The Bulletin 246 by RGS Guildford

FROM THE HEADMASTER

As Hall and Simeral champion in their book, Creating a Culture of Reflective Practice, “the more reflective you are, the more effective you are ” Finding time and space in our busy lives to reflect is not always easy; in a dynamic and vibrant school such as ours, opportunities are even more infrequent For well over 25 years, however, each week our full school assembly has included a Reflection which is delivered, for the most part, by a member of the Upper Sixth Form on the theme of the week: a message which has been interweaved into the readings and hymns. Based originally on BBC Radio 4’s Thought for the Day, this short two- or three-minute reflection may provide one of the very few times in our busy schedules where we all – students and staff alike –have the opportunity to pause for quiet reflection. This term alone, the themes have included opportunity, self-discipline, honesty, integrity, mutual respect, to name but a few. The students are given free rein to reflect in any manner which they choose, thereby producing original, diverse, insightful and frequently topical interpretations of the theme which may have a religious or secular approach The quality of these talks is remarkable and I am always astonished by the maturity and sophistication of their musings and how they can relate the themes so sensitively and expertly to the whole school community.

An extract from a recent Reflection on the theme of Self-Respect by Senior Prefect, George, illustrates this level of mature insight perfectly:

“In the age of social media, we are bombarded with images and stories of people who live seemingly perfect lives No-one posts about the miserable day they just had It is all too easy to buy into this false narrative of perpetual success, the misguided belief that some people never lose, and as a result, to see our own life as a failure.

Every one of us has difficult problems to deal with, regrets to come to terms with, failures to live with, and personality traits that we dislike. This is what it means to be human. There is a reason why Persian rugs, Roman mosaics and Native American scarves all have intentional mistakes Because every culture since antiquity has realised: only God is perfect Whilst we should always strive for excellence, we must make peace with who we are, recognise our flaws and see the beauty in our imperfection. This is self-respect.

There will always be someone happy to knock you down, to criticise you for being who you are. You do not need to do the job yourself. It seems appealing to try to change your nature, to conform to other people’s expectations, but to have selfrespect is to have confidence in your character and to have resilience in the face of criticism. This is not to say that we should be blind to our shortcomings, but rather to recognise them and take responsibility

The more reflective you are, the more effective you are. “ ”

Whilst self-respect is vital to building confidence and maintaining physical and mental health, it also underpins our interactions with others. We cannot respect and be honest towards others if we do not first respect ourselves Fundamentally, self-respect is the basis of integrity and authenticity, without which, people will not respect you

Ultimately, what makes us distinct are the differences between us To repress the characteristics that make us unique is to promote a world of dull uniformity. There’s something oddly beautiful about imperfection, and something just a little bit boring about being perfect.”

This final sentence encapsulates so much of what being part of the RGS community is all about Inclusivity, tolerance, respect demand that we value each other for who we are and what we stand for, irrespective of whether an individual’s views chime with our own Every single student at the RGS is a true individual and in fact our differences, our imperfections and our quirks create the richness of personality which makes this such an enriching and fulfilling community.

I wish you and your families a very peaceful and enjoyable half term break; a transcript of each Reflection is posted on the news section of our website and I would warmly recommend them… when, and if, you can find a few minutes for yourself!

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.

STUDENT EXPERIENCE

One of the focuses of this priority has been on student appearance. Following extensive consultations with students and staff over the past two years we introduced a revised student dress code. Our goal was to uphold high standards while also allowing for greater individuality and inclusivity where appropriate. We have been pleased with the mature response from students, who have respected the changes and taken considerable pride in their appearance.

In addition, projects have centred around: academic tracking and reporting to give more timely and specific feedback to students; encouraging greater student co-curricular participation; improving literacy across all age groups; providing improved levels of pastoral care for students; and reconsidering our Sixth Form curriculum to provide a greater range of options. At all times, our strategy focuses on what is in the best interests of our students and we are continually looking to refine and improve every aspect of the RGS students’ experience.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Academic Enrichment

Half Term provides a much-needed opportunity for your sons to rest and recharge their batteries and, as such, our school policy is that no homework is set over this two-week period, other than in a few exceptional circumstances or when public examinations are imminent. As a school, however, we celebrate and promote Scholarship as one of our Values: the growth of intellectual curiosity, independence, creativity and innovation in our students.

As well as the routine stretch and challenge provided by subject teachers, the regular parental communication from Director of Higher Education Mr Dunscombe provides a list of opportunities, appropriate for all age groups, to engage with national competitions, courses and talks. In addition, a letter circulated today from Head of Scholarship Mrs Tarasewicz to parents of those in the First to Fourth Forms provides some enriching and broadening opportunities for students in the younger year groups, which may be of interest over Half Term. We stress, however, that these are purely optional but they should prove to be stimulating, challenging, thought-provoking and fun, if attempted!

Monday 21 October – Friday 1 November

Half Term including the following trips: Tübingen Exchange Visit; Economics Trip to Amsterdam and Brussels; the History trip to Berlin; the Silver Duke of Edinburgh expedition in the New Forest; and the Gold expedition to Dartmoor.

Monday 4 November

Staff Development Day 3 (Inset Day for staff). School closed for students.

Tuesday 5 November

Second half of the Michaelmas Term starts.

Wednesday 6 November Monday timetable.

Thursday 7 November

A Level Options Evening in the Auditorium.

Monday 11 November

University and Apprenticeship Seminar (for Lower Sixth (1 – 6) in the Seminar Room).

Tuesday 12 November

Upper Sixth Form Parents’ Evening takes place online.

Wednesday 13 November

Advent Service in Holy Trinity Church.

LATEST NEWS

CHARITY

Old Guildfordian Paul Kerensa made a welcome return to the RGS to compère our annual Stand-Up Comedy Evening. As well as the professional comedians – including Britain’s Got Talent’s one and only El Baldhino – this year, student Ben Thain made his RGS stand-up debut, providing comic insight into the quirks of his family. A musical interlude from Charlie Connoly, Milo Findji, Michael Goncharuk and James Nicholas continued to entertain the appreciative audience during the interval. Another highly successful evening raised almost £1,500 for our school-nominated charities and Stand Up to Cancer.

MUSIC

Davide Ciuchini won Silver in the LYPCO (London Youth Piano Competition Online) 2024 National Piano Competition; with the online nature of this competition on YouTube, the winners reach a global audience.

SPORTS NEWS

FENCING

Lucas Ngai won the Heart of England Under 14 Foil in Birmingham; This is a GBR ranking event and the most significant title Lucas has won to date. He won all six fights in his poule (three with scores of 5 – 0) and was top seed going into direct elimination. He earned a bye in the L64, and won his L32 fight 12 – 4, L16 fight 12 – 11, QF 8 – 0, SF 12 – 8 and the final 12 – 10.

FOOTBALL

The 1st XI travelled to Gordon's School and headed into half time two-up with goals from Fi Adeoshun and Dennis Dimov. Gordon's fought back to level, before captain Marcus Woodhouse headed home a deserved winner to secure a 3 – 2 victory.

RUGBY

On one of the most challenging weekends traditionally for RGS rugby, our teams impressed despite the strength of the opposition and the difficult conditions. All the senior teams – 1st, 2nd and 3rd XVs – all recorded excellent victories against St Paul’s School; the Under 14As also secured an impressive 19 – 0 win. The first half of term came to a close with a tough set of fixtures against Epsom College. Despite a number of losses, the RGS teams showed just how much progress has been made. The 1st XV lost a tight game 14 – 15 despite camping in the Epsom half for the final ten minutes of the game; likewise the 3rd XV just came up short losing 12 - 13.

In the Under 12 Surrey Schools’ Festival our Under 12A team showed plenty of character and no little skill to finish in fourth place out of 18 schools.