RGS Prep Good Schools Guide

The Good Schools Guide Review

The Head Since 2020, Toby Freeman-Day. Originally from Guildford, he attended a local state school.

Despite the fact that his father was a teacher, he was ‘never going to teach,’ he says, but after studying archaeology and history at the University of Southampton, he secured a shortterm post in a school and loved it. After his PGCE he taught at Northmead Junior School, before becoming a housemaster at Eaton House, then deputy head at Guildford High Junior School.

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Mr Freeman-Day [understands] the importance of walking around, being visible and keeping in touch with students and parents.

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Very hands-on, he still teaches PSHCE to all of year 5 but saves marking for the evenings.

‘When I’m in school, I’d much rather be out there, watching sports or in classrooms.’ In the bay window of his office, behind his desk, a bike leans against the wall, and on the sideboard a heap of purple exercise books await marking, ‘But not until I get home,’ he tells us happily. He lives off-site with wife Frankie and their two children, one of whom attends the school.

Asserting his belief that schools must be chosen with the child in mind, he says, 'If RGS wasn't good for my son, I wouldn't send him here.’

Mr. Freeman-Day joined during COVID lockdowns and admits he found that hard, ‘I’m a people person,’ he says and remote interactions saddened him. He smiles and laughs readily, looking relaxed but enthusiastic as he talks about the recent merger with RGS senior, citing shared resources, professional development and quality teaching as the strengths most likely to be gained.

‘He makes me feel old!’ laughed one parent, who went on to say they’d been impressed with the head’s ‘strong focus on good values.’ Another described him as having a ‘slightly gentler approach’ than his predecessor and said he ‘deserved credit for how well he knows the children.’ Still a keen historian, Mr Freeman-Day’s favourite assembly topics are those that reflect on key dates in history and his ‘biggest thing,’ as he put it, ‘is the importance of walking around, being visible and keeping in touch with students and parents.’

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Parents appreciate his open manner and describe him as ‘friendly and understanding’ and ‘well-liked by the boys’.

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He does daily gate duties and runs doodle club, a fitness club for the choristers and a disco club. Parents appreciate his open manner and describe him as ‘friendly and understanding’ and ‘well-liked by the boys’: Given his love of dinosaurs and the LEGO flower display on his coffee table (the cost of which he says was ‘offset by the regular cost of replacing real flowers’), one can see why. He enjoys following rugby, hiking, biking and kayaking.

‘He’s made his mark here,’ said a parent

Entrance While RGS Prep is academically selective, entry to their nursery, age 3, and ‘shell’ (reception) is open to any boy without obvious learning barriers. Shell move up into pre-prep, and then most pre-prep boys (about 90 per cent) stay on for the prep school without more than standard levels of ongoing assessment. Plenty of room for new boys looking to start RGS in year 3, however, as the year group doubles in size, going from two to four classes.

Curriculum based tests are in maths and English and CAT scores (where available) are taken into account. No interview, but a supervised play session provides staff with an opportunity to watch applicants interact. ‘You have to be happy and confident to learn and take a risk,’ said the head of pupil progress and admissions. Assessment is thorough and the message from the school, echoed confidently by parents who’ve been through selection, is to ‘trust in the system’.

No current plans to expand, but places do come up, so don’t rule out applying for odd years.

Assessments can be carried out ad hoc and (although not preferred) remote assessments have also been known to take place - we met a pupil who’d sat his exam in China.

Exit Despite local rumours to the contrary, a place at RGS Prep does not guarantee a place at RGS senior school.

Around 70 per cent do receive offers from the senior school, but only after completing the same assessment exams 11+ assessment exams as external applicants. Even those with offers ‘won’t all choose to go to RGS’, school says it always recommends senior schools on the basis of what will best suit an individual child. Popular local choices are Reeds, Reigate, St John’s, King Edward’s and Churchers, with many boys obtaining scholarships (30 offered scholarships in 2023) for their chosen destinations.

Background & Atmosphere

Located in a quiet residential area close to Guildford town centre the school was founded in 1930 as Lanesborough Prep. It gradually became regarded as the de facto prep school for Royal Grammar School Guildford, merging fully with the senior school and changing its name accordingly in 2021.

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The atmosphere in classrooms when we visited was one of genuine curiosity and focus and there was a nice buzz in the corridors.

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The atmosphere in classrooms when we visited was one of genuine curiosity and focus and there was a nice buzz in the corridors. Obviously, hand-picking bright boys will lead to high achievement and textbook behaviour, but the school likes to stress that there’s something else they’re getting right. They use a system of ‘learning habits’, codifying how to learn through engagement, resilience, risk-taking, perseverance, independence and reflection. These traits are embedded in teaching and learning across the curriculum and pupils are rewarded for displaying them. The boys collect stamps in their planners and are (almost unanimously) motivated to aim for a bronze, silver or gold ‘Lanesborough Rose’ badge for their blazer. In maths, boys are extended through participation in primary and junior mathematics challenges with a good track record of success.

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Classrooms [are] up-todate, often with a modern, collaborative feel to their layout. Science labs are well-resourced, [there is a dedicated IT Suite] and the DT teacher runs a certification programme.

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The school’s known for having a broad mix of students, not only from the local area but further afield. Mostly dual-income families and ‘professionals rather than trust fund types’ one parent told us, who drive ‘a good mix of cars’. ‘It definitely feels a bit less posh than some schools, but with more of a focus on good character and academic teaching.’ Another parent agreed, crediting the wider RGS family ethos and the grammar school background. ‘The parents don't just stand about chatting here.’

Despite having been converted from older residential buildings, classrooms appear up-todate, often with a modern, collaborative feel to their layout. Science labs are well-resourced and the DT teacher runs a certification programme, developing boys’ competency with the 29 different tools of the trade available in their workshop. A dedicated IT Suite includes docking stations and large screens. Students have their own devices which they can lease (set up and serviced) directly from the school. Although laptops seemed to be out everywhere, one teacher said they do try to strike a balance, ensuring there’s still plenty of book work. There are weekly sessions in the school’s library for all the boys too, reminding them of the pleasure of the page. Pre-prep and nursery are located across the road and make daily use of the prep school’s sports facilities and dining hall.

Pastoral, SEN & Wellbeing No children with EHCPs at the time of our visit but pupils needing support have profiles and interventions. The school’s ‘very good at keeping in touch, checking in on students and parents,’ said a parent. In pre-prep there’s a teaching assistant in every class, while three learning support assistants move around the prep school. An ELSA spends a day in school delivering small group support from early years to year 6. EAL support is offered. 'If learning needs have come up, the school supports parents accessing assessment,' the head of pastoral and wellbeing (qualified SENCO) told us, 'then it's a case of, can we meet need?’

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School encourages mental health awareness and children learn to share how they’re feeling with ‘emotional check-ins’.

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School encourages mental health awareness and children learn to share how they’re feeling with ‘emotional check-ins’.

Asked about bullying, a small group of boys agreed that, as in any school, ‘some boys aren’t that nice…’ but problems only emerged in ‘heated sports moments’. If you were to fall over here, one boy said, ‘someone would definitely help you up.’ A therapy dog visits weekly and pupils can request time with it using their well-being app, which was developed in house.

Some children recently led assemblies on their own experiences of ADHD, autism and dyslexia as part of the school’s focus on student experience, diversity, inclusion and collaboration.

Co-educational Opportunities

There are co-educational opportunities with St Catherine’s, Guildford High School and Tormead girls’ schools but RGS is proudly single-sex. According to the head, ‘It’s about offering ungendered opportunities,’ boys here see all subjects as ‘for them’.

Curriculum This is an unashamedly academic and selective prep school. They’re proud of their broad curriculum, with specialist teachers delivering French, computing, PE, music, DT, drama and art.

Drama takes place beneath the high ceiling of the Loubser Performance Studio (LPS), where parents can watch their children perform in the Speak Out festival (year 3-6), year 4 mini-matinees, year 5 puppet show, year 6 production and panto club, amongst other things.

The school also hosts workshops and visits from theatre companies. In the art room, the work on display was of a high standard and there is also a kiln. From 2023, year 4 will participate in the Ofqual recognised Arts Award with moderation in year 5.

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They’re proud of the broad curriculum, with specialist teachers delivering French, computing, PE, music, DT, drama and art.

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The sports hall can be viewed from the wide window of a large mezzanine classroom. PE is varied and seasonal games lessons keep the school in sync with local prep tournaments.

Swimming is big here – no pool on site but boys have weekly lessons at the local leisure centre. Their school team are national champions in medley, freestyle and overall.

Word gets around,’ said one (rugby specialist) PE teacher, ‘and one star student in a particular sporting field leads to others joining your school until you really get known for a thing.’ He could be right – a boy won bronze in the national ski finals and now the school has a ski team training regularly. 'They get the balance right' said one parent, who admitted that the school does suit 'competitive types,' but said her own boy 'absolutely loved it.'

Music The prep is the official choir school for Guildford Cathedral and music is a massive part of school life. The ten choristers and four probationers demonstrated considerable musical knowledge as well as beautiful singing when we visited a rehearsal and seemed to love every minute. Just as well, they rehearse four mornings a week in school, perform at evensong Tuesdays and Thursdays as well as three Sunday services and calendar events.

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Over half of boys take instrumental lessons…and the sound of music is a constant in the corridors; highlights of whole class music lessons include a class set of ukeleles and digital compositions.

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Money Matters Music scholarships, the value of which is set by the Cathedral, are awarded to all choristers. Some bursary provision is available from year 3, ‘There's a pot,’ we were told, ‘support from which is allocated on a needs basis, and varies year on year.’

House Rivalry is fierce between houses (named after royal dynasties); boys nodded and grinned, eyes wide, when I asked them about it. Opportunities for competition are widespread across sport, poetry, music, chess, maths, writing, photography and the ‘house shout,’ in which all members of each house come together to sing a pop song.

‘When it comes to sport, it's between Windsor and Lancaster,’ one knowledgeable year 6 pupil told us, then someone chipped in, ‘Tudor always wins house typing!’

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Opportunities for competition are widespread across sport, poetry, music, chess, maths, writing, photography and the ‘House shout’.

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Extracurricular INSPIRE programme introduces a carousel of activities on ‘inspire day’ to reflect the boys’ interests (collected via questionnaire).

These have recently included a visit from a musical installation, which the boys responded to creatively by composing their own piece; a business workshop led to the creation of the RGS Business Club. They’ve also hosted web designers, game developers and sports specialists. Future ideas in the mix include conservation, solar storms, rewilding or data and statistics.

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There are around 40 extracurricular clubs, many of which run at lunchtime – origami, bayblade and Latin dance are some of the more unusual.

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There are around 40 extracurricular clubs, many of which run at lunchtime origami, bayblade and Latin dance are some of the more unusual. Chess club has links with the Guildford chess club and promising players participate in local tournaments, while in quidditch club boys pelt back and forth in the sunshine, holding broomsticks between their legs. One parent recommended the breakfast club, 'A good idea if you want to avoid the race for a space at drop off’.

The Final Word Academically highly selective, RGS Prep is nonetheless a balanced, big-hearted school where enjoyment of learning is evident. Especially strong in music and with a wide variety of extracurricular options, you’d be hard pressed to match the education on offer here. A great start for boys with sights set on Guildford’s Royal Grammar or other selective senior schools.

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RGS Prep is…a balanced, big-hearted school where enjoyment of learning is evident…you’d be hard pressed to match the education on offer here.

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Learn more…

For information about life at RGS Prep, please visit rgsg.co.uk.

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We are delighted that you are considering RGS Prep for your son. To view our next open events please visit: rgsg.co.uk/visits-open-days/ We look forward to welcoming you to our school.

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RGS Prep School

Reviewed 2023