Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe


The Royal Grammar School is a selective boys' grammar school situated in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. As a state school it does not charge fees for pupils to attend, but they must pass an entrance exam. In February 2011 the school became an Academy.
Established by Royal Charter in 1562 it is situated on Amersham Hill to the north of the town and has a capacity of about 1,350 boys aged between 11 and 19, open Monday to Friday from 8:00am to 3:40pm and later for extra activities. The school has boarding facilities and is a DfES-designated Language College. In 2007 it became a Mathematics and ICT College. OFSTED gave it a Grade 1 ranking in every area of its 2015 inspection, and it has achieved high rankings on a country-wide scale for GCSE and A-level results.

History

Originally established by the mayor and burgesses of the town in 1551, in the ecclesiastical premises previously acquired by Sir Edmund Peckham during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the school received its Royal charter in 1562. It was based in the buildings of the former Hospital of St John the Baptist in the town centre until 1883. After the old hospital was demolished, the school was moved to new buildings nearby for a short time, and was moved to its current location in 1915.
The school expanded greatly under the headmastership of Edmund Tucker from 1933 to 1964, celebrating the 400th anniversary of its Royal Charter in 1962 with a visit from Queen Elizabeth II. To commemorate the visit, the school's main hall became Queen's Hall and bore an engraving to mark the occasion. In 1997 a new building was erected entirely dedicated to the teaching of languages, which was opened by the Duchess of Gloucester.
There are several Royal Grammar School sites in the UK, of which High Wycombe, Colchester, Clitheroe and Lancaster have maintained their grammar school status, whilst Guildford, Newcastle upon Tyne and Worcester are now privately funded, independent schools.
In 2006 tabloid accusations against headmaster Timothy Dingle led to an independent investigation. The school's. governors concluded that he should be dismissed for "gross misconduct", but he had already resigned to take the position of head at a private school in Argentina. He did not take the position.
The school made national headlines in 2016 after a question set in a practice maths test by a volunteer was deemed homophobic after it stated "marriage is between one man and one woman, as God intended when he made humans male and female". The school immediately withdrew the practice test when informed of the question by students. Headmaster Philip Wayne apologised "on behalf of the whole school community of governors, staff and boys" and said the volunteer who set the question would not be returning.

Headmaster

The Headmaster is Philip Wayne, who was Headmaster of Chesham Grammar School for eight years before joining RGSHW. He succeeded Roy Page in September 2015.

Entry

In order to gain entry to the school, pupils from primary schools in the local area are invited to do an entrance exam, the eleven-plus exam. RGS admits 182 day boys each year and 10 boarding boys. Entry for boarding is somewhat different, with the school having extra requirements for applications such as interviews beyond the 11+ exam requirement. Prospective boys who did not take the 11+ also take the school's own entry tests, consisting of a test in both their Mathematics and English subject abilities.

Boarding

Though primarily a day school, some pupils have boarded at the school since the 1800s. For most of the 20th century, boarders were lodged in one of three boarding houses: School House, a purpose-built residence on the school premises, and Uplyme and Tyler's Wood, two converted private houses located near the school. In September 1999 the entire boarding facility was consolidated into the newly built Fraser Youens Boarding House. It incorporates en-suite bedrooms, communication technology, three resident Housemasters and a committee of House Tutors. It has room for 70 resident boys, who stay throughout the week and return home for weekends. This facility enables pupils to attend RGS, who would otherwise be unable to: pupils from Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Kenya, Russia and Singapore reside in Fraser Youens. The house is named after alumni Ian Edward Fraser and Frederick Youens, who were awarded the Victoria Cross during the Second World War and First World War respectively.

Sixth form

RGS also has a sixth form which the majority of boys in lower years will continue onto. The sixth form have their own private mezzanine within the school grounds where they can do private study. All RGS boys joining the sixth form are expected to study 4 A Levels for the first year and then at the second year drop one or continue with all 4. External students can join the school for just the sixth form but face strict entry requirements to do so, having taken 8 GCSEs and achieving a grade 6 or above in 7 of those.

Available subjects

The following subjects are available for A Levels:
The school has over 120 classrooms, a large multi-purpose hall named "the Queen's Hall", four ICT rooms with computers for boys use, several art workshops and technology labs, an interactive library, two large sports fields, an indoor swimming pool, sports hall, a canteen, modern language block and a three floor science block.
A music centre was opened in late 2004, improving the school's music facilities, including the ability to now offer A Level boys the subject Music Technology.
Amongst the many extracurricular activities, boys can participate in the on-site Combined Cadet Force, the Public Speaking Society, music and orchestras, drama, social service, fencing and a very large variety of sports. The school has two very large playing fields for its sporting use. The RGS also has its own.22 25 yard indoor range which is used by the shooting team of the school.
In winter 2010, building work started on the Shaping Our Destiny campaign, a large-scale plan produced by the school's senior staff and board of governors to expand and renovate existing facilities. Phase I was completed in June 2011, and the new Sixth Form Mezzanine opened in 2012.
The whole campaign added extra maths classrooms, improved Sixth Form study facilities and school changing rooms, added more toilets and expanded the fitness/gym suite.
In 2013, planning permission for an All Weather Pitch was granted, and in 2014, work began raising £1m to fund the creation of this 3G floodlit pitch, a new grass pitch, which was completed in April 2016, and also to renovate the 100-year-old Main Block classrooms. As of November 2019, 8 classrooms in the Main Block have been renovated, and another has been converted into the 'Student Hub'. So far, four History, three English and one Geography classrooms have been renovated; all complete with a large flat-screen, sliding whiteboard panels, automatic lights, economical lights, a computer for the teacher, new carpeting and paint, and new furniture.

Activities

Stage Lighting and Sound Team

The Stage Lighting and Sound Team may be joined by boys at or after, Academic Year 9. Kit purchases are primarily funded by the RGS PA. The team is a contributor to the school's drama scene with the annual school production, such as the March 2019 production of West Side Story. They have their own YouTube channel.

Combined Cadet Force

The Combined Cadet Force has Navy, Army and RAF sections open for boys in KS4 & 5 where they learn skills such as field-craft, map and compass, drill, leadership and first aid, while also taking part in activities such as weapon handling, sailing and flying.

Music

RGS has a selection of bands, choirs, orchestras, and a number of smaller groups, all rehearsing on a regular basis. Senior groups have featured at the National Festival of Music for Youth having been the National Youth Choir of the Year in 2014.

Gilbert and Sullivan operas

In 1947 Bernarr Rainbow directed the first of the Gilbert and Sullivan Savoy operas to be performed at the school. These continued until at least 1976.

Sport

Its alumni founded the town's local rugby club High Wycombe RUFC, originally known as Old Wycombiensians FC. Sporting alumni include golfer Luke Donald,, 2003 Rugby World Cup winner Matt Dawson, 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens winner Nick Beal., 400 metres hurdles athlete Martin Gillingham, and the cricketers Phil Newport and Saif Zaib.

Houses

Starting in the 2016-17 academic year, the RGS has launched a houses system with the naming scheme of royal houses:, Sandringham, Windsor, Buckingham, Balmoral, Kensington ). There are 6 houses, and each house has one form from every year in the school with Heads and Deputy Heads chosen from the 6th form for each house. Each year the RGS will also hold a school-wide sports day where all can compete to earn points for their house.

Notable alumni and teachers

Alumni of the RGS are known as Old Wycombiensians, or OWs, and include Chris Grayling, former UK Secretary of State for Transport, the singers Ian Dury and Howard Jones, the comedian Jimmy Carr and the philosopher Roger Scruton. The Old Wycombiensians' Committee hosts an annual reunion dinner for Old Wycombiensians at the RGS. Notable sporting alumni include former England rugby union player Matt Dawson and sprinter Martin Gillingham, both of whom appear on TV in commentary/punditry roles.
T. S. Eliot taught for a term at the school in the autumn of 1915.

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