The Bulletin 241

FROM THE HEADMASTER

A Sports Day is one of the most evocative, emotive memories of school life for old and young alike, for many parents immediately conjuring up images of sun-scorched grass tracks, sunbaked afternoons, the canned sound-effects of the ice-cream-van chimes, and old-school egg-andspoon, wheelbarrow or sack races, without even mentioning overcompetitive adults competing in parent races, having (just by good fortune) worn lycra and spikes for the day.

The concerns about the competitive element of this event, however, always come to the fore at this time of year; indeed, a survey a few years ago provided the alarming statistic that two out of three schools ensured all students were rewarded on sports days to ensure that nobody felt left out: the argument centred around inclusivity, praising all equally, and minimising disappointment or disillusionment. This seems all the more ironic as the very phraseology of athletics focuses around excellence and dedication: setting the bar high, achieving a personal best, going the extra mile, to name but a few. Indeed, the motto of the ultimate Sports Day – the Olympic Games – citius, altius, fortius meaning faster, higher, stronger champions pushing oneself to achieve exceptional performance.

Sports Day is an established and traditional part of the School’s calendar and on one level, there is a reassurance to be sought from the fact that some things never change. A report in the annual publication The Guildfordian of 1924, one hundred years ago, notes the “dull weather” and the fact that one of the Nettles team “dropped the baton” in the relay. Some things do change, however. The sense of positivity which marks the current-day competition has not always been present; over the years the tone of the Sports Day reflections have been far more candid and brutal. In the 1974 edition of The Guildfordian, half a century ago, Beckingham’s performances on the track ranged “from mediocre to poor”, raising “the total of wooden spoons to four”! For Powell House, “apathy has been the watchword… people need to turn away from their selfish attitude.” Hamonde House didn’t fare much better with “a motley collection of results”. The post-event reprisals and recriminations led to some soul-searching: “These disappointing results come after the end of a long period of glory,” The Guildfordian reported, “which has made us all apathetic – or have we decided to let someone else have a turn?”

Fast forward to 2024 and as well as celebrating participation – indeed, our Sports Day fully embraces our sport for all philosophy – we unashamedly celebrate success. Learning to cope with disappointment, under-performance and frustration are more valuable than winning if lessons can be learned and put into practice on future occasions. Healthy competition spurs each individual to push themselves that little bit further and the supportive, positive atmosphere of today’s Sports Day highlights the impact of such solidarity; the enthusiasm and vocal encouragement of the spectators for each and every event always impress.

Healthy competition spurs each individual to push themselves that little bit further. “ ”

Our School Values and Learning Habits, far from dusty rhetoric, define who we are in the modern world and are intertwined into daily school life and, perhaps, this is nowhere more apparent than today. Aspiration and reflection, perseverance and collaboration, integrity and respect, inclusivity and courage are all on display in a very visual, explicit way, and this is a source of great pride for me to see these abstract qualities in action among our students.

I have no doubt that healthy competition within a supportive, nurturing environment is to the benefit of every individual – both for the winners and the not-quite winners – and this mindset will ensure that our students stay right on track throughout their school careers and beyond, without – I can assure you – even a sniff of apathy, selfishness or mediocrity!

INCLUSIVITY

SCHOLARSHIP

INTEGRITY

RESPECT COURAGE

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 24 June

Field Day 5.

Tuesday 25 June

Senior Prizegiving in Holy Trinity Church. Please note the change of timing; this event now starts at 6.00pm.

Wednesday 26 June

Summer Art Exhibition in the Art School.

Thursday 27 June

Fourth Form Parents’ Evening in person, in Great Hall.

Ensembles Concert in the Auditorium.

Friday 28 June

Leavers’ Ceremony in Holy Trinity Church and the Leavers’ Ball.

Monday 1 July

Hamelin performance in Holy Trinity Church.

The start of the week-long RGS Cricket Festival at Bradstone Brook and local cricket grounds.

Tuesday 2 July

Junior Prizegiving in Holy Trinity Church.

Friday 5 July

Term ends at 12.00pm.

Summer holidays start at 12.01pm.

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LATEST NEWS

200 SECONDS

The first 200 Seconds semi-final took us on a fascinating journey from the OSIRIS-REx space mission, to headless chickens, to Russ Cook running the length of Africa. The students had just 200 seconds to present on a topic of their choice, inspired by the theme of The Unexpected. Congratulation to First Form students Ishaan Ansar and Cameron Sibbald who progress to the final.

The second semi-final was equally enriching with members of the Second Form presenting on topics from the Greco-Turkish war to the power of parody in Shrek. From complex statistics to eye-watering humour, the judges were treated to a rollercoaster ride and Sam Low, Rory Mitchell and Samuel Webb also now progress to the final.

BIOLOGY OLYMPIAD

Students in the Fourth Form completed the annual Biology Challenge, a competition hosted by the British Biology Olympiad, which is a competition that tests the breadth and depth of their understanding of the natural world. Of the 46,000 entrants who sat the challenge, RGS students secured a tremendous 13 Gold, 47 Silver and 30 Bronze awards. Golds were awarded to: Stephen Bannister, Cameron Boston, Philip Cordwell, Stirling Gauld, Aidan Grieve, Harry Griffith, Casper Jackson, William Jones, Hayoon Joo, Anzhi Kuang, Chen Liang, Jack Thomson and Harper Williams.

CHARITY

The combined totals of the Great RGS Annual Family Quiz as well as the Great Hall of Rock Concert raised an impressive total of £1877.71. This sum will go towards our school-nominated charities: Surrey Search and Rescue (local); Cardiac Risk in the Young (national); and Cancer Research (international). Thank you to every single individual who support or helped, participated or contributed: we are very grateful.

It was great to see staff, parents and students past and present attending the annual Charity Family Quiz. From Peppa Pig to Paw Control, from Jaws to Silence of the Lambs, to Guess the Cereal, the quizzers of all ages were kept on their toes!

Bands from the Second Form through to the Upper Sixth then took part in a rock concert in Great Hall. The bands displayed scintillating showmanship throughout the event, expertly warming up the crowd and getting everyone to their feet. The music reflected the students' broad tastes, with covers of songs by Muse, Foo Fighters, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Nirvana, Journey, and Britney Spears. There was some great musicianship on display with glittering guitar solos, and instrumental prowess demonstrated on the drums, keyboards and bass. A particular highlight was the wholecrowd performance of Don't Stop Believing, led by Oliver Southwell.

SPORTS NEWS

CRICKET

In the block fixture against local rivals Cranleigh School, teams from the Under 12s all the way through to the 1st XI represented the RGS. Highlights included a clean sweep of victories for our four Under 12 teams and an impressive knock of 50 by Alex Kay for the 2nd XI and 50* for Khalil Aziz for the Under 13As. This was then followed by yet another rain-affected weekend, as only three games survived a day of sun and rain, showers and foreboding skies. The 1st XI secured an excellent 19-run victory against St Paul’s School with captain Tom Bull being bowled for an impressive 99.

FOOTBALL

The final Under 15 fixture of term saw a development XI play against Gordon's School. Despite being 0-2 down at half term, a muchimproved, quality second half display resulted in a 4-2 win with goals from Kiki Akin-Olugbade, Alex Boyd, Jasper Cliffe and Henry Tabberner It has been a great season for the Under 15s, going undefeated but, more importantly, involving a wide group of talented young men who love their football.

ULTIMATE FRISBEE

The RGS team travelled to Reigate for a pair of ultimate frisbee matches. The team, featuring students from the Fourth and Lower Sixth Forms, lost by a single score against both Tonbridge School and Reigate Grammar School. With the benefit of these experiences behind them, they now travel to Leicester for the Nationals.

SAILING

The RGS hosted the Thames Valley Championship: our area’s regional round of the Team Racing competitions. After 80 races in total in the round robin, RGS Green were unbeaten to progress to the first semi-final against Sevenoaks School. After a narrow defeat the RGS ended up in the petit-final facing Sherborne School; despite losing the RGS finished in fourth place out of the 20 teams. It was an excellent day of racing in the build up to the BSDRA Finals.

MEET OUR… SAFEGUARDING TEAM

= Designated Safeguarding Lead

= Deputy DSLs

Mr KP Tayar Teacher of Religion & Philosophy, Senior Housemaster

Mr JW Pressley Senior Master

Miss JL McAllister PA to the Headmaster

Mr MRF Royds Head of Upper School

Mr JDN Lythgoe Head of Upper Sixth Form

Mrs JSR Thorpe Deputy Head

Mr AC Dodd Head of Fifth Form

Mr M Bailey Head of Third Form

Mr MF Baggs Head of Lower School

Mr NW Gough Assistant Head Pastoral (DSL)

Mr I Wilkes Head of First Form

Mr JC Witts Head of Middle School

Mrs SL Kidgell PA to Senior Deputy Head & Heads of Year

Miss GE Spencer Head of Second Form

Mr AU Woodman Senior Deputy Head