The Bulletin 240

FROM THE HEADMASTER

The first public examinations for schools were introduced by universities in 1858 in response to demand from schools for a way to assess their pupils’ attainment. The University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate was officially established on 11 February 1858 and the first examinations took place later that same year. There were two examinations – junior for those under 16, and senior for under 18s – and they took place in local centres: schools or any suitable venues like churches or village halls. To ensure strict confidentiality, presiding examiners travelled from Cambridge to the various centres, usually by train, wearing academic dress and carrying a locked box containing the question papers. How things have changed!

Exam timetables were gruelling and, to exacerbate the pain, fell just before Christmas. Junior candidates sitting their exams on 17 December 1858, started their day at 9.00am with Pure Mathematics and finally finished at 8.00pm when the time allotted for the Latin paper ended. Even though these were the first ever set of examinations, the post-exam reports were scathing, passing comment including, “Their [the candidates’] answers, even when accurate, showed a general uniformity of expression which seemed to imply that meagre handbooks had been placed before the students to be memorised and that little attempt had been made by their instructors to excite the interest of their pupils by questionings or remarks of their own.”

Our students, therefore, join a rich tradition dating back well over 150 years and as we start half term today, so the thoughts of most of our students – and indeed their parents! – are now focused on examinations. This marks a stage in the school year when the whole community is united in its attention on, and preparation for, the challenges ahead. In this phase of the students’ education those learning habits which we continue to embed come to the fore: the tenacity to persevere and to deal with setbacks; the skill of imitation to replicate exemplar material and approaches; the criticality to challenge and question; the reflection to evaluate and improve learning; the independence to plan, take responsibility and have pride in every element of preparation; the aspiration to demand the very highest standards; and so I could go on.

The students should take reassurance from the fact that we have every confidence in them and have seen genuine potential which they undoubtedly have the ability to realise. Equally, however, just putting on an RGS blazer is no guarantee of success; this is where our learning habits and the necessary discipline, dedication and industry are key in allowing our students to reap the rewards they richly deserve.

Showing vulnerability is, in fact, to show great strength. “ ”

For many of our junior students the school examinations are simply the next stage of their learning journey; we would not expect them to be the finished article, rather it provides an opportunity for them to assess their progress and to gauge where they are, both their strengths and weaknesses.

Striving for excellence and harbouring healthy ambition are admirable traits which epitomise our community; to unlock this potential, however, the students must be confident, happy and not afraid to express their concerns or worries, especially at times of stress. A caring and compassionate environment and a mutually supportive ethos is at the very heart of our philosophy. If we can nurture a culture where our students have the confidence to be honest about their feelings, to share their concerns, and to seek help when required, then they can tackle the challenges ahead with greater confidence. Showing vulnerability is, in fact, to show great strength.

I wish the students all the very best of luck over the revision and examination period. I would also like to remind the students that my staff are here to provide as much support as they can, both academically and pastorally. If you have any concerns about any aspect of your son’s progress or wellbeing, please never hesitate to contact us. As a community, we are all united in, and focused on, wanting the very best for your sons.

INCLUSIVITY

RESPECT COURAGE

OUR VALUES

COLLABORATION

SCHOOL PRIORITIES 2022-2025

Our current RGS school development priorities are Diversity and Inclusion, Collaboration, and Student Experience. These priorities run on a three-year cycle.

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

We have focused on student and staff voice, as well as experienced external providers, to inform our strategy which is currently centred around staff diversity; developing a more inclusive curriculum; and providing additional training and support for staff and students with the aim of making our whole community more tolerant and inclusive.

COLLABORATION

We are focusing on four areas: staff collaboration to develop and improve teaching and learning; sharing best practice between RGS and RGS Prep; co-educational opportunities and links for our students socially and academically; and linking with our international schools to provide students with cultural and academic exchange opportunities.

STUDENT EXPERIENCE

This is an area of continual development; however, our current focuses are on student appearance; the reporting process; academic tracking and reporting; co-curricular participation; literacy; pastoral support; reviewing the Sixth Form curriculum provision; and effective use of student devices and the possibilities that AI offers.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Monday 27 – Friday 31 May

Half Term.

Monday 3 June – Friday 7 June

School Examination Week for the First to Fourth Form students, including a First Form trip on Friday.

Saturday 15 June

Charity Family Quiz in Great Hall.

Tuesday 18 June

Charity Rock Concert in Great Hall.

Friday 21 June

Sports Day at Guildford Spectrum.

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LATEST NEWS

ART

Joe Thorneycroft's painting has been selected for the Royal Academy Young Artists Online Show from 21,500 submissions. The acrylic, on canvas, painting entitled Dad was painted to last year's GCSE theme of Isolation Joe stated: “I wanted to study human emotions in a detailed portrait. This piece was largely inspired by the drawings and etchings of Kathe Kollwitz, a German Second World War artist.”

FIELD DAY

A really enjoyable Field Day was blessed – once again – with beautiful summer sunshine and our students were involved in a range of activities locally and further afield. These included: the Art in Context group experiencing street art in Shoreditch; the RAF section visiting RAF Odiham; the Army cadets on an overnight exercise on Bramshott Common; the Royal Navy cadets at Itchenor Sailing Club refining their rowing techniques; the climbing and coasteering group spending an idyllic day on the south-facing limestone of Dorset; the Drama and Technical Theatre group visiting the Bridge Theatre to see the highly-acclaimed production of Guys and Dolls; the Lifesaving group surfing in Cornwall; some of the First Form on a trip to the Science Museum in London; and also students involved in mountain biking, hiking, sports coaching, water sports, journalism, volunteering, camping, music making and cooking, and much, much more!

STAFF

We bid farewell, au revoir, adiós and auf Wiedersehen to our wonderful language assistants Oceane, Maria, and Matti. We are genuinely grateful to them for engaging, supporting and inspiring so many of our linguists this year. We wish them all the very best in their future endeavours.

PHYSICS

The new Year 7/8 Physics Olympiad saw 3,581 students entering. The RGS was the fifth largest entry at 201 candidates completing both sections Nationally, the mean score was 56%; our mean score was over 70%. The RGS students performed extraordinarily well, securing 131 Gold and 70 Silver awards.

MUSIC

Oscar Trott was awarded third prize at the prestigious Surrey Hills Young Composer Competition 2024. Julia Pearson, Chairman of the Festival and of its international jury, was impressed by Oscar’s piece, titled Festival Rhythms which explores rhythm with intricate and contrasting interplay between the two parts.

SPORTS NEWS

AQUATHLON

Lucas Goodey de Diego and Jake Mills-Hicks both represented the School at the GHS triathlon and aquathlon event where they swam 175m and ran 2000m. Lucas won overall with Jake finishing not far behind, in second place.

FENCING

LPJS (Leon Paul Junior Series) Boston Foil at Under 12 out of a field of 28 fencers, Cyrus Choi finished as silver medallist. This was all the more impressive as his main weapon is sabre.

FOOTBALL

Our Under 15s have been in action over the last fortnight. In the first fixture of the summer season at Surrey Sports Park, the RGS drew 3 – 3 against King Edward’s School, Witley with goals from Jasper Cliffe (2) and Kiki Akin-Olugbade They then followed this up with a 4 – 1 win against Gordon’s School, played at Aldershot Town, with goals from Kiki, Ollie Krikorian, Henry Tabberner and Eddie Wilson

SHOOTING

At the Cadet Target Rifle Competition, the RGS team comprising Oscar Engleman, Michael Goncharuk, James Nicholas, and Shreyas Pasarkar enjoyed incredible success. Michael won Gold at 300 yards; he then won Bronze at 500, while Silver went to Oscar and Gold to James at the same distance. The same three won the same medals at 600 yards. The medal for Best Individual went to Michael. Finally, we secured the trophy for Best Team. Benedict Cunningham and Joshua Myers were also key in volunteering not to shoot but instead mark targets during the two days in order for us to be able to field a team.

SPORTS NEWS

CRICKET

In the block fixture against Hurstpierpoint College, we had teams representing the RGS all the way from the Under 13s through to the 1st XI. The 1st XI won by 2 wickets in an exciting game; other highlights included a win for the 2nd XI by 37 runs, with Alex Jourdan finishing with bowling figures of 5-23. In addition, our four Under 14 teams secured a clean sweep of victories. With the bat, highlights included Xander Power with 60 for the Under 15Bs, Khalil Aziz with 50 for the Under 13As, and Joshua Horsnell with 83 for the Under 13Bs. The final block fixture of the first half of term was against Abingdon School for the first time. There were a succession of competitive fixtures, with 16 matches being played on the day. Ayush Rao scored 51* for the Under 15Bs and Angus Jennings finished with 50* for the Under 13As.

MEET OUR… Music Staff

Miss JE Newman Head of Keyboards

Mr DH Chambers Head of Strings, Teacher of Music

Miss LJA Wild Assistant Director of Music, Head of Academic Music

Mr SJ Orchard Director of Music

Mr PH White Teacher of Music

Ms S Doyle Music Administrator

Miss LA Eaton Teacher of Music