ISSUE 272 March 2026
FROM THE HEADMASTER
There are, allegedly, at least 10,000 images of lions in London alone: from the Landseer Lions, the four enormous bronze cats that surround Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, to the proud lions adorning the north entrance to the British Museum, to the regal lions on the main gate of Buckingham Palace and the nearby Queen Victoria Memorial. Lions are part of British life, part of British history, part of British popular culture. In fact, lions go back even further to the world of myth and legend: the first labour of Heracles was to slay the Nemean lion; Aesop told the fable of the lion and the mouse; and Androcles won a lion’s friendship by removing a thorn from his paw. As is appropriate for World Book Week, literature and fiction provide another perspective: a more humane, insightful depiction. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum a lion believes he lacks courage but proves otherwise; in The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, Aslan represents among other things, kindness, wisdom and courage. And, indeed, lions remain part of our contemporary culture to this day: “Three lions on our shirt!” sang Baddiel and Skinner in the 1996 football anthem; the British and Irish lions tour in the southern hemisphere in rugby; and England cricketers wear three lions on their caps. Bringing it closer to home, Guildford also has a pre-occupation with big cats as it boasts the White Lion Walk named after The White Lion Inn: one of the first of the town's five large coaching inns which survived until 1956. Even the RGS is not exempt from this pre-occupation with the so-called King of the Jungle. A gilt lion – accompanied by a red dragon – keeps watch over the main entrance to the courtyard of the Old Building on the High Street, and also presides over our Royal Charter. Our School Hymn from the 1600s, To be a pilgrim by John Bunyan reminds us that “No lion can him fright; He’ll with a giant fight,” in the valiant man’s quest to be a pilgrim. And so what do our RGS lion references mean for our students and our community in the modern day? Is it simply an outdated heraldic depiction of royalty and kingship or does it have more relevance and resonance? Traditionally in mythology, in culture, in folklore, the lion represents courage, justice, power, strength, wisdom, pride, honour, family and dignity: this could almost be an overview of our current School Values. And this spirit is what, I hope, the lion keeping watch over the Old Building symbolises. For me, the presence of lions all around us is a constant reminder of how we should conduct ourselves, how we should approach life, even in – or especially in – 2026. Stand tall and hold your head up high when times get hard. Conduct yourself with dignity and never give up. Protect what’s yours with everything you have. Have courage and have faith. Lead others with a loving heart and compassion. And if these messages don’t make our protective lion relevant in the current climate, I don’t know what does!
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Conduct yourself with dignity and never give up.
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Our Values INCLUSIVITY SCHOLARSHIP INTEGRITY
RESPECT COURAGE COLLABORATION
Our Vision
A high-performing and inclusive independent day school, which provides a great education so that students can lead happy, successful lives and have a positive impact on society.
Our Strategic Priorities Integrate our pastoral and wellbeing offer, and tailor this to meet the needs of a modern-day student community.
Enhance our academic strength, in terms of exam results, developing minds and preparing students for higher education.
Develop a more focused co-curricular offer, organised around a character development framework based on our school values.
Maintain a healthy future pipeline of students in the face of increasing demographic, market and regulatory challenges.
NOTICES
Social Media We encourage all parents to follow us on our official social media platforms: Facebook and Instagram. As well as fly-on-the-wall insights into daily life at the RGS, there are regular posts over weekends and holidays bringing you news of sporting fixtures, school events and school trips. If you have any photographs of RGS students in action in any capacity, please do always send them in to Mr Pressley on email at jwp@rgsg.co.uk.
Forthcoming events Tuesday 17 March Ensembles Concert in Holy Trinity Church. Thursday 19 March Upper Sixth Form Parents’ Evening in the Main Building. Junior Drama Production, The Arabian Nights, in the Auditorium for Performance 1. Friday 20 March Junior Drama Production, The Arabian Nights, in the Auditorium for Performance 2. Friday 27 March Lent Term ends.
DON’T MISS OUT!
Click here to book your tickets
THE GALLERY: WORLD BOOK WEEK SPECIAL
THE GALLERY
LATEST NEWS BIOLOGY 18,800 students from 1,132 schools participated in the Biology Olympiad 2026 with RGS scientists impressing and securing 19 awards, including Gold for Joe Millar and Daniel Ward. Both students were then invited to sit a second 60-minute exam for an opportunity to attend the International Biology Olympiad 2026 United Kingdom team selection event at the University of Warwick. The exam was tough, but congratulations to Daniel who will be heading off to Warwick this April to battle for a place on the UK team.
MUSIC
MODEL UNITED NATIONS
RGS musicians have been performing on various stages throughout the UK. The Joint Schools’ Chamber Choir made a long overdue return visit to sing Evensong at Winchester Cathedral. Singing under the magnificent, vaulted ceiling, alongside the appointed psalm and standard responses, the Chamber Choir sang Walmisley’s Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in D minor, and Rheinberger’s exquisite Abendlied.
RGS students ranging from novice Second Form students through to experienced Sixth Form delegates travelled to Epsom College for their annual MUN conference, with their Secretary General citing our own conference in 2021 as the impetus for his MUN passions. On the day, students debated a wide range of topics, including: migrant rights; territorial disputes in the Arctic; regulating international money laundering; cybersecurity; and the question of cultural erosion of indigenous populations, to name a few. Of particular note, Oscar York secured the highest award, Outstanding Delegate, in the most advanced committee, the Security Council, despite it being his first time debating at this level at an external conference.
From an individual perspective, Ian Kim recently sang as part of the London Korean Youth Choir in the Grand Final of the Barnardo’s National Choral Competition 2026, which was held at Birmingham Symphony Hall. Isaac Lee-Mather recently performed on the Erhu as a guest soloist accompanied by the Chinese Orchestra as part of a Chinese New Year concert.
SPORTS NEWS HOCKEY In the block fixture against Reed’s School, highlights included a convincing 3 – 0 victory for the 2nd XI and a narrow 1 – 0 win for the Under 16Bs as they continued their impressive unbeaten season. The strength in depth was very much in evidence as we were able to put out Under 13 A – H teams, and Under 12 A – F teams, all playing competitive fixtures. Against Merchant Taylors’ School, the three senior teams completed a clean sweep of victories, scoring 13 goals and conceding just the one goal in the process. This was matched by the Under 16 teams who also emerged victorious, including a comprehensive 3 – 0 win for the Under 16As. Again, the School had strong representation from the junior years as 12 teams represented the Under 13 and Under 12s. In the cup competitions, the Under 13As narrowly won 3 – 2 against Lingfield College in the round of last 16; the Under 15As beat Canford School by the same scoreline, also in the last 16 round.
RUGBY Our Under 16 rugby Sevens team impressed as they won the Plate competition in our home tournament held at Bradstone Brook, while our Under 15As narrowly beat St Paul's School 14 – 12 at Bradstone Brook in a tense semi-final in the National Cup to reach the prestigious final. The last time the Under 15 age group was in a National Rugby Final was 28 years ago, in 1998, when we won the inaugural Daily Mail trophy at Twickenham beating Wellington, the hot favourites.
FENCING In the British Schools’ Team Fencing Championship at the Leon Paul Fencing Centre, our Under 15 Épée team comprising Lucas Ngai (captain), Harry Radforth, and Cyrus Choi secured Gold to be crowned 2026 BSTC Champions. In the final fight, Lucas overcame the top Millfield fencer 7 – 3 to win the title of Under 15 British Schools’ Team Champion. Our Under 15 Foil team also progressed to the Gold medal match, but this time fortunes were reversed, and the RGS team lost to Whitgift by 32 – 45 and finished the tournament as Silver medallists.
SWIMMING Noah Huber has received his official Swim England Para classification and has also been appointed Head of the Godalming Swimming Club Para group: an incredible achievement to be part of the National Swimming Team. Around 80 schools from all over the UK, descended on the London Aquatic Centre in Stratford, London, an iconic venue, which hosted the 2012 Olympic swimming event. The Bath and Otter Cup, a relay competition for HMC Independent Schools, is one of the most important competitions in the swimming calendar. Frederik Duetoft, Dylan Fuller, Zack Grover and Will Jones represented the RGS in the 4 X 50m Medley relay. In a tense race, the RGS just held off Eastbourne College to secure Bronze: a phenomenal achievement. In the 4 X 100m Freestyle relay, our team consisting of Dylan, Frederik, Freddie Browne and Ralph Cotonet also qualified comfortably in sixth place for the final, eventually finishing in fifth place, a great result in a high-quality final.
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