President’s Welcome

I begin myWelcome with congratulations to the school; on yet another outstanding set of exam results. It’s something that is said year on year, but students have, once again, produced a fantastic set of A Level results. Upper Sixth students achieved 87.7% of grades at A*- B, with 30.5% of all grades at the top A* grade, which places RGS at the top of the school rankings across the country. 25 students achieved three or four A* or A grades at A Level. In total, 59 students got straight A* or A grades; a wonderful achievement. 16 students (8%) secured their Oxbridge place. Year 11 students again produced superb results. 56.6% achieved A*, the fourth highest ever achieved by a cohort at the school. 83.4% achieved A*- A, which is the fifth highest ever. This is a huge testament to the work ethic of the school students and they deserve all the congratulations they get. In total, 20 students achieved 10 or 11 A* grades with no lower grades. In addition to this, 67 students achieved all A* or A grades. Year 6 students took their SATs exams last term and similar to their Senior School peers, they produced a superb set of results. Students completely bucked the national trend with 100% meeting or exceeding expectations in all the tests –Maths, Reading and Grammar.

Autumn always marks the start of a new school year. This autumn is particularly significant as, in addition, it heralds a new era for the RGS as the school welcomes its new Headmaster, John Fern. We hear more from John on page 4 and wish him good luck in his new position.

We were saddened to learn of the recent passing of Howard Baker (‘HHHB’) (77-12), having only retired from the school in 2012. For me, and I am sure for many of you, Howard was a key figure throughout my RGS career and our thoughts go out to his family and friends at this difficult time.

The Newcastle ONA dinner is one of the highlights of the calendar for me. I always relish the opportunity to revisit the school and catch up with old friends. For our ONs who missed out on tickets, the date for the London dinner has been confirmed as Friday 16 March 2018, at The East India Club. I look forward to seeing many of you at future ONA events over the coming months, such as the John Elders Memorial Match on 30 December.

Chris JJ Wilson (97-02) ONA President