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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 soundeffects of the ice-cream-van chimes, and old-school egg-and-spoon, wheelbarrow or sack races, without even mentioning over-competitive 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 2025 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, underperformance 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 our Sports Day highlights the impact of such solidarity; the enthusiasm and vocal encouragement of the spectators for each and every event always impress. 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.

Healthy competition spurs each individual to push themselves that little bit further and the supportive, positive atmosphere. “ ”

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!

SCHOOL PRIORITIES 2022-2025

Our current RGS school development priorities are Collaboration, Student Experience and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. These priorities are in the final year of our three-year cycle.

EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

We have focused on responding to student and staff voice, as well as experienced external providers, to inform our strategy which is currently centred around developing a more inclusive curriculum; staff diversity; 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 enrichment opportunities.

STUDENT EXPERIENCE

This is always 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.

NOTICES

Tuesday 24 June

Senior Prizegiving in Holy Trinity Church.

Wednesday 25 June

Art Summer Exhibition Private View in the Art School.

Thursday 26 June

Ensembles Concert in the Auditorium.

Friday 27 June

Leavers’ Ceremony in Holy Trinity Church, followed by the RGS Leavers’ Ball 2025.

Monday 30 June

Field Day 5.

Tuesday 1 July

Junior Prizegiving in Holy Trinity Church.

RGS Rock at The Boileroom.

Wednesday 2 July

Symphony Orchestra Concert in Holy Trinity Church.

Thursday 5 July

Fourth Form Parents’ Evening in the Main Building.

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LATEST NEWS

NATIONAL ESSAY COMPETITIONS

Marcus Perkin won the prestigious, national Karen Becher Essay Competition, established this year by the National Holocaust Museum, with his essay entitled Does free speech build or break a community? His essay will be published on The Holocaust Listening Project, a community-led project which aims to explore lesser-known or hidden stories relating to the Second World War and the Holocaust. This success follows Marcus being one of the runners-up in The Peter Cane Legal Reasoning Competition run by Corpus Christi Oxford and winning two separate Exeter Essay Competitions.

PHYSICS

In the national Years 7/8 Physics Challenge, 6,755 students participated with the RGS being the tenth largest school, with 210 students entering. RGS students impressed with 115 Golds being awarded to our students across both year groups.

SPORTS NEWS

ATHLETICS

Third and Fourth Form athletes competed at the Surrey Schools Athletics Championships, hosted at the Weir Archer Stadium in Kingston. There were a number of standout performances, including at Under 17 level, Eashan Patel came second in the 400m with a time of 52.06 and Max Baker also finished second in the discus with a distance of 35.95m. At Under 15 level, Hugo Wilson finished in first place in the 1500m with a Personal Best of 4.30.80, while Leo Shaw also recorded a PB as he finished fourth in the 300m with a time of 39.25.

ULTIMATE FRISBEE

18 students travelled to Windsor to compete in a Pre-Nationals Tournament; for many of whom this was their first experience of playing frisbee competitively. In a challenging tournament with more experienced teams and with the added challenge of blustery weather conditions, our three teams made excellent progress picking up a number of victories along the way.

CRICKET SPORTS NEWS

With British summer returning to normal service, the block fixture against Cranleigh School – following storms the night before and then unsettled weather on the Saturday – resulted in cancellations, matches being abandoned, and reduced-over contests. The juniors, however, did manage to complete most of their fixtures and recorded 7 out of 8 victories: with all but one of the games being won comprehensively by a 7 or 8 wicket margin.

With sunshine returning, the block against St Paul’s School was then played against the backdrop of perfect blue skies. In a thrilling contest, the 1st XI demonstrated impressive resilience. After dismissing the opposition for 187, thanks to standout bowling from Henry Amis (3-27) and Khalil Aziz (3-22), the RGS were bowled out for 180, falling just 7 runs short in a closely-fought match that highlighted the team’s character and fighting spirit. The Under 15A team secured a comfortable 7-wicket victory, chasing down a target of 136 with nine overs to spare. George Mellor’s unbeaten 74 was the cornerstone of the innings, anchoring the chase with poise and control to ensure a well-deserved win. In a tense match, the Under 15C side defended a total of 132 with disciplined bowling; standout bowling performances from Will Courts (2-8) and Henry Jones (2-14) played a crucial role.