ROBSON RECOLLECTIONS RUTH ROBSON

ROBSON RECOLLECTIONS

BY RUTH ROBSON

When RGS asked a former parent, Ruth Robson, to reflect on her daughters’ time through Junior School, Senior School and Sixth Form, Ruth wasted no time in digging out the family albums for a most wonderful trip down memory lane.

RGS is about seizing the opportunity. For the Robson girls, Lauren (08-19) and Millie (09-20), this all started on Lambton Road.

Lauren started RGS in 2008; shortly after the school had started taking girls from Year 3 and they were very much in the minority –Lauren was one of only six girls in her class of 20! Millie joined her older sister a year later.

The RGS Junior School offered a chance to try something new, make new friends and learn in a safe, encouraging environment. Lauren took on her new life with relish, the opportunities to try something new came thick and fast and she had a go at every one of them. She learnt how to play the flute, appeared in school plays, sang in the choir and participated in every available sport. Millie started viola lessons in Year 3 and took this to grade 7, under the patient tuition of Mr Walton. She loved the stage and appeared in many drama productions, orchestras and choir events for school and as a proud member of Collingwood House.

From the beginning, there was a strong camaraderie amongst the children in both years, epitomised in the many House events. This developed their team spirit and a sense of belonging, which is part of the school ethos. The Junior School calendar was full of trips and activities in sports, arts and music where they met like-minded children who spurred them on. The small class sizes at RGS enabled a closer relationship with the teachers which greatly aided the girls’ pastoral and academic development. The resources to learn and play were used extensively, the outside space and the library were fantastic. Millie spent many a happy hour in the library (this continued in Senior School!). The regular performances (choir, orchestra, drama) on the stage in the PAC, although initially daunting, created confidence to speak and perform in public. Additionally, there were the events organised by the Parents’ Association to attend during the school year. These raised money for charities and for Junior School “extras”, e.g. ice cream at the Christmas panto trip! I was proud to be the chair of the JSPA and felt that being a part of this team was a great chance to get involved, whilst making long term friends and memories.

The RGS Junior School gently prepared the girls to make the transition to the Senior School an easy business, the familiarity with the facilities made the first steps in Y7 a natural progression.

Senior School allowed the Robson girls to mature and develop their confidence and skills, whilst obtaining the education that has enabled them to follow their

The RGS Junior School gently prepared the girls to make the transition to the Senior School an easy business, the familiarity with the facilities made the first steps in Y7 a natural progression.”

dreams at university. The opportunities to try the new activities remained – not just sport, drama or music. The clubs by subject and the lunchtime support sessions were a valuable resource, and as the girls moved up the school, the opportunity to help in these clinics and organise societies provided essential life skills, as well as developing their own knowledge. Both girls also joined CCF Navy, which enabled Lauren to take her Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) course and Millie to spend time on HMS Bristol in Portsmouth.

Lauren’s hockey career continued all the way through school and she was the vice- captain and First Team Goalkeeper in Upper Sixth. As a diversion from her GCSEs, she decided to try laser shooting club and is now Air Pistol Captain at university. She competed in the British Schools Competitions, and outside school was chosen for the British Shooting Pistol pathway and asked to represent Scotland U20. She enjoyed most lessons, but her real passion was science and maths, this enthusiasm was sparked by Dr Tony Spencer and Mr James Miller in Year 5. She took Further Maths, Maths, Physics and Chemistry at A Level and is now in her second year at Imperial College London studying Mechanical Engineering.

Millie followed in the sporty footsteps of her sister and again represented school as a member of all teams, her favourite was fencing. This chance to try something different, provided by school, enabled her to captain the school team, represent Scotland at the Junior Commonwealths (captaining the team to win gold), fence for Great Britain on the European Circuit for two years and now compete at university. Millie loved learning new subjects but unlike Lauren, loved the arts. She studied French, History and Economics at A Level and is now in first year at University College London studying Law.

The importance of how the girls’ RGS story all began was shown on their last day at school, when the Sixth Formers, who had been with RGS since Junior School, still found time to say goodbye to the teachers who had started and shaped their school careers.

Thank you to all of the staff and sports coaches who made this possible. RGS provided an environment to learn, to try something new and make lifelong friendships.

The opportunities are always there and should be seized – who knows where they will take you!

The opportunities are always there and should be seized – who knows where they will take you!”