year; the other originally published as Really Good Stuff and now published as The Register, is a termly newsletter documenting significant achievements of the pupils. A weekly news letter is published on line every Tuesday.

Admission and fees
Initially tuition at the school was free, funded by various endowments and rents obtained from lands the most significant arising from the Abolition of the Chantries Acts, and the re-appropriation of funds to the school. In 1944 under the Education Act education remained free, however the common entrance exam at eleven was introduced and the school became a selective grammar school. School fees were introduced in 1977 when the school withdrew from the maintained system and became independent. For the year 2010/2011 they are £13,023 (approximately €15,300 or US$20,000 as of December 2010) per year excluding lunches. All those wishing to be admitted now take the schools own internal 11+ entrance examination which tests English, Mathematics and Verbal Reasoning and attend an interview with two members of staff. If a place is awarded, entry can de deferred for two years so that boys who are at prep school may enter at thirteen. Those entering at thirteen must take the 13+ Common Entrance or the scholarship examination to confirm their place.

Numerous scholarships are available at both 11+ and 13+ for Music, Academic achievement, and one for Art at thirteen. Music and Academic scholarships range in value between 5%-20% with one Kings Scholarship available for a 20% reduction in fees. These scholarships are awarded based on performance in subject specific exams or performances, and an interview with the headmaster for Academic or Music scholarships, or the presentation of a portfolio of work for the Art scholarship. Until the start of the 2009/2010 academic year, the value of scholarships was substantially higher with the King's Scholarships worth 50% of the fees and a range of lower scholarships between 10-30%. This reduction was seen due to the increase in bursaries available from the school.

Charitable status and public benefit
The school is a registered charity and currently has three charities registered with the Charities Commission: King Edward VI's Grammar School (The Royal Grammar School), Guildford, The Royal Grammar School Guildford (representing the Governors), and The Royal Grammar School Guildford Foundation After the withdrawal of the Assisted Places Scheme in 1997 the social diversity of the school decreased, as a result the school began to offer bursaries to students whose parents could not afford the fees, with the first bursary offered in 2007.

The school also runs numerous outreach programmes for children from maintained schools in the local area, including a series of masterclasses in Science, Mathematics Technology, Languages and Drama for local primary school children. Also for primary school children is the Tudor Experience Project where students can explore the Tudor past of the school through a number of activities. At the higher end of the school, numerous careers and university seminars are run for sixth form students from the local area, in addition to Oxbridge preparation classes and practice interviews for local sixth form students. The school also runs several more outreach programmes, and as a result of these initiatives the school was recently awarded the Independent School Award 2010 for Outstanding Community/Public Benefit Initiative.

Old Guildfordians
Past pupils of the Royal Grammar School are known as Old Guildfordians. Over the years the school has been home to a number of notable figures, including George Abbott who was the 75th Archbishop of Canterbury, Arthur Onslow who is the longest serving Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir George Grey the eleventh Prime Minister of New Zealand, Terry Jones of Monty Python fame, and Bob Willis England cricket captain from 1978–1984 among many others.