The Bulletin 245 by RGS Guildford

FROM THE HEADMASTER

The term restless frequently has pejorative, negative connotations. Parents who have attempted long car journeys with young children will particularly relate to the frustration felt as bored, fidgety and tetchy individuals, sitting in the back of the car, epitomise the very essence of restlessness! It may, therefore, seem surprising to describe a school as having a restless culture and yet that is just one of the elements of the RGS which makes me so proud.

Roy Blatchford in his book The Restless School challenges schools to consider the key ingredients of both successful institutions and also their leaders. He argues that an outstanding school should never be complacent, however successful. And yet there is a fundamental paradox at the core of his argument: such educational establishments are confident and secure in their systems, values and ethos, yet simultaneously they are endlessly looking to change and improve. The RGS is proud of its 500-year history, its established culture and approach to education, and yet a healthy culture of self-reflection, selfevaluation and innovation persists. In all such deliberation, however, we always keep the students’ best interests and welfare at the very heart of our strategy. As Blatchford comments, leading schools look both inwards to evolve and develop, as well as outwards to seize innovation to refine to their own ends. That is the restless school.

At the RGS, we continually fine-tune all we do and, in any one year, we reflect carefully and strategically on everything from our pastoral provision to daily logistics, from teaching and learning to the students’ play space. These are all aspects which we regularly discuss as a Senior Management Team and also as a staff body; in addition, however, your sons’ input as students living the RGS experience, as well as yours as parents, is invaluable as part of this process of self-reflection.

In just the last year or so, parent and student voice has steered our strategy, with clear targets and timelines, which will allow us to bring about meaningful, impactful and lasting change. The following may give just a flavour of a handful of the projects which have been a direct result of this input: the review of our reporting process; bringing optionality into our Third Form curriculum; increasing the opportunities for computer programming; refining our mobile phone policy; monitoring co-curricular participation more closely; and introducing new subjects in to the Sixth Form with the addition of Business and Computer Science at A Level.

The feedback from our students through councils, focus groups and surveys is supportive and positive, as well as honest and constructive, and yet we remain committed to making their experience even better.

Share our similarities, celebrate our differences. “ ”

In response to students’ comments we have updated our dress code to make it more inclusive; we have set-up an ICT strategy student voice group to consider, amongst other things, the use of Surfaces and AI; we have consulted on the new standards system; the Speak Up! form has been revamped to make it more user-friendly and to encourage open lines of communication; we have increased the number of co-educational opportunities, not just in the social sphere, but in all aspects of school life; the available play space for students at break-time has been considered and initiatives are already underway to improve the provision for students; we have introduced workshops on discrimination, bias and microaggressions; a Sacred Space has been created which gives our community somewhere to pray and reflect; we have made our curriculum more inclusive with academic departments making noticeable change to their syllabuses; and events and societies, such as the South Asian Literature evening and the Feminism Society, have provided the opportunity for students to hear from more diverse voices both from within and outside of our community.

As I mention, this is only the most cursory of overviews but I hope it serves to show how committed we are to continuing to improve every area of school life. As we enter the final year of our three-year cycle of School Priorities – Collaboration; Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; and Student Experience – I am excited by the progress that has been made, and is still to be made, in these areas in the coming 12 months, and beyond. We have every confidence that all these projects will make the RGS an even better school for your sons, and I look forward to keeping you updated with developments. Restless? It can only be a good thing, just so long as it’s not a car journey!

SCHOOL PRIORITIES 2022-2025

Our current RGS school development priorities are Collaboration, Student Experience and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. In the coming weeks, we will provide an update on each of our priorities and highlight just some of the projects which have been integral to progressing our three school priorities.

COLLABORATION

We recognise the importance our students and parents place on co-educational opportunities, and expanding these has been a priority over the past two years. We have established strong partnerships with over nine local schools, including Guildford High School and Tormead. These collaborations have allowed us to continue offering well-established activities including General Studies, Music and Drama productions. Recently, we have also introduced joint Field Days, historical debates, Spanish cookery, cricket fixtures, Robotics Club, FemSoc and Pride Society meetings, discos, as well as formal dinners.

In addition, collaboration takes the form of sharing best practice. Staff are now regularly engaging with educational research and are actively trialling this in the classroom. Teaching practice continues to evolve with a focus on making the education accessible and engaging for all types of learners. We also continue to nurture links with our international schools with cultural and academic exchange opportunities; recently, representatives from our Senior Prefect team spoke online to our international schools about leadership and the role of Prefects within our community.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Sports Fixtures

We very much welcome parental support this term at weekend sports fixtures including rugby at Bradstone Brook. May we politely remind you that dogs are, regrettably, strictly not allowed. Reusable mugs, however, are very welcome! Please support our drive for sustainability by bringing your own mugs for tea and coffee. Thank you for your co-operation in this matter.

May we also remind parents that for any midweek hockey fixtures at Broadwater School which take place during the school day, unfortunately, parents are not allowed to watch owing to visitor regulations which are dictated by Broadwater School. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Finally, with unpredictable weather this term please always to check our sports cancellation policy and social media platforms prior to leaving home to ensure there have been no cancellations or changes to the published arrangements.

Tuesday 8 October

Upper Sixth Form Interview Seminar in the Auditorium.

Thursday 10 October

Stand-Up Comedy Evening in the Auditorium raising money for our schoolnominated charities.

Monday 14 October

Foodbank collection. See the weekly parental comms for further information.

LATEST NEWS

HISTORY

Joshua Broadbent has won the Historical Association Key Stage 3 Young Historian of the Year 2024. The competition, in conjunction with the Spirit of Normandy Trust, required Joshua to write an essay on an aspect of British involvement in World War Two. According to the judging panel, Joshua’s essay on the possibility of failure of the D Day landings was: “well crafted, a good read, and brought out all the salient points in a logical progression”. He received his award in person from Peter Lankester, the Vice Chairman of the Spirit of Normandy Trust.

CHARITY

Thanks to the incredible engagement of our whole community in nominating and then voting for this year’s school-nominated charities, we will be supporting the following great causes: (local) The Fountain Centre which aims to empower cancer patients and their families with information and support; (national) The Felix Project which provides food support for those most in need; and (international) War Child which protects, educates and stands up for the rights of children living through conflict. We look forward to raising significant profile and funds to support these very worthwhile charities.

MUSIC

Joseph Ryan has, once again, been offered a place in the First Violin section of the National Youth Orchestra. As a result, he will experience a Proms Concert in the Royal Albert Hall with the NYO during the 2025 Proms season.

In addition, Oscar Ford, one of Guildford Cathedral’s Changed Voices Choristers, has been selected as a semifinalist in the BBC Senior Chorister of the Year 2024 competition. Oscar was Head Boy Chorister at Guildford Cathedral in 2020 and continues to sing with the choir on the back row as a changed voice chorister. Oscar is pictured with Aled Jones, just after a rehearsal with him, and also accompanist, Neil Taylor.

FIELD DAY

A really enjoyable Field Day was accompanied by heavy rain in the build-up and – for certain activities – mud, glorious mud was the main theme as our students were involved in a range of activities locally and further afield. These included: the Art in Context group visiting the Tate Modern; the new cadets from the CCF Royal Navy, Army, and Royal Air Force sections had an exciting tri-service introduction at Brunswick Camp; older CCF Army/RAF cadets underwent a specialist Military Leadership course at Tangier Wood; RN Cadets travelled to The Joint Services Adventure Sail Training Centre (JSASTC) in HMS Hornet in Gosport to undertake afloat training in Portsmouth Harbour basin and The Solent aboard either large yachts or powerboats; the Climbing group set up top topes on rock and scrambled literally upside-down in a cave; the Drama and Tech Theatre group enjoyed a guided tour of The Globe Theatre; the Lifesaving and Surfing group enjoyed the best of the weather in Cornwall; the Hiking and Mountain Biking groups took to the Surrey Hills; the Outdoor Pursuits group went to Big Hat Bushcamp in Chertsey and also braved the cold and the rain for the Nuts Challenge, a mud run which fully lived up to its name; there were also plenty of music, volunteering, set construction, sports coaching and enterprise sessions too! The First Form went on their annual Bushcraft Residential Adventure, while the Second Form visited the fascinating Bletchley Park.

COMPETITIONS

Aahan Panda was awarded second place in the T-shirt Design category of the 2024 Show Racism the Red Card schools competition. He attended the awards ceremony at Wolverhampton Wanderers’ stadium to collect his prize.

SPORTS NEWS

FOOTBALL

Our 1st XI beat Gordon's School 3 – 2 in an exciting fixture with goals from Fi Adeoshun, Dennis Dimov, and Marcus Woodhouse. Having gone 2 – 0 up, Gordon’s fought back to equalise before a Marcus Woodhouse header secured the deserved win for the RGS.

SHOOTING

In the first head-to-head match of the year for the shooting team against Bradfield, the 10-Bull IV were competing for the Hicks Suffield Jones Cup and Kian Serpant and new Captain Ayaan Bhagat both achieved an excellent score of 97. In the 5-Bull pair where Steven Dimov and Akshay Wechalekar dominated the Bradfield pair, winning 199 vs 187. The final contest of the day was a test of speed and accuracy where each school had to fire five rounds at a themed target, the RGS won 242 vs 231. Two wins out of three was well deserved after an encouraging start to the year.

CROSS COUNTRY

40 teams gathered at Bradstone Brook to compete in the annual Junior Haskell Cup. Despite mixed weather prior to the event, conditions were favourable and the competition ran smoothly. The RGS fielded four junior teams and our A Team –comprising Sam Foster, George Holmwood, Etienne Victor and Hugo Wilson – won The Cowx Cup and welldeserved gold medals.

CHESS

The RGS hosted a chess tournament attended by eight different schools and 96 players; the tournament was split into three different sections. For the RGS, Edward Haley, Ronit Sachdeva and Aditya Sengupta all won both their games.

SWIMMING

HONOURS

Zac Tinkler is the latest recipient of a First Team Honour Cap having represented RGS cricket, hockey and rugby teams at the highest level (1st XI and 1st XV): an example to others for his conduct both on and off the pitch.

In the Surrey Regional round of the ESSA National Relay competition at Guildford Spectrum, there were 30 places available in each age group for the Finals and our students duly delivered with all walking away with at least one medal. The Junior Team of William Browne, Eoghan Fuller, Dujun Huang, and George Robinson were imperious, winning both the Medley and Freestyle relays in very fast times. The Intermediate Team of Dario Alampi, Freddie Browne, Ralph Cotonet, Cillian Lee and Alex Song were up against formidable opposition but still managed third place in the Freestyle and fourth in the Medley relays. Finally, the Senior Team of Frederik Duetoft, George and Thomas Fowler, Dylan Fuller and Zack Grover posted the fastest relay times by an RGS team for many years, coming third in both their Freestyle and Medley relays. We now await all the Regional rounds to be completed before finding out how many of our teams have qualified for Birmingham.

RUGBY

In the block fixture against KCS Wimbledon, the RGS dominated the senior fixtures, while KCS had the better of the junior matches. Highlights included a 20 – 13 win for the 1st XV continuing their winning streak in this fixture going back to 2015. The Under 16As also secured a commanding 48 – 7 victory. In the cup competitions, our 1st XV beat Churcher's College 37 - 10 to progress to Round 3 of the Under 18 National Cup while the Under 15As won 43 – 0 against Gordon's School to, likewise, progress to the next round. More than 120 students in the First Form represented the Under 12A - G teams against The Judd School in the best attended Super Rugby event we’ve ever had! The block against Hurstpierpoint saw the 1st XV again securing an excellent 50 – 36 victory while the Under 15A and B were dominant in their year group.