The Good Schools Guide Review 2023
The Head Since 2007, Dr Jon Cox, previously second master and deputy head in charge of pupil wellbeing at Whitgift School, Croydon. Educated at Saint Mary’s College, Southampton (now closed), read physiology and pharmacology at the University of Southampton, followed by a swerve into a post graduate certificate at the Royal College of Music, where he played French horn and intended on a musical career. He then returned to Southampton to do a PhD in biochemistry. Described by parents as, ‘A thoughtful, wellread, progressive and articulate man.’ Dr Cox ‘loves the energy’ of working in schools, feels he has ‘the best job in the world’ and told us, ‘I’ll be staying here as long as I possibly can.’ He spent 14 years at Whitgift, so is clearly loyal. Still teaches biology to the third-form new joiners, who, according to one parent, ‘rave about his inspirational lessons’ and stand in awe of him. ‘The biggest problem in the first few weeks,’ Dr Cox admitted, ‘is getting them to speak to me at all!’
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A thoughtful, well-read, progressive and articulate man.’ Dr Cox ‘loves the energy’ of working in schools, feels he has ‘the best job in the world’.
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As someone who attended an independent school thanks to an assisted place, he’s genuinely invested in RGS’s inclusive ‘merit-based, open access’ ethos, seeking to educate bright, local students irrespective of financial circumstances. ‘It’s about honouring the school’s grammar school roots,’ he says. Lives off-site with his wife, Rose, and three children. His son, who is studying civil engineering, went to RGS, his daughter works in social research, while another loves drama and lacrosse at nearby Guildford High School.
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He is genuinely invested in RGS’s inclusive ‘merit-based, open access’ ethos, seeking to educate bright, local students irrespective of financial circumstances.
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Parents say he’s ‘visible and accessible’, ‘caring and concerned about the welfare of children’, with a ‘balanced outlook on life’. They also say he ‘has a good sense of humour’, which is lucky - as an avid supporter of Southampton football club he frequently needs to handle students’ sympathetic remarks with good grace.
Entrance Candidates from around 140 different schools sit the entrance exam hoping for one of 150 places(around three applicants per place). Around half join from the state sector and boys from RGS Prep undergo the same testing as everybody else; ISEB common pre-test, plus a 30-minute creative writing task as creativity ‘lacking’ in standard tests. Main entry is year 7, but there’s a small intake of around 25 in year 9. Parents and teachers agree that tutoring for entrance isn’t always helpful, ‘It's not what they know, but how they think.’ School says, ‘We're looking for students who will engage in the learning process, ’adding that, ‘In interviews, we ask accessible questions to get a sense of their inquiring minds. When we do offer, we've got real confidence in the child. We wouldn’t offer otherwise. Academic struggle can lead to a lack of confidence.’
One parent described entry testing day as ‘absolutely lovely’, with older boys looking after younger. Second interviews are offered to a ‘middle cohort’ of boys if maths or English is borderline. One parent, whose son returned for round two, said staff‘ put him at his ease. Head of admissions says, ‘If we’re testing maths and they don't know the answer, we teach them how to get to the answer, then let them try again.’ Parents told us, ‘Entrance is tough, but once you’re in you’ll be fine… RGS supports the boys they’ve chosen,’ and ‘they don’t just default to private school kids.’ ‘Trust the process, they’re thoughtful about character and potential. They pick the boys who’ll be happy. It’s not just a numbers game.’ Sixth form entry requires six GCSE passes at grade 7+, including English language and maths. To study science, grade 8+ scores preferred. Vast majority of boys stay on, joined by a dozen or so more.
Exit Parents say career advice is a highlight. Staff are ‘exceptionally generous with their time,’ researching the market, producing briefing sheets and offering specialist lectures. The director of higher education (who one parent described as being ‘worth the school fees alone’) told us, ‘The main thing is that any onward destination is the right destination.’ Favoured universities are Bath, Exeter, Durham, also Bristol, Nottingham and UCL. Huge numbers pursue sciences, but also business, management, economics, finance and engineering. In 2023, 21 to Oxbridge and four medics. ‘Small but growing’ interest in US universities.
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Careers advice is a highlight. ‘Staff are exceptionally generous with their time’.
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Latest Results
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In 2023, 90 % 9-7 at GCSE; 75 % A*/A at A level.
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In 2023, 90 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 75 per cent A*/A at A level. In 2019 (the last pre-pandemic results), 90 per cent 9-7 at GCSE; 68 per cent A*/A at A level.
Teaching and Learning A highly academic school with a long-standing track record of success, but no longer an exam factory. One OG (old Guildfordian) parent told us, ‘The school used to be strongly focused on academics and other things fitted around that. Now it has a broader outlook, more balanced opportunities and is very pastoral.’ ‘It’s a rare school,’ said another parent, ‘it has the academic, but also a care for producing well-rounded boys; it’s pastoral and academic.’
As part of what they call ‘balancing tradition with 21st century life’, the school includes a range of‘ practical and emotionally intelligent’ GCSE subjects such as drama and PE, but balancing doesn’t completely offset the competitive environment. One parent said she’d known the pressure get ‘a bit too much’ for one or two boys. ‘Academic standards are high and if you don’t have the resilience, it’s easy to get demoralised.’ Average class size is 15-20 and computers are used in almost all lessons in what teachers describe as ‘a real blend of old school and modern methods.’ Students are required to bring a Microsoft surface to school but ‘handwriting remains the normal means of working’. Parents say there are ‘no bad teachers’ and describe staff as ‘a diverse group of characters’ who are ‘absolutely incredible at extending the kids’.
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It’s a rare school, it has the academic but also a care for producing wellrounded boys; it’s pastoral and academic.
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Core languages are French or Spanish, also Latin from the outset. A second language (French, Spanish, German or Greek) is introduced in year 9 and optional studies in Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese and Russian are available throughout the school. All study four A levels in the first year, normally dropping one later in favour of the independent learning programme (ILA), valued by universities. Over two thirds opt for maths, but the offering is broad, including ancient Greek, electronics, theatre studies, music and politics.
Trips and extension activities for all subjects. In English, aside from the usual theatre trips, students attend literary events, poetry readings and academic symposia where they present their own work and ideas. Historians have had recent successes in external essay writing competitions and the historical association’s ‘Great Debate.’ Geography runs fieldwork trips in the local area, Lake District and Dorset as well as overseas. Recent departmental highlights include a student winning the Trinity Essay Prize and another winning the Royal Geographical Society essay competition. Sixth formers brought home a record 12 gold awards in the chemistry Olympiad and pupils travel internationally to represent the UK in biology and physics. We visited a chemistry practical, where ten pairs of boys happily went about their experiments. Students told us that ‘teachers here challenge your ideas’ and ‘where some schools will focus on one thing, RGS is well spread good music, arts, sports…’
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Where some schools will focus on one thing, RGS is well spread – good music, arts, sports…
Homework, one thing boys (predictably) said they’d change about RGS, dips the scales on the work side of work/life balance. Parents agreed ‘boys work really hard’ but overall, felt they coped. One lucky parent told us she’d been ‘impressed by the independence’ with which her son (year 10) came home, accessed his work online, and got on with it. Another, who described her son as ‘not normally the hardworking type’ said he ‘wouldn’t have pushed himself’ in a state secondary, ‘but at RGS he’s grown more enthusiastic about his learning’. Weekly lesson take place in the library which is open all day and after school until 5pm. The librarian runs reading awards to engage competitive instincts, as well as book groups and author visits. Curriculum research materials and a reference room for silent study.
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Learning Support and SEN Anyone with a learning need, ‘can expect kindness,’ the Head of Learning Support told us. Over 200 students identified with SEN or disability, of which around 140 on the SEN register; none with EHCPs at the time of our visit. Holistic approach includes learning support, interventions, accessible spaces and help making friends; for example ‘connections’ group for socially anxious pupils. Plenty of boys here on the autistic spectrum and many with ADHD we were told. Dyslexia and Dyspraxia support groups help with organisation, study skills and revision. Some EAL support, although students ‘have to be able to access the curriculum.’
SEN team believe strongly in the ‘parent, teacher, pupil triangle’. ‘They got in touch quickly,’ said one parent, whose son started in year 9, ‘to talk through options for support... They were accommodating and knowledgeable and I felt like they knew my son and understood his profile early on.’ Another told us, ‘We love the school - while it performs and expects high academic standards, it’s also strongly pastoral and supportive of out-of-school commitments. Our son has a laptop for all his lessons and when he struggled to keep up, teachers were responsive and helpful. We trust them with the education of our children.’
The Arts and Extracurricular
An extremely musical school. Senior choristers from Guildford Cathedral attend with scholarships in years 7-8, later supported by the cathedral’s ‘changed voices’ programme when voices break; some boys go on to gain choral scholarships at Oxbridge. The chamber choir, with Guildford High School, has sung at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Trinity College Cambridge. The school’s own(80-strong) choir performs at major functions. Peripatetic teachers deliver around 300 music lessons a week. Some musicians (performing beyond Grade 8 standard) play alongside professional orchestras in the school’s annual Concerto with Southern Pro Musica. The symphony orchestra is impressive and school bands can test their material at ‘Lockefest’, their own rock festival. Exceptional talent on display in ‘RGS Musician of the Year’. developed in weekly tech club.
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An extremely musical school… Some boys go on to gain choral scholarships at Oxbridge.
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Curriculum Drama performances are normally staged in the multi-purpose auditorium. Three productions a year one junior, one senior and one performed in French. Alternate years see musical collaborations with Guildford High School. Huge cast numbers and staff ‘always willing to expand to incorporate willing participants’. GCSE workshops with visiting companies alongside Tormead Schoolgirls. LAMDA is offered, and offstage skills developed in weekly tech club.
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They’re proud of the broad curriculum, with specialist teachers delivering French, computing, PE, music, DT, drama and art.
School guide lists over 75 clubs, including sailing, MUN, photography, anime, Dungeons and Dragons and Star Wars. DofE is popular, some boys receiving gold award each year. We popped into eco club who were discussing a wish list of reducing the school’s food and plastic waste, introducing more green spaces, installing solar panels, carpooling and reducing meat on the lunch menu. High participation in fundraising events like year 8 ‘sleep out’, charity quizzes, comedy evenings, ‘bake off’ and foodbank collections. RGS has links with a school in Nepal and raises funds to host visiting students in Guildford. Some students can visit Nepal, combining outreach with an educational holiday, but it’s not cheap.
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Over 75 clubs, including sailing, MUN, photography, anime, Dungeons and Dragons and Star Wars
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Sports School is keen to dispel old notions that ‘RGS boys aren’t sporty’ and their impressive facilities andsporting success support this. Onsite sports facilities are good: four floodlit all-weather courts, asports hall, cricket nets, a shooting range and climbing wall. Their main sports ground, with fiverugby pitches, three tennis courts, cricket squares, nets (all beautifully maintained) is a ten-minutebus ride away. Focus is on rugby, hockey and cricket but in football the U18 boys beat Cranleigh to become 2023champions in the ISFA national shield. Swimming (off-site) on half-termly rotation. Competitiveplacing in rugby tournaments across different age groups with several boys involved withprofessional academies, likewise hockey. In cricket the U13 As were county cup winners 2023 and,further up the school, three boys have featured in Surrey CCC’s U18 side. Recent national successtoo in athletics, tennis, swimming and shooting. There are ‘lots of sporty boys here,’ parents tell us.
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Impressive facilities and sporting success.
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Focus is on rugby, hockey and cricket but in football the U18 boys beat Cranleigh to become 2023champions in the ISFA national shield. Swimming (off-site) on halftermly rotation. Competitiveplacing in rugby tournaments across different age groups with several boys involved withprofessional academies, likewise hockey. In cricket the U13 As were county cup winners 2023 and,further up the school, three boys have featured in Surrey CCC’s U18 side. Recent national successtoo in athletics, tennis, swimming and shooting. There are ‘lots of sporty boys here,’ parents tell us.
Ethos and Heritage Founded on the back of a wealthy merchant’s will in 1509, the school’s Tudor ‘old building’ is on the High Street. Our guides showed us through a courtyard into ‘Big School’ - the room where all teaching once took place and which is still in use daily. Wood panelling, fireplaces and seats for the schoolmasters are a well-preserved taste of the school’s history. The removal, many years since, of an attic that once housed boarders has left high ceilings and impressive acoustics. Suitably creaky stairs lead from there towards one of the country’s only surviving chained libraries, now the head’s office, where valuable books (the oldest published 1480) have been linked together since their arrival. A plaque near the entrance records previous heads - surprisingly few; Dr Cox is clearly one in a long line of stayers. The other, larger site (mostly 1960s) is across the road. There we encountered wider corridors and standard classrooms.
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Wood panelling, fireplaces and seats for the schoolmasters are a well-preserved taste of the school’s 500- yearold history.
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Boys belong to one of six houses and loyalty is strong, with fierce competition in everything from reading and music to sport and even dragon boat racing. House ties are presented to new boys at their first house assembly in September. Ties too for sports, arts etc – some year 7 boys confirmed they already had a growing collection.
Whole school assemblies feel traditional, with staff seated on stage. When we visited, the ‘weekly reflection’ was delivered by a prefect with impressive confidence. Good behaviour and a high level of respect for staff were evident, but the head’s football jokes saw everyone chuckling and relaxed. One parent described another assembly in which they’d put it to the boys, ‘We’re all clever, but what else do we have? What can we give back? What kind of young men are we going to be?’
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Boys belong to one of six houses and loyalty is strong,
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Pastoral Care, Inclusivity and Discipline Pastoral staff have bi-weekly meetings to plan their approach to student support. School-based, independent counsellors have praised the effectiveness of the school’s internal referral systems. Boys can self-refer, and drop-in sessions are available. Parents felt the school regularly addressed mental health, stressing the importance of seeking help. The hub is a designated quiet/safe space, with bean bags, games, opportunities to socialise.
Behaviour isn’t a big concern, but the response to inevitable problems is ‘proactive and understanding’, according to one father, whose son experienced the system first hand. ‘The message,’ he told us, was that ‘there will be consequences if poor behaviour continues.’ His son was offered weekly counselling to address issues at the root of his behaviour. School is effectively challenging societal misogyny and homophobia through teaching and discussion. Parents told us the school reacted with uncompromising clarity in one situation where high standards were not upheld; another parent felt they were ‘slow to react’ after a bullying incident, but ultimately ‘handled the situation fairly’. No recent exclusions, but a firm hand is evident on the rare occasions it’s required.
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. School-based, independent counsellors have praised the effectiveness of the school’s internal referral systems.
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Parents repeatedly highlighted the school’s sense of duty: ‘There’s a sense the school will be loyal to their boys and committed to them and their families.’ Another said, ‘They help the boys through difficult times and will support children who come to them with any issue.’ They’re ‘hot on education around the danger of drugs and cyberbullying’, although, one parent thought, ‘less effective’ in their talks about alcohol. Dr Cox told us, ‘Mistakes are treated with kindness. ’RGS has a deserved reputation as the number one local destination for bright boys, regardless of background, and the resulting student body is grounded and un-entitled.
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RGS has a deserved reputation as the number one destinations for bright boys, regardless of background and the resulting student body is genuinely diverse.
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Strong principles were evidenced when the Pride club challenged their head over RGS International schools in the Middle East, where homosexuality is illegal. Dr Cox tells us he ‘sat down with students’ to assure them that RGS ‘is in the business of educating young people with good values’ and that, wherever they are in the world, ‘young people influence the future values of a culture’. Profits from RGS international schools help fund bursaries back in Guildford, where they’ve introduced flexibility on uniform, a unisex washroom and are moving away from referring to pupils collectively as ‘boys’.
Pupils and Parents Parents have ‘high expectations for their children’ staff told us. They are also ‘responsive and engaged’ and ‘really supportive, reasonable and open to discussion.’ Pupils come from all over, gaining entrance not through privilege but hard work and capability, so the mix of families reflects that inclusive ethos. RGSPA (parents association) meet half termly and raise money (equipment, outreach projects) as well as organising socials, second-hand uniform and equipment sales. Exiting year 13 parents try to fund a new bursary.
RGS boys are highly visible around town and ‘lovely ambassadors for the school.’ One parent said, ‘we feel lucky and privileged to be able to send our children there.’
Money Matters Fees slightly lower than other local independent schools and up to 100 per cent financial assistance is available. One in 14 pupils receive financial support and the school aims to further increase bursary provision, keeping alive this former grammar school’s principles of offering a good education to ‘bright local boys.’ ‘This is the direction we want to go in,’ said the headmaster. ‘The traditional idea of scholars still exists here, but is at odds with the general ethos... We don't want any parent not to consider us because of their financial circumstances. ’Scholarships are chiefly honorary. The top 24 boys for year 7 are recalled for an academic scholarship exam. Some of these are worth five per cent, with one boy receiving the King's Scholarship of 10 per cent. Music scholarships are available from year 7, art and sports from year 9.
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RGS boys are highly visible around town and ‘lovely ambassadors for the school.’
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The Final Word Educational standards are exceptionally high but it’s the pastoral strengths and grounded feel that set RGS apart. The focus on humility, gratitude and decency exceeds what we’ve seen in many other schools, as does the support boys receive making choices about their future. Pupils recommended their own school without hesitation, telling us, ‘If you get in, then it’s right for you. Come here if you’re ready for a challenge.’
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Educational standards are exceptionally high but it’s the pastoral strengths and grounded feel that set the RGS apart.
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Learn more… For information about life at RGS Guildford, please visit rgsg.co.uk.
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