The RGS Review 2019/20

THE REVIEW 2019 – 20

R OYA L G R A M M A R S C H O O L N E W C A S T L E

CONTENTS

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JUNIOR SCHOOL H I G H L I G H TS

SENIOR SCHOOL H I G H L I G H TS

OUR R E S U LT S

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80

82

PRIZES

L E AV E R S ’ LIST

S TA F F A N D G OV E R N O R S

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WELCOME Welcome to the RGS Annual Review, which reflects the 2019-2020 academic year. What an undeniably extraordinary year at the school. I admit that as I entered my first year as Headmaster, I did not expect that I would preside over such an unprecedented 12 months.

In September 2019 our community enthusiastically entered the new academic year as any other: full of excitement, hope, ambition, and of course with a laser focus on our love for learning. Our Autumn term and the start of Spring term were as vibrant and gloriously fast paced as any other. In March 2020 we were abruptly mandated to close the school buildings. The school was only able to open to students whose parents were keyworkers and were at the very frontline of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. The gravity of the closure of our school did not escape us. Indeed, the last time the school gates were instructed by Government to close was in 1939 when RGS students were evacuated to Penrith, and our beloved school on Eskdale Terrace became the North East’s regional war room.

Yet despite the darkness surrounding the closure of RGS, and indeed schools across the country, our community very quickly showed its mettle. RGS teachers learned how to teach remotely, quickly delivering our full school curriculum, albeit through the medium of Microsoft Teams. RGS Parents sprang into action, becoming real partners in supporting their children’s education from home and RGS students, as ever, exceeded our expectations by embracing a whole new routine of virtual learning.

Most impressively, students in exam year groups must be especially commended for their resilience in a period of incredible unpredictability; their GCSE and A Level exam grades reflect their tremendous hard work across their whole school careers, as well as the consistently high academic achievement within the school.

Most crucially, our whole RGS community demonstrated their sense of belonging by pulling together to support those, both in our school community and across the city, in the greatest need.

The past 12 months have arguably been the most challenging in the school’s recent history but my goodness our community has shown that the RGS family is “strong, able, calm, and kind” (to quote James Miller, Head of the Junior School).

In these pages, you will see both a taste of a typical school year, which we experienced from September 2019 until March 2020, and a taste of ‘virtual school’ life, from March until July 2020. Despite the challenges facing our nation, the RGS family has come through it together. While it is not a year which any Headmaster would wish to repeat, it is certainly a year at RGS of which I am incredibly proud.

G E O F F R E Y S TA N F O R D HEADMASTER

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JUNIOR SCHOOL H I G H L I G H TS Over the next few pages you will read about some of the extraordinary and exciting things that our Junior School family has got up to in the 2019-2020 academic year. This has been an unprecedented year, and I would like to say a huge well done and thank you to every single member of our Junior School family who have truly come together, stronger than ever before, to support one another during these most extraordinary times.

Before you move on, I’d like to offer our sincerest well wishes to Mr Roly Craig who has now retired as Head of the Junior School.

Mr Craig led the Junior School for over 20 years (that’s c.7665 days if you are counting) and transformed it from a modestly sized boys’ school into the fabulous mixed education experience it is today.

We owe Mr Craig a huge debt of thanks for the state in which he has left the school. He led the school with humour and humility, and I hope he is proud of all he has achieved.

Known for his love of birds, he treated staff and students to insightful assemblies about all things ornithological on a regular basis.

Leicester City is Mr Craig’s other passion and the year they won the Premier League, he barely mentioned his victory or his favourite striker Jamie Vardy!

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I know he will be enjoying his time in his garden, hopefully with plenty of new neighbours (all those birds that come to visit). He will be sorely missed in and around school.

From the fantastic events of the Autumn term to Operation Restart and all of lockdown in between, it has been amazing to see and feel the togetherness of our team, of which you are certainly part of!

JAMES MILLER

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Art Day

AR RT

In Autumn, all of our Junior School students took part in an Art Day. For Years 3 and 4, the theme of their Art Day was colour. Year 3 spent half their day visiting the Laing Art Gallery and taking part in a printmaking workshop, returning to school in the afternoon to learn about the colour wheel and the work of Wassily Kandinsky.

Year 4 visited the National Glass Centre in Sunderland and participated in a glass fusing workshop, before returning to school where they tested their colour theory knowledge, painted a rainbow of geometric shapes and studied the work of Piet Mondrian.

For Years 5 and 6 their theme was colour.

Turpentyne Art School and Art4 Art School delivered practical sessions to students in school, and Year 6 spent time in the new Senior School Art Studios with artist, Jane Lee McCracken.

Bethany Cottee (Year 4), with her artwork from Art Day Year 3 students enjoying Art Day

Christmas Hat Competition A flurry of Christmas cheer and creativity was for all to see as our annual Christmas hat competition took place. Mr Stanford and Mrs Stonehouse (on our Board of Governors), were this year’s judges, and had the very challenging job of analysing each hat in detail before reaching a final decision. The hat parade was the star of the show as students wowed their peers with their creations before the winners were revealed.

Christmas Hat Competition winners

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CHESS English Chess Federation U11 Schools’ Regional Qualifying Tournament RGS hosted the English Chess Federation U11 Schools’ Regional Qualifying Tournament at the end of November, with a number of schools from across the region sending teams.

It was a fantastic event which saw our A team win with a high-scoring 39/41. Three of the players, Prachi Arora (Year 6), Naman Berry (Year 6) and Henry Rewcastle (Year 6), won all of their games with a fantastic 7/7. The team qualified for the national final, which was unfortunately cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions. The B team also had a great tournament, winning the silver medals, with 24.5/42. Huge congratulations to all the students who took part.

ENGLISH M A Z E VA N S VISITS RGS

In November, Maz Evans, Author of ‘Who Let The Gods Out’, visited the Junior School to share her writing journey. As some of the students said, she is a very inspirational and hilarious person to talk to, with her talk even including a balloon making contest with Mr Cragg! Maz explained that sometimes she didn’t want to continue with writing, but with a lot of determination and hard work, she published four incredible books in under three years!

Maz also held a brilliant writing workshop for 24 lucky Year 6 students. In the workshop, they wrote diary entries related to characters in her books, with Maz giving everyone great tips on their writing.

English Primary Schools’ Chess Championships

Ross Welford visits the Junior School

The regional qualifying round of the English Primary Schools’ Chess Championships took place in the Fenwick Hall in early February.

The day was a success, with four RGS teams qualifying for the semi-finals (which were due to be held in June) across the U11 and U9 categories.

In February, exactly three years to the day since his first visit, we were delighted to welcome Ross Welford back to RGS. It’s always a pleasure to welcome authors into school but it’s not very often that we get to welcome one back! This time, he spoke to Years 3, 4 and 6 and we also invited 75 children from Darras Hall Primary School to attend.

In the U11s, the A team won with 18/20, with three of the team scoring a perfect 4/4. The U11 B team finished second with 11/20.

In the U9s, it was a similar story, with the A team winning the gold medals with an almost perfect 29.5/30. Four of the team scored a maximum 6/6. The B team also qualified as they finished second with 12.5/30. The C team scored 9/30, which was enough for joint third position, and they won the bronze medals on tie-break.

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Maz Evans on the Miller Theatre stage

Ross Welford speaking in Junior School assembly

Ross talked about his love of writing, helping the students to plot out their own idea for a novel and Ross even performed a few magic tricks for us. He then spent a staggering 1½ hours signing books for everyone.

It was a wonderful morning with Ross and great to see so many of his books being enjoyed around school.

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FUNDRAISING Junior School enjoy some Sports Relief activities

RG S J U N I O R BAKE SALE

Junior School Sport Relief

In October, Anna Fitzpatrick (Year 4) had the idea of organising a bake sale to raise funds for the Great North Children’s Hospital.

The Junior School kicked off a day of Sport Relief activities with an assembly involving former Team GB swimmer, Chris Cook, talking about ‘dreaming big and starting small’, which inspired many of our students to chase their goals. Following this, the students took part in a carousel of sporting activities, with everything from rugby to hockey, and a climb up the climbing wall! It was a great morning of activities to raise funds for Sport Relief. In total, the Junior School raised a staggering £4284.50. Incredible efforts from every single student and their families.

All the recipes were checked and the whole school were educated on the issue of allergies. Licences were issued to each of the ‘stall holders’ and the rest of the school and staff came in to browse the choices.

The sale was a huge success raising an impressive £420.35.

Well done Anna, and all the students who baked (and bought!) the cakes!

Students ready to sell their cakes

H I S TO RY ANCIENT GREEK WEEK Year 4 experienced Ancient Greek Week in June, shortly after they had returned to in-school learning. Here’s what some of the students had to say about the activities they took park in: “I enjoyed thinking of a Greek name and making the swords and shields. I also liked the food tasting – some foods in Greece are scrumptious!”

Sophie Tuckerman

“One of my favourite parts of Ancient Greek Week was mask and shield making because we got to choose our own unique designs. You could make a mask fitting your head or just cut out some holes in a paper plate and stick it on a lolly stick. Making my shield was the best thing – I put a gymnast upside down, with carefully drawn patterns around the outside.”

Ellie Miller “I enjoyed the shield making the most because you could let your imagination run loose, even though the shield had to be circular. You could even make two if you had enough cardboard and if you wanted to! I also enjoyed choosing my design.”

Year 4 students celebrate Ancient Greek Week

Theo Cadamy

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House Music – Year 3 and 4

Clara Lingam (Year 5), performs her solo piece

HOUSE HOUSE MUSIC Over the course of a week, 68 students across all of the Junior School year groups demonstrated their musical prowess, hoping to achieve a spot in the House Music Competition representing their respective houses in the solo category. There was a wide range of performances from Muse to Mozart, a tremendous effort from all the students and their instrumental teachers to prepare for the auditions.

It was extremely hard to choose just four students from each year group. Mrs Clappison also selected some Highly Commended performances, and these students were able to perform at a Friday Café shortly after the House Music competition.

Year 4 solo winner, Nanxizi Zhao

The finals took place in the Miller Theatre over two nights just before October half term. The House Choirs put on a great show for the audiences on both nights, displaying enthusiastic moves and powerful singing from a variety of artists including, Rachel Platten, George Ezra, Miley Cyrus, Bruno Mars, Elton John, Coldplay and Europe.

The solo categories achieved a staggeringly high standard of performance and rightly received tremendous applause.

William Bates (Year 5) performs his solo piece

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A huge thank you and well done to all of the performers for working so hard in preparation for the event and for creating such a positive performance environment where members of the audience were able to thoroughly enjoy themselves.

Y 3 /4 R E S U LT S Year 3 solo winner: Jeffrey Li – Stowell Year 4 solo winner: Nanxizi Zhao – Collingwood Y3/4 Small Vocal Groups: Stowell Y3/4 House Choir: Eldon/Stowell Y3/4 Winner: Stowell Y 5 /6 R E S U LT S Y5 solo winner: Kaipo Wu – Eldon Y6 solo winner: Eric Cheng – Stowell Y5/6 Small Vocal Groups: Horsley Y5/6 House Choir: Eldon Y5/6 Winner: Stowell

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House Dance This year’s Junior School House Dance event was even bigger and better than ever before, and our extremely talented students blew everyone away with their routines.

We had soloists who were performing in front of an audience for the first time, and many dances had been choreographed by the students themselves. The Year 5 and Year 6 group dances were a true spectacle and topped off a great night after weeks of preparation.

Collingwood perform their group dance

OV E R A L L RANKINGS:

R E S U LT S Best Year 3: Nikita Alagar Best Year 4: Bethany Cottee

1st Eldon 2nd Horsley 3rd Stowell 4th Collingwood

Best Year 5: Hemadri Pakhira Best Year 6: Alyssa Mee Best House Dance: Horsley

Bethany Cottee (Year 4) performs her solo routine

Bobbie Doe (Year 6) with a very theatrical performance

“We had soloists who were performing in front of an audience for the first time, and many dances had been choreographed by the students themselves.”

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SCIENCE MUSIC Junior Chamber Choir win award Our Junior Chamber Choir were winners in the Junior Choir Song Category at the Ryton Music Festival in March.

This was the Chamber Choir’s toughest competition yet as they competed against seven other choirs who were very well prepared.

It was a great performance from RGS not least because a large number of singers come from Year 4 and have only been singing in the choir for five months – a superb achievement.

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YEAR 5 S C I E N C E DAY Year 5 enjoyed a day of discovery and experimentation in February as they all took part in a range of scientific activities.

We welcomed two students from Newcastle Amelia McCready (Year 5), handles University who delivered a talk about the a heart on Year 5’s Science Day history of the Earth, with some fiery and explosive demonstrations. The students looked at the structure and function of the heart – some enjoyed passing round a heart and watching the dissection more than others! They also investigated the amazing properties of water and had a visit to the Senior School labs to investigate some samples from the Moon. Lots of science, lots of fun.

Year 5 students spent some time in the Senior School labs on Science Day

TRIPS YEAR 4 VISIT PAT T E R DA L E In early Spring, Year 4 visited Patterdale in the Lake District for an outdoor pursuits adventure. The students took part in activities including canoeing, raft building, bush craft and fell walking. They also got to stay over and enjoyed evenings around the bonfire with marshmallows and hot chocolate.

Here’s what some of the students had to say about their visit:

“I enjoyed every minute of it! My favourite part was when we went canoeing because we went down a secret river that Niv and Chris (instructors) had never been along before and we got stuck, which was exciting!”

Year 4 students enjoy bushcraft trials at Patterdale

“My favourite bit was bush craft because I had a lot of fun making the bread and it tasted delicious!”

Kimaya Rana

Scarlett French

Year 4 students head out in canoes at Patterdale

YEAR 6 VISIT I N G R A M VA L L E Y After a rather wet October, Year 6 were blessed with a fine and breezy day for their visit to the Ingram Valley. This was a joint Geography/Science trip, where the children got to explore the features and fauna of this stunning part of our countryside. The students walked up to the Iron Age Fort, allowing them to see the great views of the features shaped by the River Breamish. The students also got to do some river dipping, discovering the diverse range of invertebrates that make their home there.

WO R K S H O P S

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Students enjoy getting up close to the animals from Kirkleatham Owl Centre

Owl Workshop What a hoot Year 3 had when Kirkleatham Owl Centre came to visit. During the visit students were introduced to several owls including a Tawny Owl called Wordsworth, a Burrowing Owl, a Duck and a Rat. The students learnt all about why owls have different coloured eyes, their sleeping habits as well as information on their eating preferences.

Following the owl visit, students were then asked to use charcoal and soft pastels to draw a large scale version of an owl, considering their use of texture, colour and shape.

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S P O RT HMC SWIMMING In the Autumn, 31 Junior School swimmers travelled to Leeds to take part in the annual HMC Swimming Championships.

It was a fantastic competition for our swimmers, with five of them winning an individual title. Iona Murray (Year 5) and Emma Blackburn (Year 4) both won in backstroke, with Tom Hill (Year 4) and Ralph Manners (Year 5) taking gold in breaststroke.

Elizabeth Land (Year 5) not only won her front crawl race, but also broke the record.

STU D E N TS TA K E PA RT I N G R E AT N O RT H RU N A large amount of Junior School students competed in the various categories of the Mini Great North Run this year, and it was wonderful to see some of our Year 3 and Year 4 students on the podium of the Mini Great North Run Orange wave. Elliott Mee (Year 4) finished first, Liam Browne (Year 4) finished second and Emma Blackburn (Year 4) was the first girl to finish – what a great achievement!

Millie Moat (Year 6) and Bobbie Doe (Year 6) both did extremely well in the 4km girls’ race – they came 16th and 17th respectively out of 590 runners, their times being 18:35 and 18:36 minutes. Elliott Butler (Year 5) also did really well, completing the 4km boys’ race in 20:21 minutes and coming 121st out of 587 runners.

The relays are one of the strongest areas of competition for us, and this year was no exception with the swimmers coming away with a number of medals.

Once the points were all added together, we were crowned Under 9 Champions in both the boys and girls categories, Under 10 Champions again in both boys and girls categories, 3rd in the Under 11 girls and 2nd in the Under 11 boys. All of these results made us overall HMC Champions, winning a fantastic six out of eight trophies.

HMC Swim Champions

Year 6 North East Hockey Finals Our Year 6 hockey team travelled to Barnard Castle in March to take part in the North East of England Hockey Finals. From the very first game, they gave everything they could on the pitch, beating some very good schools including St. Olave’s and Barnard Castle.

The girls’ confidence built with every match they played, and they made stronger tackles, hit the ball harder and won more penalty corners. Overall, they finished third, which was a fantastic achievement.

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HMC HOCKEY & RU G BY F E ST I VA L S The U11 boys represented our school impeccably at the HMC Rugby Festival at The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) in October.

Two teams took to the field against some very strong and organised opposition, and the boys’ determination and resilience when the going got tough was very impressive. It was a hard, but enjoyable experience. There was some moments of brilliance by Craig Liang (Year 6) and James Muir (Year 6) that showed what a talented group the U11s are.

Alongside the boys’ Rugby Festival, the U11 girls also took part in the HMC Hockey Festival at GSAL. With two teams participating, the girls all received lots of pitch time and great progress was made both individually and as a team. The A team had some tough matches against GSAL, Bradford Grammar, Hymers, Yarm and Durham Bow. A slow start in the first match against Hymers saw the girls lose, but they went on to secure a win over Bradford Grammar and a draw against GSAL, to finish third overall in their group. The girls went on to play Yarm in the first of the play-offs and with a 1-0 win they then faced Durham Bow for 5th/6th position, which they won 1-0 to finish fifth overall, a fantastic achievement.

Gymnastics – Regional Floor and Vault Championships

HMC NETBALL A N D F O OT B A L L TO U R N A M E N TS

Two Year 6 boys’ football teams travelled to Hymers College in March to compete in the U11 HMC Football Tournament. Our style of football was really impressive and we had a Our gymnasts were once again lot of possession, but it was one of those days successful at the Regional Floor and where whatever we tried, we just couldn’t Vault Championships held in early March. find the back of the net! This meant both Being one of the last events to take place teams competed for the Vase Trophy in the before the national lockdown, the teams second tier of the event. Our B team came unfortunately weren’t then able to take part third out of eight teams and our A team won in the national competition as it fell victim seven out of seven games, to be crowned to the national restrictions.

Vase winners.

That being said, every gymnast that took part Alongside the football teams, two Year 6 netball in the regional event should be congratulated teams also travelled to Hymer’s College for the for their routines and achievements.

U11 HMC Netball Tournament.

The boys’ A team and the girls’ team both finished second, and the boys’ B team finished fourth. The U14 boys’ team went on to win their age category.

The B team faced a very strong field in their tournament with schools such as Dame Allan’s, Ashville, Barlborough Hall, Yarm, Hymers and St. Olave’s. They played extremely well and worked hard as a team to finish third overall.

After the group stages, the A team qualified for the Cup competition, and the B team the Shield competition. The A team lost to a very strong Ashville side in the cup quarter final (who ended up winning the Cup), but there was still netball left to play as they moved into the Plate competition. The team beat Pocklington in the semi-final following an extra time period with ‘next goal the winner’ and then faced Hymer’s in the final. It was an end to end affair, with every player on court playing their socks off. The final whistle saw us win by two goals! The girls showed a lot of improvement as a team and played with confidence, determination and flair.

U11 girls’ hockey team

H M C C R O S S C O U N T RY Johan Haniffa won an individual medal at the HMC Cross Country meet

In early February, 28 runners travelled to Barlborough Hall, Derbyshire, for the HMC Cross Country meet. There was some excellent running across all the age groups with the Under 9 and Under 11 girls’ teams winning

trophies, and individual medals for Emma Blackburn (Year 4), Iona Murray (Year 5), Millie Moat (Year 6), and Johan Haniffa (Year 6). A fantastic effort after a long journey on a cold early Spring morning.

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L O C K D OW N MOMENTS Despite RGS being closed to most of our students and staff from the end of March, school carried on, and our students also achieved plenty with their families. This section gives you a flavour of the Junior School in Lockdown.

Daniel Hempton (Year 5) with his dad and dog after completing his first 10km

DA N I E L R U N S H I S FIRST EVER 10K Daniel Hempton (Year 5), ran his first ever 10km in April. Running alongside his dad and dog, Daniel ran the 10km without stopping and achieved a time of 59 minutes, 47 seconds; being determined to get under the hour mark. What a great achievement.

J A M E S A N D LU C A S C YC L E T H E D I STA N C E TO M A N C H E ST E R Brothers, James and Lucas Muir (Year 6 and 4), were challenged by their parents to cycle the equivalent distance from Newcastle to Manchester (156 miles) around their estate as a way to keep them active during lockdown As a family, they would usually travel to Manchester over Easter to visit their Uncle, but unfortunately couldn’t this year. However, this clever idea got them cycling there instead!

Well, 1200 laps around the small loop road of their estate to be precise!

The boys raised over £1,500 for Building Futures North East, a charity of which their father is Chair of. The money helped the Walker Emergency Food Appeal, an emergency food bank that delivered food parcels to those in need within the area.

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Brothers James and Lucas Muir (Year 6 and 4) begin their cycle challenge

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Junior School students show off their creative skills making Easter bonnets

Easter Bonnet Parade

Year 5 creative spelling

Every year, the Junior School runs an Easter competition.

This year, we ran an Easter Bonnet Parade for the very first time. Despite not being able to parade these in front of their peers, plenty of our Junior School students got involved in making their bonnet and sent in pictures of them for the Bulletin; a virtual Easter Bonnet Parade.

Year 5 spent some of their remote learning doing their spellings in a variety of different ways. This task was to spell out their spelling words using different items from around the house, and there was some excellent examples.

V E DAY C E L E B RAT I O N WEEKEND CHALLENGE Over the VE Bank Holiday Weekend, our Sport department set the whole school a challenge to see how many times as a school we could run/walk/cycle the length of Great Britain. That is the distance from Lands End to John O’ Groats, which is 1,467km.

Bubble Sports Day With our Junior School students back in school, we were able to hold our Bubble Sports Day. Students in each bubble worked together, taking part in a variety of challenges from 60m sprints to sports charades, with the aim of collecting points for their team. We also had our remote learners taking part for their ‘home learning bubble’. It was a great challenge for all of our students after missing so much of the House competition this year.

There was an impressive take up from students across the school, and we managed to travel the length of Great Britain three times! Plus, we added an extra 262km. In total, 4483km was completed in all forms – we had students cycling, walking, running and Emma Barabino (Year 3) even chose to roller skate!

Students compete for their bubble at this year’s Sports Day

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Indra Shah (Year 6) runs for charity

Year 6 climb Scafell Pike Year 6 students were given a challenge of climbing Scafell Pike (virtually) in their Maths lessons after spending time developing their understanding of metric and imperial measures. In addition, they used formal methods of calculation to find the answers. This challenge was part of the virtual Three Peaks Challenge and many students have pushed themselves to complete it.

A group of Year 6 students who created the RGS Sporting Challenge

INDRA RUNS FOR CHARITY Inspired by James and Lucas Muir raising money for charity by doing a physical activity challenge, Indra Shah (Year 6) decided to take part in the Great Run Solo challenge: running 50km over 28 days to raise money for the Heel & Toe children’s charity, because he believes that every child should have the same opportunities. Indra has raised over £1,500 for the charity, and he still loves running!

Year 6 virtually visit London In a normal year, Year 6 would usually spend two days in May visiting London, seeing the famous sites, going to a West End show, and finishing off with a trip round Harry Potter World. Due to the restrictions, this didn’t happen, but that didn’t stop Year 6 taking a virtual visit to London! Students went online to view the famous sights and learnt more about their existence, and created their own tour of Harry Potter World.

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S P O RT I N G C H A L L E N G E I N A I D O F T H E B U R S A RY C A M PA I G N Having read on social media of the needs of RGS bursary families, Aryan Gosh (Year 6) and his mum, Niru, wanted to help those families in the greatest need.

Together, they came up with the RGS Sporting Challenge, partly inspired by James and Lucas Muir’s epic virtual ride to Manchester in aid of Building Futures North East.

Aryan called on his friends Varun Gudipati, William Hall, Massimo Johnson, Craig Liang and Aaryan Vinayak (all Year 6), to help him with the challenge. Varun attempted to run 100km over the next month, William and Aryan aimed to get 100 wickets per week against their Dads, Massimo tried to hit the cross bar 100 times per week in the ultimate cross bar challenge, Craig attempted to hit 1000 badminton rallies per week with his older brother, and Andrew and Aaryan attempted to run 5km a day whilst bouncing a ball on their cricket bats.

The boys did an exceptional job and had the support of many friends and their families raising £9,000 for the Bursary Campaign – what a great achievement.

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A RT I N LO C K D O W N

Nikita Alagar (Year 3), recreated this mixed media version of Vincent Van Gough’s Sunflowers Lucas Collins (Year 3), drew this fantastic peacock

Ellie Al-Jumaili (Year 4), created this rainbow motivation picture and displayed in her bedroom

James Kim (Year 3), recreated the Hundertwasser Flower Field

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School life, but not as we know it On Monday 1st June, Year 6 were lucky enough to have the opportunity to return to physical school, after 10 weeks of (sometimes tiresome) remote learning at home. Full of nostalgia for our old school days, we jumped at the chance to return to RGS. No one could have imagined that a pandemic would impact so greatly on our final year of Junior School.

Just a few months ago, we had never heard of Coronavirus. As the day approached, butterflies fought in our stomachs and apprehension lingered in the background.

We knew it would be different; would it be a good strain of different?

Before we even left home, it felt peculiar pulling on casual clothes instead of our usual uniform. We packed laptops rather than hockey sticks. We had a set time to arrive. Thankfully we were able to study Mr Miller’s video, of the Senior School entrance, that would greet us as well as the lines and temperature sensors. Arriving at school, we were met by Mr Miller (or is it Disco Dave, or maybe even Fraction Fozzy?) greeting us enthusiastically – some things never change. The urge to run up to friends was soon stifled as we all had to keep to our 2 metres distance. Difficult, but we all did it.

Once inside, we took our place at either ends of the benches of the Senior School Main Hall, two months early. After we filed into our classrooms, we had our first chance to see exactly who would be in our pods for the next few weeks. The new classes were an opportunity to get to know others who we had not become friendly with over the past three years; but break and lunch were difficult because, although we could see some of our closest friends in other groups, we couldn’t play with them. Some of us worked out a system of sign language to communicate across the divided playground: “How are you?”; “OK”. It was a strange kind of challenge

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being so close to friends yet not being able to speak to them even as well as we could online at home.

The day passed in a blur of hand-sanitising, gesticulations.. and trying to fit in a bit of work! We all miss proper school lunches – and oh! For a sausage sandwich at break time; we’d all give a lot for that luxury. But the packed lunches sometimes include an extra treat – Mini Eggs being a favourite! It’s unfortunate, though, if you like cucumber.

One teacher who we won’t name (but loves cricket) mistakenly cancelled his entire class’s cucumber on the grounds that he doesn’t like it in his own sandwich! We just hope he likes Mini Eggs!

So, what’s the verdict? School, but not as we know it! So good to be back amongst friends – and making new friends has made us more of a united community. We’re learning to make up new games and to get to grips with unfamiliar surroundings.

Thank you very much to all the teachers and behind the scenes staff, who have worked hard to help us return and make Operation Restart run as smoothly as possible, leading us to a more normal life.

We have learnt a lot during lockdown but, most importantly, we have learnt that: we are strong; we are able; we are calm; and we are kind.

Bobbie Doe and Henry Rewcastle (Year 6)

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RGS took on a whole new meaning!

4AW show their appreciation to Form Teacher, Miss Whitney

Year 6 settle back in to school after 10 weeks of remote learning

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A RT

Trio represent school in Goldsmiths’ Community Award Three of our art students were invited to represent the school at the regional final of the Goldsmiths’ Community Award.

Year 11 student, Elyse Feenan, and Upper Sixth students Elise Shields and Rosa Thomas, worked on an Environmental Art project, called ‘that something changes when art empowers children in their communities’, presenting their project to a judging panel, before taking questions from the panel.

During 2018-19, we financially supported environmental drawing workshops across the North East as well as an exhibition of the student’s work that was created during the workshops. We also partially funded a successful conference at the Thought Foundation, raising awareness of climate change and animal extinction, at which Elyse spoke.

Upper Sixth students Rosa Thomas and Elise Shields with one of the judges of the Goldsmiths’ Community Award

“Teachers and children across the region have the power to raise awareness and make a difference in their own families and communities.”

The new Art studios opened in September 2019

The team have been part of the project since day one, working alongside several climate change activists, including Malika Riffert (Lower Sixth), who delivered a number of presentations about how the project is now part of the DNA of RGS. Speaking about the regional finals, Art Teacher and project leader, Christine Egan-Fowler, said, “This project brings climate awareness, drawing and young artists together, creating informed and empowering community dialogues around compellingly beautiful artworks”.

The new Art studios

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B I O L O GY From left to right: Joshitha Arvind, Lakshmanan Palaniappan, Daniel Edwards (all Year 10)

Fiona Greenwold with Year 8 students taking part in the Green Plan It competition

Green Plan It As part of the Green Plan It competition run by the RHS, the school’s mentor from industry, Fiona Greenwold, visited RGS for the day. Thankfully, the rain stayed away and Fiona was able to demonstrate how to design borders using carefully placed perennial shrubs based on structure and colour.

With a group of Year 8 students, they visited Brandling Park to observe the planting of shrubs by Newcastle City Council and the different types that are used. Finally, the students planted up a seasonal pot of bulbs and pansies and learnt how to layer the different types of plants and chose different colour arrangements. Fiona’s visit was very informative and enjoyable for the students.

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BRITISH B RA I N B E E A group of Year 10 students took part in the British Brain Bee, a British Neuroscience Olympiad for teenagers, which includes an anatomy test, a written exam of 30 MCQ questions and a live Q&A challenge.

Our students sat an initial test in school, and Daniel Edwards, Joshitha Arvind, Lakshmanan Palaniappan and Kush Mahawar were invited to compete in the second round of the competition in Edinburgh.

At the competition in Edinburgh, Daniel finished an excellent 4th which meant he progressed to the final round in London.

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B I O L O GY O LY M P I A D

Members of VetSoc visit Robson and Prescott Veterinary Hospital

A number of Biology Sixth Form students took part in the British Biology Olympiad early in the Spring term, which aims to challenge and motivate students with an interest in biology. The competition consists of two 45-minute multiple choice online tests, taken in school under staff-supervised exam conditions, and allows students to demonstrate their knowledge by offering a wide ranging syllabus.

Top scoring students are rewarded with publicly recognised certificates and our group of students achieved one gold, five silver, two bronze, three highly commended and one commended award.

GOLD Olivia Van Delft (Year 10) gets ‘gowned up’

VETSOC At the end of November, nine students from our VetSoc travelled to Morpeth to visit the Robson and Prescott Veterinary Hospital. Dr Sam Prescott made everyone feel extremely welcome and took the group on an informative and very interesting tour of the hospital. The students were given an insight into what life as a vet entails, and saw firsthand the work that goes on in the hospital and the many species that are treated.

H I G H LY COMMENDED

Rahul Kamat (Lower Sixth) S I LV E R Rosa Whittingham (Lower Sixth) Matthew Abraham (Upper Sixth) Luke Todd (Lower Sixth) Keshav Krishnan (Upper Sixth) Henry Schmid (Upper Sixth)

Kraig Coutinho (Upper Sixth) Matthew Deehan (Lower Sixth) Neil Shi (Lower Sixth) COMMENDED Krish Gupta (Lower Sixth)

BRONZE Sree Kanakala (Lower Sixth) George John (Lower Sixth)

Following the tour, the students took part in an interactive slideshow which saw discussions of fungal infections in falcons to pulled tails in cats as well as amusing stories of past cases.

The hospital’s Head Nurse talked through the procedure of gowning up for an operation, with Olivia Van Delft (Year 10) being the guinea pig and donning the gown!

Everyone was very appreciative of the time given willingly by the practice staff at the hospital.

Students involved in the British Biology Olympiad

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N OT H I N G STO P S T H E R A F S EC T I O N F R O M F LY I N G !

CCF

Not to be put off by the difficulties of the school closure and cancellation of parade nights at school, the cadets from our new RAF Section of the CCF continued to take part in a wide and varied virtual training programme. Thanks to the support of a number of units within the Durham and Northumberland Wing Air Cadets many of the RGS CCF (RAF) cadets took part in training at least twice a week, including right through the Easter holidays.

The virtual training covered a wide variety of the core subjects, including principles of flight, first aid and expedition training with cadets making great progress.

The Hurricane LF363 that was part of the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight

As lockdown began, our RAF section of the CCF took part in virtual activities

There was also an opportunity for cadets to listen to a number of fascinating presentations.

The first from Flying Officer Kris Smith, a pilot with 11 AEF at RAF Leeming in his spare time when he is not involved with his primary job as a First Officer with Jet2. He talked about training to fly helicopters in the Royal Navy and his subsequent move to become a civilian pilot. Next was Sergeant Chris Todd from the National Police Air Service (NPAS), who explained the role of the unit and talked about the specialist equipment the police helicopters carry and the many ways they can use it. Then Flying Officer Josh Catherall, a serving officer in the RAF Regiment, talked about the important and varied role of the RAF Regiment and his experiences of going through officer training. Finally, the cadets had an amazing opportunity to listen to Terry Deary, author of the Horrible Histories Series.

On a lighter note, there was also a chance to take part in a quiz run by 361 (Gateshead) ATC Sqn and Junior Corporal Wei (Year 11) excelled by taking second place overall!

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​ n 8th May, a virtual parade was held to O commemorate VE Day and Flying Officer Hutton-Stott was able to share her discovery of Hurricane LF363 from the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. This was part of the Birthday flypast for Colonel Tom Moore, and was actually the one that she had seen crash at RAF Wittering on 11th September 1991, which was her first day as an air traffic controller in the RAF. The aircraft had suffered a catastrophic engine failure and the pilot, who thankfully escaped as he was thrown out as it crashed, had been unable to land it.

Discovering that the aircraft had been rebuilt and was flying again was a wonderful way to commemorate such an important occasion.

Four cadets were offered the chance to take part in the high profile Enterprise Training Course, with classes being run online over three weekends by an organisation called X-Forces. The cadets were given the opportunity to discover the exciting world of business, develop essential enterprise skills and discover what it takes to be an entrepreneur or intrapreneur. It was an action-packed course and finished with different groups pitching their business idea in a friendly ‘Dragon’s Den’. A number of high profile people were involved in the course including Carol Vorderman and the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Wigston.

Another event that ran during ‘virtual’ training, included being paired with a Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Squadron from Kentucky, USA. By taking part in a joint virtual parade night the CCF (RAF) cadets and the cadets from the CAP Sqn were able to brief each other about their respective organisations and the locations that they live in. A great experience for all the cadets involved.

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C H E M I ST RY L A B P RO J E C T W I T H N E WC A ST L E UNIVERSITY C H E M I S T RY O LY M P I A D Eight Upper Sixth students took part in this year’s RSC Chemistry Olympiad. Hector Hawkins and Justin Cronk both achieved Gold awards, placing them in the top 7% in this challenging competition. A further six students were awarded Silver awards.

Huge congratulations to all.

As part of the Complementary Studies programme in Lower Sixth, Molly Rudd, Natasha Berkley, Henry Forster, Jude McQueen, Sree Kanakala, Luke Fletcher and Darcy Errington-Stevens, took part in a year-long project in the chemistry labs at Newcastle University.

One group were tasked to modify the synthesis of the topical anaesthetic benzocaine, report their findings and prepare a range of analytical data that would allow the preparation to be carried out in an A Level laboratory. Whilst their lab work was restricted due to COVID-19, they succinctly summarised their output ready to allow future students to develop it.

The second group developed a range of resources to allow A Level students to use a newly acquired GC machine to follow the synthesis of a range of esters.

C A M B R I D G E C H E M I ST RY CHALLENGE An impressive 33 students in the Lower Sixth participated in a 90-minute exam testing their ability to apply chemistry knowledge to questions that go beyond the A Level specification and encourages them to think about science in the way they would at university. Two students, Rahul Kamat and Wenxing Zheng, were awarded a Gold award placing them in the top 8% of the country. A further 11 students were awarded a Silver award and 14 a Copper award.

Top of the Bench Competition In the Top of The Bench Competition, Bede Doe (Year 9), Gina Elliot (Year 9), Jemima Thomas (Year 10) and Theo Wride (Year 11), won the regional round and were due to attend the National Finals, but they were unfortunately cancelled due to COVID-19.

The competition included chemistry quizzes, presentations and practical experiments.

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“However high we climb in the pursuit of knowledge we shall still see heights above us, and the more we extend our view, the more conscious we shall be of the immensity which lies beyond.”

Sir William George Armstrong

COMPUTER SCIENCE Lego robots being used in Computer Science

Head of Computer Science and Digital Technology, Chris Wilde, giving instructions to a student from St Charles’ RC Primary School

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The academic year started with a bang for Computer Science, offering brand new courses to Years 7 and 8 and a GCSE option too. Our philosophy of learning through play lies at the heart of the new curriculum, allowing our students to learn about Computer Science and Digital Technology through hands-on project-based learning. Students in Year 7 developed their understanding of systems and networking, cracked codes in our cryptography unit and developed mandala programs in logo, while Year 8 created adventure games in Twine, played with fundamental computing concepts while learning magic tricks, and coded art in Javascript.

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COMPETITIONS Our students participated in a wide range of competitions this year. A group of Year 8 students were talented enough to represent the North East at the Cyber First Girls competition held at GCHQ. In the First Lego League, our Year 9 team won the regional Robotics Competition and were extremely unlucky to miss out on representing the region in the national finals again, and our Vex robotics program continues to go from strength to strength.

Our work on computational thinking saw yet another strong showing in the annual Bebras Computing Challenge, winning best in region for three out of the five age groups.

This led to a high percentage of students being asked to participate in the Oxford Computing Challenge. Our GCSE cohort also performed well in the Perse challenge.

It’s been an extremely successful year for all of our students who took part in the various competitions.

The room that code built

NEW ROOM A new department requires a new space, and an innovative department requires an innovative space, and we hope that we have hit this requirement with our project named “The room that code built”. Every single item of furniture in our new department was produced in house. Using open source designs, our classrooms were built using computer aided manufacture and computer numerically controlled machines in the EDT department. The rooms are completely bespoke, match our philosophy of learning through play, and look fantastic! They are also sustainable, affordable, carbon neutral and we love them!

New Partnerships This year saw us work with partner organisations to develop our pedagogy within the department while also supporting the development of computing in the region.

We have continued to support Computing at School with Mr Wilde continuing in his role as Master Teacher and have cultivated two new partnerships with Digital Schoolhouse and LEGO Education.

Our work with Digital Schoolhouse has seen us offer primary computing workshops to schools in the region. We had over 300 students visit us before lockdown to participate in cryptography and game-creation workshops that were extremely well received. We are also now recognised as a Lego Education Innovation Studio which means we can support local schools to develop learning through play in their settings not only by providing CPD and celebratory events, but also by offering robotics loan kits that were very kindly funded by the Reece Foundation.

PUZZLING Computer systems utilise switches at their base level, and as such, an understanding of logic is fundamental to computer science. The department has worked hard this year to develop a broad understanding of Japanese logic puzzles. Students across the school have worked hard on Sudoku, KenKen, Futoshiki, Kakuro and Hanjie puzzles. We even developed this to provide weekly family-fun puzzles during lockdown: Wilde’s Weekly Wisdom. Our aim was to help develop sound computing skills in our young people through problem solving and logical reasoning.

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CLASSICS University Challenge – Classics Quiz A number of students competed against eight other schools in a university challenge style Classics Quiz in March, with successes for every team. The junior category was won by a team of Year 9 students, Lucia Baker, Bede Doe, Lydia Mitchell and Oliver Wall.

The Year 7 team comprising of David Baker, Suyash Dhall and Euan Wayman came an impressive joint third. The intermediate In mid-October, the Classics department took category was won by Year 10 students, Daniel a group of Sixth Form students to Cambridge Bansal, Daniel Edwards and Laura Wisse. to see the triannual Cambridge Greek Play, And finally, in the senior category, RGS teams performed in Ancient Greek with English placed first and second: the winning team surtitles. This year the play was ‘Sophocles’ was Lower Sixth students, Helen Edwards, Oedipus’ at Colonus, and it was a powerful Ollie Longstaff and James Scott; and the and evocative performance.

Upper Sixth team of Kimiko Cheng, Aadam Haq and Daniel Partleton, came second.

Whilst there, the students also enjoyed a Well done to everyone who took part. visit to the Cast Gallery at the University’s Classics department, spent time at the Fitzwilliam Museum, which has some wonderful classical artefacts on display, and also had the opportunity to speak to one of the lecturers who provided an insight into studying at Cambridge.

SOPHOCLES’ OEDIPUS – T R I P TO CAMBRIDGE

Sixth Form Classics students visit Cambridge University

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D E B AT I N G D E B AT I N G T E A M R E AC H N AT I O N A L FINALS Two teams from the RGS Debating Society made it to the finals of the largest British Parliamentary school-level debate competition in the world.

“We can be justly proud of their achievement. It is a fitting reward for the massive contribution that these particular Sixth Formers have made to the Debating Society over the years, but it is also a reflection of the dedication and vitality of the society as a whole.”

Dr Scott Matthews The Debating Team

At the regional round of the Oxford Schools Debating Competition, which took place in early February, we fielded an impressive four teams. This is the largest debating competition in the UK. The regional round comprised of two debates, one about the annual commemoration of war, and another on allowing workers to trade off Labour rights for higher pay.

Two of our teams, one comprising Alex Dent and James Critchley (both Upper Sixth), and another comprising of Yasmine Hamud and Anushka Aradhyula (both Upper Sixth), reached the Finals Day, held in Oxford. The Finals Day consisted of four rounds of debates, with the top eight teams on tab progressing to the semi-finals and finals.

We have now successfully qualified for the Oxford Finals for several years but this is the second year in a row that more than one team have qualified.

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C H I C AG O

DRAMA Stars of Chicago, Lucy Conroy (Lower Sixth) and Charlotte Dargan (Upper Sixth)

James Critchley (Upper Sixth) was outstanding as Billy Flynn

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A showstopper of a piece, ‘Chicago’ does not stop for breath: a whirlwind of glitz, glamour, and ‘All That Jazz’, it is an unashamed lovenote to sin, lies, greed and ego, where money grows on trees and fame is everything. Don’t stop to question the illusion, or you might become, in the words of Billy Flynn, just another “butterfly crushed on the wheel”.

This classic Broadway musical, by Kander, Ebb and Fosse, was based on a 1926 play by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins about the era of the ‘celebrity criminal’. The story revolves around the crimes of wannabe actress and star, Roxie Hart, here played with vanity, style and greedy determination

by Lucy Conroy (Lower Sixth). She achieves the limelight after murdering her lover, Fred Casey, upon being discovered in the act of marital betrayal by her dim-witted but lovable husband, Amos, performed with pathos by Dominic Hodgson-Bajoria (Lowter Sixth).

While in jail, she is taken under the wing of ‘Mama’ (played by Sue Trevelyan, Upper Sixth), who manages the prisoners’ careers as notorious criminals, and then starts an in-house rivalry with famed vaudevillian Velma Kelly, also serving time for murdering her husband. Velma struggles to retain the limelight as Roxie’s story starts to increasingly interest the press. Charlotte Dargan (Upper Sixth) perfectly encapsulated Velma’s gigantic ego and self-serving snobbery as she battled to stay afloat in the face of Roxie’s fresh-faced assault on fame.

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Roxie is quickly catapulted to celebrity stardom under the guidance of starry lawyer, Billy Flynn – played by James Critchley (Upper Sixth) with intoxicating charm and seductive power – and aided by the sympathetic ‘sop sister’ journalist Mary Sunshine (Iona Boyer, Lower Sixth).

After a theatrical trial that is as much about performance as truth, she is eventually acquitted, and ends up with all the fame she craves in a vaudeville double act with Velma. Such a plot might seem ludicrous, but it was derived from real court cases. In the Jazz Age, Chicago was enthralled by the notion of the black widow: female homicides who were let off simply because of their femininity and became stage celebrities.

From the opening moments of ‘All That Jazz’, this show was full to the brim with some amazing numbers, all performed to perfection by a cast who were slick, stylish and spectacular. In a show full of highlights, some songs really stood out: ‘Cell Block Tango’, featuring six outstanding solo performances, ‘They Both Reached For The Gun’, the press conference in which Billy Flynn quite literally used Roxie as a puppet for press sympathy, ‘Mr. Cellophane’, Amos Hart’s melancholy lament to his own invisibility, and ‘Razzle Dazzle’, Billy Flynn’s epic showstopper. From beginning to end, the cast encapsulated the extravagance and flamboyance of the Jazz Age. Chicago never pulls its punches: it is a lavish story about the lure of fame, and its deadly consequences. At the heart of this production was the band, who brought every number immaculately to life, with Miss Bolt directing the musical magic; whilst special thanks must also go to the production team, in particular the Director, Miss Davison, and the Choreographer, Lucy Hudson, who orchestrated the dancing, the cabaret atmosphere and the overall flamboyance so wonderfully.

Joe Wright, Year 10

A C H R I ST M A S CAROL You would be forgiven if Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ shocked you, because you saw the world we actually live in now, not the far-off Gothic fantasy you expected. Even if Dickens had been gifted an eyepiece into the world today, he could not have written a story that cut through the fire and fury of 2019 with such piercing simplicity. This performance, from Years 7 to 9, and directed

by Mr King, was a stunning encapsulation of his message and vision.

A scene from A Christmas Carol Lola Fazlic (Year 9), Nylah Thompson (Year 8) and Maria Shenton-Pareja (Year 7), the Cratchit family and Scrooge’s nephew, Fred. The ensemble work was full of style and flair, and lit up a production which was at all times slick and powerful. Special mention must go to the Fezziwig Christmas party and its fiddle accompaniment, a truly stunning feat of theatre. All the cast gave excellent and inspired performances, bringing the message of the play home with skill and conviction.

This unusual stage adaptation, by David Edgar, brought a new perspective to this All this is testament well-known tale, to the vision of the giving central roles Director, Mr King, to the character who brought this of Dickens himself timeless story to – thoughtful, life. The Musical introverted, and Director, Mr Fazlic, compassionately was also at the heart portrayed by Will of the performance, Rowe (Year 8) – and his accompanying and Bede Doe (Year 9) friend and biographer, John directing the wonderful sound as Scrooge Forster. Forster’s inclusion was that surrounded the production. of special significance to the RGS, as he Special thanks also go to Mr Burton is an Old Novo, albeit one from a long time and Mr Edwards for designing the set, ago! He was brought alive with bluster and multi-layered and used with ingenuity infectious positivity by Matthew Rees (Year throughout: the very bones and sinews 9). These two acted as narrators and also the production hung on. entered their own story as a range of other characters, providing a backbone and This was a fantastic production, one continuity to the narrative. that made us realise the true value of human compassion and the power Bede Doe’s (Year 9) performance as the of kindness. unfeeling businessman Scrooge was the living image of spite and sarcasm: he even Joe Wright, Year 10 bore an uncanny resemblance to a certain Jacob Rees-Mogg! The humble, cowed figure of Bob Cratchit, his unfortunate employee, played by Hugo Green (Year 8), was the perfect antidote, as the epitome of humility.

Other fantastic support came from the four Spirits, portrayed by Rishi Matla (Year 8),

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ENGINEERING, DESIGN & T EC H N O L O GY H OW E DT S U P P O RT E D THE PPE S H O RTAG E Talented Year 11 student, Theo Wride, used his own 3D printer to produce much needed PPE for NHS frontline staff at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. Theo started printing face screens on his mum’s request and produced 15 within four days.

Theo started printing the screens because of his mum’s role as a GP, and her having to see patients without complete PPE coverage.

The process required to complete a single face screen is not a simple one and involves melting plastic and then extruding this plastic into any three dimensional shape. Theo modified a design he found on a 3D printing forum from a person who used it in Spain.

He used a standard, basic plastic called PLA, but planned to use a nylon filament which is more robust.

Theo admits he is the only engineering-type person in his household and received no help from anyone else in the production. He produced four a day, before fine tuning some of the settings to enable a run of six or seven.

Theo received a number of orders from GP practices in both England and Scotland, and from care homes across the country.

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Staff from the EDT, Science and Computer Science departments also helped support the PPE shortage with visor production in school.

The team included Director of Science and Technology, Andy Pulham, Head of Digital Learning and Computer Science, Chris Wilde, Head of EDT, Pete Warne, EDT Teachers Bex Harvey and Matt Lowe, and EDT Technician, Alex Jenkins.

“We’re so grateful to the Royal Grammar School for helping us out with PPE. The box of visors they 3D printed are going to be invaluable to our doctors and healthcare staff working in Newcastle.”

The team used 3D printers printing head braces and support pieces from PLA and Rebecca Haynes, Chief Operating Officer, PETG at their homes. In addition, Bex Harvey, Newcastle GP Services, the GP federation manually cut visor screens from PVC sheeting, of Newcastle and Chris Wilde prepared laser cut templates for colleagues to cut around to produce screens.

Theo Wride (Year 11) working on the face screens he produced

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FUTURE LEADERS IN ENGINEERING HONOURED Four Sixth Form students were awarded an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship at ceremonies in London and Edinburgh.

Edward Corbett, Darcy Errington-Stevens, Alexander Waldron and Daniel Sommerville-Roberts (all Lower Sixth) received the accolade – awarded to the most talented STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) students in UK schools – which are highly regarded by university admission tutors and industry recruiters.

Each scholarship supports the students through their Sixth Form studies and consists of an annual financial award, as well as access to enrichment activities, such as mentoring and industry visits, that enhance the scholar’s experience of engineering in an industrial context.

“We’re delighted that our students have been recognised for their ability and hard work. An Arkwright Engineering Scholarship is one of the most prestigious honours that a talented Sixth Form student can receive. We are also exceedingly grateful to the sponsors who fund and support these scholarships.”

Earning an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship is no mean feat, as students are put through a rigorous selection process comprising an assessed application form, including a teacher’s reference, a two-hour problem-solving aptitude exam and a university-based interview.

EDT department staff, as well as Andy Pulham, Head of Science and Technology supported applicants throughout the selection process with a range of tutorials and mock interviews.

The sponsors were as follows: Edward Corbett – Reece Group Darcy Errington-Stevens – Nottingham University Alexander Waldron – Radio Communications Foundation Although awarded an Arkwright Scholarship, Daniel Sommerville-Roberts asked Arkwright to award another applicant as he was unsure of his career path.

We are very proud of him for making this difficult choice.

Arkwright Scholars Darcy Errington-Stevens, Edward Corbett and Alexander Waldron

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ENGLISH KIDS’ LIT QUIZ The Kids’ Lit Quiz is an annual literature quiz for students aged 10 – 13 years with quizzes held all over the world.

Teams of four students are asked to answer 100 questions on children’s literature divided into ten categories, which vary each year. The winning team from each heat competes in a national final, with the winners going on to compete in the World final, which was due to be held in New Zealand.

We had two teams of students from Year 7 and 8 take part in this year’s Kids’ Lit quiz, competing against 32 teams from across the North East. One of our teams came second overall, winning £60 in book tokens. They were only three marks behind the overall winners, Durham Johnston, with 83/100 and beat Gosforth Central Middle school in a tie break for second place.

The organisers said it was the closest North East final they had ever seen and they were very impressed with the calibre of the candidates and with their behaviour.

The Year 7 Kids’ Lit Quiz team who finished 2nd in the North East competition

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The Sixth Form Reading Group on Holy Island

SIXTH FORM READING GROUP AT T E N D 1 9 T H A N N UA L R E A D I N G WEEKEND The Sixth Form Reading Group took part in its 19th annual reading weekend on Holy Island in January, the culmination of meeting weekly for a year after school. Eleven students, along with Dr Barker and Mrs Stadward, enjoyed the lively discussion, the great company, the fantastic hospitality of the Lindisfarne Hotel and the magic of the island.

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GEOGRAPHY SIXTH FORMERS ST U DY G L AC I AT I O N

Year 11 students visit Bollihope River

Year 11 visit Bollihope River In late September our Year 11 geographers visited Bollihope River in County Durham, one of the compulsory fieldtrips they have to take. On their visit they studied aspects of the natural environment including rivers, slopes and vegetation. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t on our side for the first group who visited and our worse fears were confirmed on arrival as the river, normally a tranquil beck, had become a raging torrent topping its banks in places.

The students improvised and made do with measuring a side channel (created by the flood) and a gentle slope avoiding proximity to the watercourse. Over the week the river relaxed into its normal pattern and the remaining groups were able to survey as usual, but it was a clear reminder how nature will determine and control the best laid plans.

On a cool Sunday in October, a group of keen and committed Sixth Formers ventured into the Lake District to study glaciation. Despite not being an A Level topic, it is an additional aspect of geography for those looking ahead to university or just wanting to know more about the physical world.

As ever the day went well, with a high speed dash around Borrowdale picking up all the key sites of glacial interest, from rounded drumlins to the jagged tops of extinct volcanoes subsequently carved by Devensian ice.

GEOG SOC C R E AT E S LOTS OF FUN Geog Soc started up again at the turn of the year, with quizzes, talks and lots of hands-on experiments – which included making exploding volcanoes – something our younger students loved getting involved with. Huge thanks to our dedicated A Level geographers who led the sessions for students from the lower year groups, making it a fun and enjoyable experience. Hopefully we’ll see some of these considering Geography as a subject option at GCSE and A Level in the not-to-distant future.

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HIS STO RY B AT T L E F I E L D S TO U R Year 11 students visit Tyne Cot Cemetery as part of the Battlefields Tour

Sixth Form students visit Berlin In February, a group of 20 Sixth Form students visited Berlin as part of their History studies. The group spent four days exploring the historical German city taking in the sights of the Brandenburg Gate, the New Synagogue, The Reichstag and the Berliner Dom. Away from the city the group visited the site of the Concentration Camp at Sachsenhausen – an experience for many that they will not forget. As well as some of the historical sights, the group also sampled some of the Berlin culture that attracts many to the city.

During October half term, Year 11 students went on the annual Battlefields Tour along the French and Belgian border. The group visited many of the significant Battlefields sites including the Ypres Salient, the Menin Gate, Tyne Cot Memorial, the Somme battlefields, Newfoundland Park, the Thiepval Memorial and Lochnagar Crater, where many ONs fought and died with the Tyneside Irish.

The trip was a great success and the students were in the very capable and learned hands of Mr Tilbrook, who made his last RGS Battlefields trip after many years ahead of his retirement at the end of the school year.

The students were very grateful to have experienced his deep knowledge and humane insights.

Year 11 students pay their respects to those who fought and lost their lives in the Great War

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National Junior Maths Challenge The National Junior Maths Challenge still went ahead in June, albeit remotely, and we had students compete in this. Rosie Ma (Year 7) and Peter Van Orsouw (Year 8) were our joint top scorers, with an outstanding score of 124. This was worthy of a Gold certificate for both of them.

M AT H S M AT H S CHALLENGE FINALS The Senior Maths team are regional champions for 2019! The team of Alex Adamson (Lower Sixth), William Zhang (Lower Sixth), Blake Herdman (Upper Sixth) and Aadam Haq (Upper Sixth) took the title at Emmanuel College, only dropping six marks all day – a superb achievement.

They went on to represent the region in the National Finals in London in February.

Intermediate Maths Challenge In March, we took part in the Intermediate Maths Challenge – Rosie Ma (Year 7) took part in this competition despite it being designed for Years 10 and 11. Rosie’s score was among the best in school (113/135), worthy of a place in the national Maths Olympiad. Weiming Xu (Year 9) also took this challenge two years early and scored an incredible 100%. This shows the incredible Maths talent coming through the school.

The Senior Maths team

The Senior Maths team and Dr Argyle with their regional winners’ certificates

At the national finals, the team finished a creditable 42nd out of 88 regional finalists. It was a very tough but enjoyable day of Maths, with the team doing the school proud. Thanks must go to Dr Argyle and Mr Poole for preparing and travelling with the team to the competitions.

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COOL BLEIBEN UND DEUTSCH LERNEN!

MODERN FOREIGN L A N G UAG E S

A talented group of Lower Sixth German students achieved success in national competitions and events throughout the past year.

Helen Edwards was awarded a prestigious work experience placement at the Goethe Institut in Germany. Following a rigorous and highly competitive application process. Helen was one of only 20 to be selected nationally, and we were delighted to see Alice Crossland also shortlisted for the programme.

Toby Green participated in Linguastars, a UK-wide course organised by Leeds University for Year 12 linguists during lockdown. We were delighted to receive correspondence from the organisers in which they praised his excellent linguistic ability, as well as his enthusiasm and willingness to participate.

Our Lower Sixth German students also participated as a team in a German debating competition. Flying down to London to compete, they were narrowly beaten by Lady Eleanor Holles School, who had the benefit of the home advantage.

It is worth noting that while A Level German has declined, or ceased to exist, in many local schools, the RGS has become a beacon for studying German. The Lower Sixth Germanists of 2019-20 are the embodiment of the RGS values of participation, collaboration, enthusiasm and excellence.

Sixth Form Modern Foreign Languages students

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GIANFRANCO CONTI VISITS RGS We were delighted to host a Network for Languages CPD event for teaching colleagues with language-learning maestro Dr Gianfranco Conti. We welcomed 40 international delegates to the day, one that invited improved understanding of the cognitive mechanisms involved in language processing and acquisition supported with a wide range of evidence-based instructional strategies for accelerating learning, modelling and enhancing writing. Brain food!

A Level Hispanists enjoy a workshop put on by Tyneside Cinema

Students visit Tyneside Cinema for Film Events The MFL department have regularly attended the fantastic film days arranged

by Tyneside Cinema in conjunction with Newcastle University over the past few years as they provide our students with a unique learning experience.

The first event our students attended in Autumn was a French event, designed to support and engage our A Level students in activities and discussions on key topics through the medium of film, based on, ‘L’auberge espagnole’ (Pot Luck!) by Cédric Klapisch, one of the most internationally successful French filmmakers. The movie focuses on the relatable tale of integration of a multi-ethnic group studying for a year in Barcelona and living in a house-share.

For our A Level Hispanists, the impacting biopic ‘Diarios de motocicleta’ (‘Motorcycle Diaries’) by Walter Salles, about the journey of the 23-year-old Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, recounted the 1952 life-changing expedition, initially by motorcycle, across South America

by Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado, was the topic of their film day, and allowed for some great workshop study following the film showcase.

The final event was for our GCSE Hispanists as they watched the moving ‘El Olivo’ (‘The Olive Tree’). The film combines social critique and a deeply human story about the broken and unbroken bonds between generations; the film sends a young woman on a mission to steal back a symbolically significant ancient olive tree. The film viewing and group work were designed to support our students to develop their language skills and enable them to explore topic and language-based aspects relevant to their GCSE.

Year 8 French students take part in Linguacuisine At the start of the academic year, an enthusiastic group of Year 8 French students took part in a crepe cooking challenge – all in French – with colleagues at one of Newcastle University’s high-tech kitchens.

Year 8 students make crepes as part of Linguacuisine

The Linguacuisine project focuses on digital literacy and language skills, with students using the Linguacuisine App to learn a vocabulary set in French and cook in teams in the Digital Kitchen. They then got to eat and enjoy the traditional dish. Bon appetit!

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MUSIC Hannah Zheng (Year 7) with the Sutcliffe Shield

Hannah named Most Promising Pianist of 2020 Year 7 pianist, Hannah Zheng, was awarded the Sutcliffe Shield for the Most Promising Pianist of 2020 at the Ryton & District Festival of Music 2020.

Hannah, who was competing against 12 other pianists, performed Gigue, ‘fifth movement’, from ‘Suite No.8 in F minor’, ‘HWV33’ by Handel and ‘Élégie’ by N.Lysenko.

Her impressive talent led to her winning the Coronation Cup for the Pianoforte solo (Grade 7 and 8), and she placed second in the Pianoforte solo Open Class.

Having played the piano from the age of six, Hannah has previously played in various festivals and competitions to enhance her performance experience. In November 2019, along with her sister (Amy, Year 9), she competed in the ‘Around the Globe Piano Festival’ in London, where both girls won their categories.

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LIVE LOUNGE This year’s Live Lounge brought together 14 different acts (soloists, duets, trios, even an eight-piece funk band). There was an eclectic mix of songs from a wide range of musical genres including musicals, folk, pop, rock and funk: some familiar cover versions mixed in with the more obscure.

It was great to see two new Year 7 bands performing with confidence as well as our well-established Upper Sixth ensembles who have been performing for a quite a few years.

Hopefully, more acts will be attracted to a similar event next year.

Our eight-piece funk band perform at the Live Lounge

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Keshav Krishnan (Upper Sixth) performs at the Autumn Recital

ST U D E N T S E XC E L I N ABRSM EXAMS

The Autumn Recital

Nanxizi Zhao (Year 4) performs at the Autumn Recital

Our annual Autumn Recital was held in November in front of an audience of fellow students, parents, guests and staff who were taken on a 70-minute musical adventure: treated to Bach, Bernstein and everything in between. It was lovely to see students from Year 4 through to Upper Sixth performing such a varied and interesting programme on seven different instruments including the voice.

For some of our students this was their first public performance and we hope that they have gained the confidence to continue performing publicly again.

A number of our talented musical students across both the Junior and Senior School excelled in the ABRSM exams in the Summer, with more than half of the entrants achieving Merits or Distinctions.

This was the first time that all entrants passed their grades, which is a fantastic achievement. Below is a summary of the awards: 10 Distinctions 20 Merits – 10 in Senior and 10 in Junior school 22 Passes – 11 in Senior and 11 in Junior school SENIOR SCHOOL DISTINCTION AWA R D S :

JUNIOR SCHOOL DISTINCTION AWA R D S :

Lucy Davis (Lower Sixth) Flute, Grade 8 Grace Stobart (Year 10) Voice, Grade 8 Ray Li (Year 7) Piano, Grade 7 Helen Chen (Year 7) Piano, Grade 7 Oliver Clark (Year 7) Clarinet, Grade 5 Hannah Stobart (Year 10) Voice, Grade 5

Kaipo Wu (Year 5) Flute, Grade 3 Anabelle Zhou (Year 3) Violin, Grade 2 Zuri Patel (Year 4) Violin, Grade 1

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North East School’s Rock Gig A group of Year 9 musicians took part in the North East School’s Rock Gig held at Newcastle’s O2 Academy in March. ‘Colossal Squid’ is the brainchild of Hector Hawkins, Oisin Caffrey, Sonny Drummond and Lachlan Ewart.

Band member, Hector, tells us all about the gig: After months of preparing for the gig, we finally arrived at the day of the performance.

It was only our second performance as a band and we were all very nervous.

Once we got to the O2 Academy, we were given wristbands and headed upstairs for our audio checks which went really well.

We still had a couple of hours to wait until people were allowed in and the concert was due to start. The longer we waited the more nervous we got! We were seventh on the running order so even after the concert started, we still had a while to wait, but after what felt like an age, we were finally called up to get ready.

We were told to stand by the side of the stage and wait for the band in front of us to finish. We were going on after CTOAN who were amazing in so many ways. One of their guitarists broke three strings in the first of five songs and all of them were jumping up and down on stage – it was crazy! They did an extra two songs which prolonged our wait but also, in a funny way, made me feel less scared and more ready and raring to go.

We were told we could get ready and then go off and come back on, but we were all fired up and really just wanted to start. We introduced ourselves and started playing our first song ‘Ziggy Stardust’ by David Bowie, which was a great opener and went really well. We went on to play our next song, which was an original called ‘Falling’, and then played our best and favourite song: ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ by Oasis. This last song could not have gone any better, we had the whole crowd singing along and the band after us were dancing to it at the side which was such a great feeling.

The gig was absolutely amazing and I loved every second of it. I hope we can go to similar events again in the future.

RGS Senior Carol Service On Tuesday 10th December, the annual RGS Senior Choir Service was again held at St George’s Church, Jesmond.

It was for me, a most enjoyable occasion, not only because it offered the opportunity to hear the RGS Choirs and musicians, it also reminded me of the many happy hours I spent during my formative years participating in several Church activities.

Once again the Junior and Senior School Choirs and musicians did not disappoint. There can be few schools that can match or surpass the quality and standard of music at RGS. As a former member of the School Senior Choir, it is doubtful whether we ever attained the performance level of the current choir.

Some may enquire why the standard of music is so high at the RGS, the answer, in part, must lie in the talents of the students. But that is not the full story. In my opinion, the answer also lies in the enthusiastic, dedicated and inspirational music staff under the leadership of Mr Zlatan Falzic, Director of Music, and Mrs Kat Clappison, Head of Music in the Junior School.

Colossal Squid: Hector Hawkins, Oisin Caffrey, Sonny Drummond and Lachlan Ewart

The musical highlights included the Junior Chamber Choir’s performance of ‘Tollite Hostias’ by Saint-Saëns, the Blue Blazer Choir’s rendition of ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’, the Senior and Community Choir’s performance of ‘This Little Babe’ by Britten and the playing of the Brass Ensemble and the Symphony Orchestra.

As I entered the Church with my two guests, I was immediately aware not only of the sheer number of people attending the Carol Service, but a feeling of the warmth of the RGS family embracing me, so well done to everyone.

By Burland Jacob (1944-49)

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S E N I O R S P R I N G C O N C E RT Our annual Senior Spring Concert took place in early March, and featured a wide range of our school ensembles.

The concert was opened by the Percussion Ensemble who, under the leadership of Mr Wall, produced tight and precise rhythmic playing with their rendition of ‘Danielle’s Cha Cha’. It was lovely to see some new Year 7 players playing together with the wellestablished Sixth Formers.

The Intermediate Guitar Ensemble followed with ‘Girl from Ipanema’ and the ‘Spanish Suite’.

Mr Fergusson’s students created lovely dynamic shading and kept the Latin American rhythms well under control.

The Senior Flute Ensemble’s performances of Bach’s ‘Badineries’ and Tchaikovsky’s ‘Danse der Mirlitons’ showed that a good choice of arrangement played well, can beautifully showcase the great versatility of a flute ensemble.

The Brass Ensemble’s performance of ‘Canzon a 4 Gabrielli’ demonstrated a wellbalanced ensemble playing with precise entries and a great dynamic range. It was impressive to note how each member of the ensemble listened to each other in order to create a well-balanced ensemble sound.

Energetic and enthusiastic playing by the Blue Note Wind Band, under the leadership of Miss Bolt, was evidently clear in their take on ‘Danserye’ by Susato. The ensemble created a wide range of tone colours and good dynamic changes in Elgar’s ‘Pomp and Circumstance’.

The concert was brought to a close by the Symphony Orchestra and their performance of Dvorak’s ‘Slavonic Dance No1’. It has become customary for our Symphony Orchestra to only play one piece ahead of being the headlining act at the Choral and Orchestral Concert later in the term. However, as this major concert had to be cancelled due to the The Sinfonia Orchestra, coached by Mrs Jasinski, exhibited just how much this ensemble Covid-19 restrictions, this year’s Spring Concert had progressed during the previous six months. was to be the last performance opportunity for many of our Upper Sixth instrumentalists The ensemble, consisting of students from before they left school for pastures new. ‘The Year 7 to Year 10, played with precision and Slavonic Dance’ was played with energy and good intonation in both ‘Don Juan’ by Gluck well executed entries, which required a smooth and ‘The Raggle Taggle Gypsies’ by Boyle. transition of various tempi and time signatures.

The Blue Blazer Choir’s performance of ‘Joshua’ showed superb rhythmic control and a delicate dynamic range. The young voices from singers in Year 7 and Year 8 brought a smile to many faces in the audience.

Our thanks go to all our students and their teachers who performed a diverse musical programme very well.

Violinists perform at the Senior Spring Concert

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P H YS I C S Students take part in Engineering Education Scheme Lower Sixth Class team, Velox Racing, receiving their Nissan Team Spirit Award.

Morgan Lant, Joe Armstrong, Sam Whiteside, Ed Corbett, Murray Brown

Velox Racing win Nissan Team Spirit Award at F1 in Schools

Two teams of Lower Sixth students took part in this year’s Engineering Education Scheme.

They were tasked by Nissan to design a power unit cooling system and a method to retrieve bolts dropped on the production conveyor belt. Nissan were delighted with the working prototypes the teams produced and hope to use these ideas within the factory.

Every student who took part in this scheme gained a Gold CREST award for their efforts.

We have a long tradition of teams competing in the F1inSchools competition, with past teams reaching the national finals. This year, two teams participated: a Year 9 Development Class team, Hex Racing, and a Lower Sixth Class team, Velox Racing.

Competition has become increasingly tough in the North East due to the support of Nissan, and unfortunately our teams didn’t place in the regional round. However, Velox Racing, sponsored by Oddballs, won the Nissan Team Spirit Award and were also awarded a Bronze CREST award for their efforts.

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Year 9 Development Class team, Hex Racing.

Jacob Colbeck, Aidan Lord, Rob Gold, Henry Young, Sam Davidson

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British Physics Olympiad This year, 19 of our top A Level Physics students participated in the British Physics Olympiad, a national competition run by Oxford University designed to stretch and challenge the top young physicists in the country. This year around 2100 students participated, and our students did exceptionally well with one Silver, three Bronze (I), six Bronze (II) and nine Commendations.

Year 10 students visit RAF Spadeadam

YEAR 10 ST U D E N T S V I S I T R A F S PA D E A DA M Around 30 Year 10 students visited RAF Spadeadam, in the Northumberland countryside, where electronic warfare training takes place.

It is a working facility, with very high levels of security in place, however our students were allowed to visit the large-scale fire, explosion and blast research facility operated by DNV GL. The building itself was impressive, having been recently completed to a design which allows it to cope with the large structural vibrations caused by the daily testing outside. Companies and organisations from around the world use DNV’s expertise to test a wide variety of materials and systems, from passive fire protection systems to large-scale high-pressure gas pipelines.

Worst-case scenario testing is obviously important, but also great fun to watch!

S I LV E R

COMMENDED

Justin Cronk (Upper Sixth)

Peter Lord (Upper Sixth) Nathan Byatt (Upper Sixth) Zheming Zhang (Upper Sixth) Max Golightly (Upper Sixth) Aadam Haq (Upper Sixth) Joe Wise (Upper Sixth) Talha Pathan (Upper Sixth) Pardis Farahi (Upper Sixth) Sam Wincott (Upper Sixth)

BRONZE I Blake Herdman (Upper Sixth) Archie Brooks (Upper Sixth) Chanka Jayaweera (Upper Sixth) BRONZE II Andrew Laing (Upper Sixth) Alex Daniel (Upper Sixth) James Mckeen (Upper Sixth) Emilia Keavney (Upper Sixth) Hector Hawkins (Upper Sixth) Thomas Rees (Upper Sixth)

During the day, the students got to observe two types of explosive; gunpowder (loud) and TNT (louder)! A room sized metal container was flooded with an explosive air/gas mixture which was then ignited resulting in a large boom. The group also saw fuel fires and a stupendously noisy jet fire, the type of accident that can occur in chemical plants or oil and gas facilities. There were also classroom sessions for the students involving calculations and some impressive footage of the large-scale gas pipe fracture explosions that take months to set up.

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U13s win Birkdale 9-a-side Football Festival

S P O RT T

This year we were invited to take part in the Birkdale 9-a-side Football Festival for the first time, and took a group of 12 Year 8 boys down to Sheffield for the competition.

The 12-team tournament featured schools from across the north of England, with the morning session consisting of two mini-leagues of six schools. After devising a system that included a sweeper, our team made a big impression, winning four of their five matches, scoring 12 goals and conceding just two.

The afternoon session saw RGS play GSAL in the semifinal. In a cagey affair, we were able to get ourselves in front and hold on for a fully-deserved 1-0 victory. This gave the boys an opportunity to face Ackworth School, who had not only beaten us 1-0 in the morning session, but had made it to the final without conceding a goal.

Faced with a stubborn and determined defence, we were unable to break down Ackworth in normal time; it would take penalties to decide the winner. After both teams scored their first three, it went to sudden death. Under immense pressure, up stepped Alex Nice, who coolly slotted the ball home, sealing a superb victory for the boys.

Congratulations to all 12 boys who were part of the squad, and to Mr Chadwick and Mr Wollerton, the latter of who was drafted in at the last minute to cover. We certainly hope to return next year to defend our crown.

U13 football team win the Birkdale 9-a-side Football Festival

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Our Tennis players who reached the regional finals

TENNIS TEAMS R E AC H T H E R EG I O N A L FINALS The Puma Centre Sunderland, was the destination for some of our young tennis players as they reached the regional finals.

The U13 and U15 boys’ teams and the U13 girls’ team played extremely well against some very good schools and players from across the North East. Very excited to see what they can achieve in years to come.

Girls’ team: Lexie Haig (Year 9) Esther Kim (Year 8) Evie Tones (Year 8) Katie Robinson (Year 8) Boys’ team: Jacob Beard (Year 9) Alex Nice (Year 8) Alistair McLeod (Year 8) William Jones (Year 8)

First XV return to St Joe’s in the hopes of retaining their title The St Joe’s Rugby Festival is the highlight of the rugby calendar for our First XV, and this year they would head into the competition as current title holders having been the surprise package winners in 2018.

The first day ended with a confident win against RGS High Wycombe. The game started with an easy penalty kick from Blackett, who then scored another with a huge effort from inside our own half. After a well worked move from our backline, Will Haslam (Upper Sixth) managed to finish a sensational try, skipping past five defenders. RGS High Wycombe came back at us in the second half, scoring two tries, but we managed to hold them off with well worked tries from Phil Brantingham and Mark Dormer (Lower Sixth). We went back to the hotel with a strong 25-10 win, ready for the next day after some good video analysis and refuelling of the bodies.

On day two we found ourselves in a tough group consisting of Wellington College, Hampton School and Brighton College. Our We started the tournament with a strong win first match was against a strong Hampton against Eltham College. Although slow to start, side, who had looked very threatening on the first day. Will Haslam and Arun Summerfield with the first half ending only 5-3 after a well (Upper Sixth) combined on the blindside to worked try from Phil Brantingham (Upper Sixth). A rousing team talk followed at half time score a great first try in the corner. Blackett and we gained momentum in the second half killed the game off with two great penalties, with a quick try from Harry Gallagher (Upper and we held on strong to win 13-3.

Sixth). We eventually overwhelmed Eltham, Next up was Brighton College. Phil Brantingham winning 26-3, with a sensational try coming scored early after a strong driving maul from from Odera Okoli (Upper Sixth). our pack. Our forwards then struck again, The second match of the day was against the with Schmid charging through the Brighton defence, offloading the ball to Cameron Paul hosts, St. Joe’s, on the main pitch. The team who finished the try. Blackett finished the was fired up for the match and it showed game once again with a penalty, taking us onto as we scored in the first two minutes, Harry our last group match of the day. This was our Gallagher finishing off a try following a great biggest test yet as we faced Wellington College. break from Henry Schmid (Upper Sixth). We We came out fired up, but unfortunately, we kept the pressure on them and Cameron couldn’t handle Wellington’s monster pack, Paul (Upper Sixth) scored another try after who battered us 19-0, and then went on to some good play. We were threatened in the win the tournament. second half by an end to end effort from the St Joe’s winger, but Nathan Byatt (Upper Sixth) It was a disappointing end and the team felt managed to track back and make a gamethey had so much more to give. Although we saving tackle. With James Blackett (Upper didn’t bring the trophy home, the experience Sixth) slotting another penalty, the game motivated the team for the rest of the season. ended 15-6.

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Girls’ Hockey First XI make History Making history, the hockey First XI became the first team to make it to the final of the U18 Investec England Hockey Tier 2 National Schools Championship and the U19 Smile Independent Schools Hockey Cup this year.

Playing a total of 11 teams from across the country in order to reach both finals, the girls travelled to Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, London Olympic Park, twice in the space of two weeks during March, to compete in the finals.

Unfortunately, both trips would prove to be losses. But they were fantastic learning opportunities for the girls, and their skills and match play certainly developed and benefited from being in both of these competitions and reaching the finals.

“It has been an incredibly successful season for our girls, they have risen to the challenge and created history, by reaching two National finals in two weeks, beating some strong and experienced schools. As a school community, we’re immensely proud of their achievements, and hope this will inspire the younger players in the school.”

J O H N WO O D

Hockey Squad: Captain: Hannah Lee (Upper Sixth) VC: Grace Varley (Upper Sixth) GK: Holly Wilson (Upper Sixth) GK: Rosanna Carrick Daly (Year 11) Kirstin Gerrand (Upper Sixth) Abi Peyton (Upper Sixth) Trudie McCarthy (Upper Sixth) Jemima Barreto (Upper Sixth) Hannah Lee (Upper Sixth) Libby Chrisp (Year 11) Issy Potier Godinho (Upper Sixth) Alice Geoghegan (Year 11) Sarika Nadkarni (Lower Sixth) Sarah Carluke (Upper Sixth) Fran Southwood (Upper Sixth) Megan Wardle (Lower Sixth)

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T H E R OA D TO N AT I O N A L S Captain and Centre Midfield, Hannah Lee, describes what it has been like to lead the First XI and be a part of this successful team.

From playing U12 seven-a-side hockey, where our biggest rival was NHSG, to being the only Northern team left in the top four of a National Cup, competing at Lee Valley – the Olympic stadium – I think it’s safe to say this team has come a long way.

Our preseason tour to Rutland this year certainly helped us gel as a team and also welcome our younger newcomers. It was a great way to re-establish fitness and refresh our skills after summer. Since then, we’ve built a really strong foundation that has facilitated our determination and tenacity and thus; our lengthy cup-run.

In terms of highlights, the Glasgow festival we attended this season really pushed us.

It was more of a learning curve than a success, but it taught us about the importance of resilient and clinical hockey. Another obvious highlight was qualifying for the Indoor Nationals, which was a fantastic achievement for the girls. As the U16s qualified too, the atmosphere of support in Bromsgrove was superb, especially in such a tough playing environment.

Although our score sheets perhaps didn’t reflect exactly what we stand for, our 3-1 win against RGS Worcester in our final match was a pinnacle moment of the season. We pushed through what can only be described as a brutal loss against Wellington and managed to prove ourselves to be the best RGS in England, and undoubtedly the most passionate goal celebrators of the tournament.

For many of the girls on the team, school hockey has always largely been about friendship, and despite the cliché, I think I speak for everyone when I say that the bond we’ve created as a team will be one of the biggest things I will take away from not only the sport, but from RGS as a whole.

We’ve been there for each other through individual and team highs and lows. We’ve commiserated losses, faced injuries and shouldered the stress of schoolwork but equally; celebrated big wins, entertained each other on long away-days and essentially grown up together.

I think qualifying for Nationals this year symbolises an accumulation of hard work and perseverance, especially for the older girls on the team. For me, it is an achievement that makes me feel immensely proud and no matter the outcome of the finals, I will be incredibly happy to leave the school on such a positive note.

The First XI at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, in the final of the U18 Investec England Hockey Tier 2 National Schools Championship

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SENIOR S Q UA D R E AC H N AT I O N A L NETBALL FINALS

U16 netball team

U16 Netballers have a great season The quarter final game against Cheadle Hulme School was held shortly before February half term, and again, was a close battle with great individual performances and exceptional team support from every member of the squad. The defensive unit were especially solid, dominating the circle, whilst our centre court players held They started their competition in November firm, timing their drives with exceptional in the second round of the plate competition accuracy.

It was a fantastic game and against Sedbergh School. It was a close game, victory to boot, 41 – 34. especially with a team who had not had a lot of opportunity to play together, however, we eventually achieved the outcome we desired, The semi-final saw us face St George’s Academy, Sleaford. The team played and won 39-37. brilliantly, despite a string of injuries affecting the squad, with great tactical After months of hard work and training, the play and some phenomenally accurate team then faced Queen Ethelburga’s in the shooting from our attacking players. The third round of the competition in January. final score was a 40-30 victory, sealing This time our efficient defence brought us our place in the national netball final. early interceptions and turnovers, giving Joined by U15 players from Year 10, who had experienced national finals netball at U14 level, our U16 netball team had an extremely successful season culminating in a finals appearance in the Sisters in Sport Netball National Plate Finals.

us a promising lead by half time. It was these tactics, along with outstanding team spirit and determination, that led us to the excellent result of 58-37, securing our place in the quarter finals.

Unfortunately, the girls would never get to play the final as this fell casualty to the Covid-19 school closure and Government restrictions put in place on team sports.

“The commitment and dedication the girls have shown to training this year is a real testament to their success on the court, playing some tough competition to secure their place in the national final. We are extremely proud of how they work as a team and hope to see netball at RGS continue to go from strength to strength.”

This year’s senior netball squad had a very successful run to the National Netball Finals, which was one of the last national events to be held before the Covid-19 national lockdown.

The competition format sees schools compete in a round-robin tournament format at county then regional level before the top two teams in each age category (U14, U16 and U19) progress to the national finals to face teams from the other nine netball regions in England. This season the senior team were crowned Regional U19 Champions.

In 2018/19 our senior girls narrowly missed out on a finals place, so to see them dominate at county and regional level was excellent to see.

The netball finals are held in Stanborough, Hertfordshire on outdoor courts. This year, the weather was particularly cold, but thankfully the rain didn’t interrupt too much! It’s a tough competition with nine games being played in one day, and our girls put in some fantastic performances. For some, this was their first experience of national finals, and no one looked out of place on the court. There was some excellent precision passing and clinical defending, and our girls showed great team spirit throughout the day. Well done on an excellent season.

Senior netball squad at the England Netball Schools National Finals

Hannah Atkinson

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B A D M I N TO N S Q UA D W I N C I T Y B A D M I N TO N COMPETITION Two teams competed in the City Badminton Competition, giving a good account for themselves against some tough competition.

U16 Indoor Hockey team

U14S AND U 1 6 S R E AC H N AT I O N A L INDOOR HOCKEY FINALS Both the U18 and U16 girls’ hockey teams reached the national indoor finals this year; a first for RGS. The girls travelled to Bromsgrove School, where they competed against sides from across the country in the short-indoor version of the game. Both teams did extremely well, and for the U16s, who were made up of a lot of U14 girls, it provided a great learning opportunity for them.

Our A team consisted of Daniel Rajiv (Year 8), Xuehan Zhang (Year 9), Dan Thompson (Year 9) and Jake Moir (Year 8). The brand new B team was made up of some keen club players: Year 8’s Rory Linkleter and James Hewson, plus our two new Year 7 recruits, David Baker and Dominic Colbeck. Both teams played brilliantly well, winning some tricky games.

Our A team in particular had a fantastic tournament, with some excellent play from all, but Xuehan produced a stunning singles performance. They won all of their games and progressed through to the County round.

Our B team had a much tougher set of games but did a brilliant job. Despite not managing to win any of their rounds (although they fought some very close games), they still managed to come 9th out of 12 overall, with their impressive games count keeping them out of the bottom spots. James was excellent in the singles, and Dominic was exceptional on his debut, playing mostly Year 9 opponents who were a lot more experienced than him. Despite this, he only lost the majority of his matches by one or two points, showing excellent sporting resilience in some epic comebacks that really went down to the wire.

U18 Hockey team in their pre-match huddle

The Badminton A team, winners of the City Badminton Competition

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U15 Hockey Team Reach National Quarter Final The U15 girls’ hockey team had a terrific run in this year’s national Independent Schools’ Cup reaching the quarter final after beating some tough competition. They travelled down to Goldophin & Latymer at the end of January, and unfortunately lost a tightly contested game. To reach the quarter finals of a national competition is a terrific achievement, and hopefully they will go further in national competitions in the future.

Sofia Ruxton competes in the USA Talented gymnast, Sofia Ruxton (Year 7), spent the half term holiday competing at the prestigious 2020 Presidential Classic in Orlando.

Sofia was part of the City of Newcastle Gymnastics Academy team who were invited to take part in the four-day competition, held at the world famous ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World.

Sofia, whose best piece of apparatus is the bars, came 13th in the individual competition, with her group finishing 5th overall.

Performing on such a large stage allowed Sofia and her team mates the chance to experience what competing internationally would be like in the future – which she hopes to continue to do as she progresses in the sport.

U15 hockey team

R I S I N G STA R S Two students were awarded Rising Star awards by Sport Newcastle this year for their outstanding contributions to their chosen sports. Upper Sixth student, Phil Brantingham, who earned his first England cap at Under 18 level during the season, received his for his hard work and commitment to rugby, while Year 10 student, Ciara Boaden, who represents Durham in cricket, received her award for her hard work and commitment to cricket.

Both of these talented students have bright futures ahead of them in their chosen sports, and join a growing list of RGS students and alumni who’ve been awarded Rising Star awards.

Phil Brantingham (Upper Sixth) and Ciara Boaden (Year 10) with their Rising Star Awards

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U15S C O M P E T E AT THE LANGLEY F E S I T VA L One of the regular fixtures of the rugby calendar is the Langley Festival, which sees our U15s compete against some of the biggest rugby schools in the country. Here Captain, Taylor Hannant (Year 10), talks about the squad’s Langley experience.

After a long seven-hour bus journey to Norwich, we finally arrived and settled in to what was to be our home for the next few days, Langley School. We arranged our rooms and rested our heads for the big day ahead.

Our draw for the competition was a tough one; in our group was Trinity School Croydon, Dulwich College and Campion School of Essex Over breakfast we were able to watch the first half of the England v Australia game before heading to the pitch. It felt like everyone was in the right mindset and trying to take some ideas from the game we’d just watched. The pitches were extremely dewy, not the best of conditions for our style of play, but we were ready for the challenge.

Our first game was against Trinity Croydon who were a very good side and they caught us off guard, taking their chances and beating us 7-22. This was quite a disappointing result as it meant we didn’t have a high chance of making it into the cup stage the next day.

Our penultimate game of the day was against Dulwich College who were a very talented side, but by now we were ready to take on anyone and the conditions were now in our favour. We got back to winning ways by beating them 24-0. The final game of the day saw us against Campion. We didn’t have a great start, going 7-0 down however,

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we picked up our heads and began to play at a much higher standard, scoring tries left, right and centre, which resulted in beating them 48-7.

After playing so well in our last game we felt proud yet disappointed after finding ourselves in the vase competition for day two.

However, we felt like we had a good chance to win it after our last performance.

We woke up the next day with a few weary bodies, but were ready to take on our next group, which consisted of two strong teams, Dean Close and Ipswich School.

Unfortunately, it just wasn’t our day. We have the ability and talent within the squad to have won some silverware, but we ended up just short. It was a great experience for all the players and the coaches.

Despite not performing to our usual high standards, it was a great experience for both the players and the coaches.

The U15 rugby squad at the Langley Festival

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S P O RT R E P R E S E N TAT I O N This year has seen a huge amount of students earn representation honours across a number of sports. Congratulations to everyone.

R U G BY

CRICKET

Newcastle Falcons A: James Blackett and Phil Brantingnham

Newcastle Falcons U16 Academy: Freddie Nickalls and Ewan Venerus

Durham Academy: Bobby Green and Calum Fletcher

England U18: Phil Brantingham

Durham Jets: Ciara Boaden

England U17 North: Mark Dormer

Newcastle Falcons U15 Trials: Alastair Cook, Tom Cressey, Chris Deehan, Taylor Hannant, Zack Old, Liam Reilly, Sam Snaith, Dan Stephenson, Ben Wardle

Scotland U18 Trial: Matt Deehan

County U18: Tom Dryden, Will Haslam, Cameron Paul

Newcastle Falcons U18 Academy Fixtures: James Blackett, Phil Brantingham, Matt Deehan, Mark Dormer, Harry Gallagher, Nathan Gough, Toby Peach, Henry Schmid

County U16: Freddie Nickalls, Adam Taylor, Ewan Venerus

F O OT B A L L County U18: Max Kilburn and Lewis Lant NETBALL

Newcastle Falcons U18 Academy: James Blackett, Phil Brantingham, Matt Deehan, Mark Dormer, Harry Gallagher, Nathan Gough, Toby Peach, Henry Schmid, Arun Summerfield

North East Performance U19 squad: Gemma Lant

County U15 selection: Alastair Cook, Tom Cressey, Chris Deehan, Will Emmerson, Taylor Hannant, Zack Old, Keir Reade, Liam Reilly, Sam Snaith, Dan Stephenson, Ben Wardle

Phil Brantingham (Upper Sixth) won his first cap for England U18s rugby squad in South Africa

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TRIPS CHINA 2019 I step down onto the stone pavement, it is dappled as the sunlight radiates through the maze of golden yellow foliage, belonging to the native gingko tree. Mountains rise in the distance, only the peaks visible, for they are shrouded in soft, drifting cloud. Flurries of people pass around me, and words of mandarin float through the air like incense.

It is the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, red flags hang from every lamppost I pass by, and large red coloured monuments stand in the squares. A statue of a panda family sits to one side of me, each one with the flag on its cheek. I walk on, and see vendors sitting on the floor with woven wicker baskets, calling for the small populations of people to purchase something from their array of exotic, ripe and juicy pomelos, figs, pomegranates or dragon fruits. Some meander through the streets, selling strings of handmade pale yellow flowers, while others rest under the weeping willow tree, its gracefully hanging verdure providing a shady sanctuary. Soon, I have reached the heart of a market. Walking past the stalls, the air is seasoned by the merging sharp, piquant, and unconventional scents of China’s notorious street food. I see scorpions on wooden skewers, pig trotters, seafood fried in a variety of sauces. A lady waits for customers behind an assortment of insects.

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The group of students who visited China, 2019 The less adventurous among us could opt for Tanghulu, candied pieces of fruit on a stick. Upon leaving the market, I walk past a man having his ears cleaned at a stand. I am now on the roads. Here, people are much less reserved with use of horns, and its shrill sound fills the air. Many citizens cycle, or use a motorbike.

I have been delivered to a teeming city, and I am in the midst of China’s never-ending skyline. Tall cranes keep adding to this forest of glass structures. The skyscrapers stretch further into the azure, and people work their way up there too, high above the playful kites dotted levels below. I seek out a less crowded space, and reach the city wall. I watch a bride who stands opposite me, in a flowing red dress on the grey stone steps.

She is wearing the lucky colour. A cameraman captures this moment of her happiest day, for her to keep. Next, I wander through a passageway lined with wooden benches.

People are gathered there, for a carefree afternoon playing mahjong or cards, and the atmosphere is brimming with positivity.

A lady in a neon orange high visibility jacket walks along with her large grass broom, sweeping the streets. It is evening, and I watch as the sun sets over lakes and fields.

A solitary farmer stands in his boat, as fiery orange fuses with deep vermilion, while coral pinks and pastel yellow thaw the heat of the colours that cascade past him into the water.

Now it is night in China, and the colourful light from luminous shops signs splash onto the streets, while their windows boast glorious displays of exquisite parasols, sweet smelling teas and fine porcelain, delicate red lanterns and traditional ornaments. The skyscrapers have switched on their torches, and flashing colourful LED’s now keep the excitement alive. I begin the last part of my day among the locals, having been welcomed into their square dance. Their synchronised movements and the smiles on their faces display how these individuals have come together through this unique exercise.

Today’s journey in China is complete, and I return. As thoughts from this short glimpse of Chinese culture whirl around my head, I can only dream of the myriad of experiences that lie ahead, waiting to be explored.

Isha Yadav, Year 10

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ROCK CLIMBING – S PA I N T R I P, O C TO B E R 2 0 1 9 This was my first year on the rock-climbing trip to Spain and it hopefully won’t be my last! Nine of us (from Year 10 to Upper Sixth) had the opportunity to go to Gandia, near the East coast of Spain for a week during October half-term.

The Mediterranean climate was still quite hot (and sunny enough to give us a tan), and the rain held off all week. The rock was amazing and resulted in some exciting and varied climbing, the trip certainly added to our experience and made us largely selfreliant which is also a great deal down to our legendary climbing instructor, Jon Chamberlain.

We commandeered a villa for the week which had a cold pool that was extremely refreshing to plunge into after a hot day at the crags, which were all fairly close to the villa. During the week we cooked for ourselves, which was surprisingly all a success apart from the easy vegan cheesecake! It was also interesting to test out our linguistic skills on the confused locals, but it was very rewarding when our intentions were correctly conveyed.

The drive and trek up to the crags everyday always provided really striking and memorable views and on the last day we even saw a snake! Which had been one of my goals all week.

We spent Halloween there, and this was also good fun as we transformed the villa with Dr Pulham’s decorations and had a wonderful paella made for us by the owners.

Students attempt some Chinese baking

The climbing trip to Spain has been one of the best opportunities that RGS has given me, and therefore unsurprisingly, is one of the main highlights of my year. The trip runs every October half term and takes around nine keen climbers. We all climb in groups of three, accompanied by Jon Chamberlain (our climbing instructor) and two teachers.

Throughout the week climbers progress up to outdoor leading, climbing different styles and trying harder grades.

Every day the group would go off to a different crag in the Costa Blanca area which gave us a wide range of challenges and a lot of climbing. In the evenings, once we’d returned to Villa Florencia, students took it in turns to plan and cook meals. The facilities at the house were excellent and there is even a pool, (though quite cold!), there’s not much more that you’d want!

The trip is the pinnacle of climbing at RGS, and having not climbed before I joined the school, it uses all the skills I’ve learnt over the past few years to climb independently and has given me skills that have allowed me to organise climbing trips with friends outside of school, which at 16 I’d have not expected to do.

Going to Spain with such a great group of people is well worth it!

Alexander Waldron, Lower Sixth

The trip was an extraordinary experience and completely exceeded my expectations. It was such a sensational week that I definitely won’t be forgetting in a hurry.

Charlotte Waldron, Year 10

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Performers at the House Jam

HOUSE Girls from Collingwood take to the Miller Theatre stage during the House Jam

THE 2019-20 HOUSE COMPETITION WINNER IS… COLLINGWOOD

2019-20 HOUSE COMPETITION It was quite a different House competition this academic year, thanks to Covid forcing us to cancel our late Spring and Summer plans. Yet, we can still bring you details of some of the fantastic programme that saw another closely contested competition with students all the way through the school getting stuck into the many opportunities that we provide them. Some of our biggest events, including House Music, the Miller Cup and House Drama still went ahead, and we also launched a new event; the House JAM, which was a massive hit with our students and the wider community.

Plenty of House sport also took place with events in rugby, football, hockey, netball and duathlon, plus our annual rowathon attracting plenty of support.

During the period that the school was closed, we were able to run a House Art competition which saw some wonderful entries from students across the school. These were promoted via social media, and you can see a selection of these on the following page.

Congratulations to every student who took part this year, and to those who also helped Head of House, Michael Smalley, and the Heads of Houses deliver the programme.

Here’s to a great 2020-21.

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THE I N AU G U R A L HOUSE JAM In March we introduced a second House Music event: House JAM (Just Add Music).

Music is something we can all do, whether we realise it or not, and can be a great source of fun and stress relief throughout our lives. The aim of House JAM is to embody this sense of fun and inclusiveness.

The House JAM was led entirely by students across all year groups with a little help from some key members of staff. Each House was given the stage for 20 minutes, and they could perform almost anything they wanted. However, this year there were two compulsory elements: A House Sing – reminiscent of the House Shout in days gone by. The only requirement in this category was for 30 singers or more (made up of students and staff). The song choice and genre was entirely their own.

The judge was looking for enthusiastic participation and hoping to get a real feel for each House and what they represent.

An Original Song – this could be a solo, a band, a choir, in whatever style they wished, but this year it had to be on the theme of colour.

After several weeks of rehearsals, the big night arrived and excitement levels among all those taking part was high! We were very lucky to welcome our judge, Paul Campbell (RGS parent, Governor and owner of the radio station, Amazing Radio). The audience were treated to an evening of high energy, enthusiasm, fabulous musical performances, humour and fun. Huge congratulations to those students who led and inspired their Houses to produce such professional performances.

HOUSE DRAMA 2019 Our fun and inclusive House Drama competition, judged by the ‘Suggestibles’ funnyman, Ian McLaughlin, provided a full Miller Theatre with a lot of laughs – most notably the improvised comedy winners, unlikely partnership Dominic HodgsonBajoria (Lower Sixth) and Hana Dennison (Year 7) giving rapid quick fire improvisation.

Members of Eldon take to the stage in House Drama

Around 100 students, from across the Senior School, all contributed to the competition which continues to evolve every year and draws relative amateurs to the stage, for whom House Drama is their first step on stage.

The overall winners of the House Drama competition were a deserved Collingwood – a yellow feather in the cap at last!

Collingwood’s improvised comedy performance

This year the overall winners were Stowell – who knew they would manage to persuade Chris Martin to perform!

This was a wonderful event which will become an annual fixture on the PAC and House Events calendars.

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House Music 2019 HOUSE MUSIC COMPETITION WINNERS House ensemble: Collingwood Intermediate soloist: Amy Zheng, Year 9 (Piano) – Collingwood Senior soloist: Lottie Craven, Upper Sixth (Voice) – Collingwood House rock band: Horsley The brass arrangement of the school song: Horsley House Choir: Stowell RGS Musician of the Year: Lottie Craven (Voice) – Collingwood Overall winners of 2019 House Music: Collingwood

House Music, once again, amazed us all as we settled in for a wonderful night of high calibre entertainment. We enjoyed music from an array of different instruments and hearty group performances.

The night began with the House Ensembles.

Each House performed brilliantly, with practices right up until the final hour in the usual hasty style! Nonetheless, there could only be one winner being Collingwood with ‘3rd movement from Piano Trio Op.92’

by Sinding. Despite the unfavourable circumstances handicapped with only one violinist for a piece requiring two violins, Collingwood delivered a flawless piece with a last minute (only two hours before!) addition of Amanda Chakkoria (Upper Sixth) as interim pianist.

Next up were the infamous House Bands, this was a very close category due to strong performances of classic hits. Appealing to the masses, we heard music from the 70’s to the early 2000’s yet enjoyed by everyone.

After many emphatic performances, the atmosphere remained palpable as people contemplated the winner of this esteemed category. Ultimately, the victory was clutched

by Horsley with ‘Call Me’ by Blondie, with RGS’ one and only beloved Blondie – Charlotte Dargan (Upper Sixth).

After the interval, we took our seats for the Intermediate House Soloists. Despite their young age, their performances were nothing short of outstanding leaving a difficult decision to the adjudicator, Mr Loxley. After a trio of pianists, Stowellian Jesdina Daniel (Year 7) refreshed us all with her delightful singing.

The proximity of results reflected the tight competition, nevertheless Amy Zheng (Year 9) wowed the audience with her piece ‘Toccata’ by Berkovich, closely followed by Anushka Taribagil (Year 8) playing ‘Claire de Lune’ by Debussy.

Amanda Chakkoria (Upper Sixth) performs for Collingwood

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The Senior Soloist’s competition saw rise to some of the final performances of School Leavers. We were truly blessed to hear the sounds of a double bass, an instrument not often played in this category, diminishing the scales of the other instruments. The magnitude of Lottie Craven’s (Upper Sixth) voice resembled that of an opera singer, truly displaying grace and finesse through her rendition of ‘Mein Herr Marquis’ by Strauss.

This was unmatched only owing to her final success in the soloist competition, with Jatin Naru (Upper Sixth) as runner up playing ‘Nocturne Op.9’ by Chopin. With that in mind, this category was truly a feat to judge with such fantastic performances from Keshav Krishnan (Upper Sixth) and Eilidh Ferguson (Lower Sixth), both winners in their own right.

To build upon the crescendo, the audience eagerly waited for the finale House Choirs.

Here we heard some of the best (to some of the worst!) voices the night had to offer.

Involving all ages, staff included, and all talents, House Choir was the epitome of RGS spirit. This commenced with a light hearted and joyful performance of ‘Bare Necessitie’ by Collingwood, enjoyed by both audience and singer. Succeeding to this, with the winning performance, Stowell executed a technical masterpiece of ‘Somebody to Love’ by Freddie Mercury, with powerful harmonies and sudden bursts of dynamic contrast. Horsley came next singing with a jazzy feel of ‘Valerie’

by Amy Winehouse. Last, but certainly not least, came Eldon. In their archetypal fashion, we witnessed an amusing yet passionate performance of a karaoke classic, ‘Sweet Caroline’ by Neil Diamond. This was prevalent during the loud choruses and mumbled verses, nevertheless appreciated by all.

Mr Loxley faced a myriad of difficult decisions. Through the final accumulation of points in each category, Collingwood were the inevitable winners. However, no RGS event runs without diligent and willing staff members, on behalf of all those who participated, we believe a massive thank you is in order.

Matthew Abraham and Trudie McCarthy (Senior Head Prefects)

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Lexie Haig (Year 9), Willow Morris (Year 10) and Charlotte Waldron (Year 10) at the end of the Intermediate girls’ race

House Art During lockdown we ran a House Art competition and received some very creative entries from across the school.

Here are a small selection of those entries.

Amrit Jagpal, Year 3

MILLER CUP 2019 On a misty early October morning, the annual Miller Cup was run – quickly by some and at a more leisurely pace by others – over a Town Moor course of varying lengths and difficulty according to age group.

Craig Liang, Year 6 Betty Hill, Year 7

Cara Powell, Lower Sixth

Students from all four Houses gave it a good go and we saw some of the closest races and best times in recent memory.

Horsley and Collingwood tied for first in the overall competition, whilst there was another blue sweep in the senior boys’ event; the fifth consecutive year that Horsley runners have taken first, second, third and fourth places.

Most encouragingly, participation levels were at a record high amongst the junior girls. The calibre of athletes in this pool is strong and the field really deep – long may that continue.

Sarah Hu, Year 7

We hope the 2020 event will still bring plenty of participation across the school, despite the challenges faced by Covid regulations.

Junior boys at the end of the Miller Cup Craig Liang, Year 6

Shuquan Gan, Year 4

Jesdina Daniel, Year 7

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Katy’s photos shortlisted for national awards

I N OT H E R NEWS...

The stunning photography of Katy Read (Year 11) has once again received national recognition having been shortlisted for two prestigious competitions.

Katy’s photos were included on the Under 18 shortlist of the 10th annual Scottish Nature Photography Awards and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Photographic Competition, beating off competition from around the world.

“I’m always happy when my work is recognised in competitions. It reassures me that it’s not just my friends and family who like my photographs.”

England Rugby train at RGS

Celebrating its 10th year, the Scottish Nature Photography Awards celebrate nature, wildlife and landscape photography in Scotland and provide a platform to celebrate Scotland as a key destination for nature photographers and to acknowledge the excellence of the photographic work that is undertaken. The annual competition invites entries of images taken in Scotland by professional or amateur photographers from around the world. One of the key objectives for the Scottish Nature Photography Awards is to encourage and promote emerging talent, with its Junior Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year title open to young photographers under 18 years of age.

In early September we welcomed the England Rugby team to RGS as they used our main pitch for a practice session ahead of the Autumn International Series. It was great to witness the squad being put through their paces – our rugby coaches certainly picked up a few ideas to implement across the squads!

The annual RHS Photographic Competition is aimed at garden lovers, horticulturists and photographers alike. The goal of the competition is to promote high quality and beautiful photography; and the RHS wants to inspire everyone to grow by encouraging people to share their two passions of gardening and photography.

One of Katy Read’s (Year 11) stunning shots

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Jesdina’s poster reaches all parts of the globe

L I B BY C H R I S P R A I S E S OV E R £ 5 , 0 0 0 I N E P I C M A R AT H O N CHALLENGE

Year 7 student, Jesdina Daniel, saw the poster she produced go viral across social media. Her poster signified what was happening at that moment in the world, through the eyes of a 12-year old.

Year 11 student, Libby Chrisp, and her brothers (including ON Sam) completed 12 marathons in five days, raising over £5,000, with the proceeds going to the NSPCC and The High Sheriff of Northumberland Awards (part of the Community Foundation serving Tyne and Wear and Northumberland).

Taking three days to complete, there is tremendous detail to her drawing. The world which has a mask on symbolises the combined effort around the globe of trying to stop Coronavirus and the people standing together represents everyone helping in their own different ways.

The poster, which also includes an original poem by Jesdina, certainly made an impression and has appeared on the Facebook page of Little Columbus, a nursery in Bangalore, India, and through numerous shares, has reached as far as Australia.

It has also been shared across the North East on Facebook pages including Covid-19 Discussion North East with around 8,000 members, Coronavirus North East England Community Support Group with over 10,000 members, the North East NHS Worker Support Group with around 9,000 members and Byker Books, where it has reached 10,900 people to date.

Taking inspiration from Captain Tom’s fundraising efforts, Libby and her brothers came up with the idea for the epic feat after people started asking if they could donate money to the siblings for running a marathon around their house.

ON Sam and younger brother, Jack, attempted 10 marathons in five days, equating to 263 miles. Sam ran the equivalent distance from Edinburgh to John O’Groats and Jack rowed what would equal 12 times across the English Channel. Libby added a bonus marathon over the course of the challenge by running 10km a day and went on to complete her fist full marathon on the final day in under five hours – taking their combined total to 12 marathons.

Jesdina loves drawing and painting, and wanted to do something for the community, despite not being able to leave her house.

She decided to design a poster to help to give people hope through art but could never have imagined how far it would reach.

“The fact that we not only completed the challenge but we also smashed our fundraising target makes it all seem worth it and adds to the sense of achievement.”

Libby Chrisp The siblings, who didn’t leave themselves much time to prepare for such a tough trial, found recovering from one marathon to the next particularly hard, as well as managing exertion. However, they were kept motivated by the messages of encouragement and generosity from the continuous stream of very generous sponsors, who have helped them raise £5425.33.

The Chrisp siblings: Sam, Libby and Jack

“I honestly can’t believe how many times and how far the poster has been shared! It’s a lovely feeling to know that my words and pictures are encouraging people around the world by giving them hope.”

Jesdina’s poster that became an internet sensation

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A B I GA I L B E G I N S H E R POLITICAL JOURNEY Year 11 student, Abigail Tang, was inaugurated as a Member of Youth Parliament for North Tyneside in early 2020.

Here is her journey into politics: My name is Abigail and I am the current Member of Youth Parliament for North Tyneside. I have been involved in the Youth Council for five years, and in those five years, I have been selected for many roles including: Young Cabinet Member Ready for School; Young Cabinet Member Ready for Life; Young Cabinet for Environment.

I first got involved in politics in Year 7, when I applied for Young Mayor. I have always been interested in community work and helping people. This year, I was originally going to run for a cabinet position again, but got persuaded to run for Member of Youth Parliament (MYP).

To be elected at this level, there are three stages to go through. In the first stage, you need 30 young people to pledge that they will vote for you on the candidate form. The second stage is online voting. Then the top four candidates go to a ballot vote, where all the young people in the borough can vote.

Finally, the top four candidates for MYP, as well as Young Mayor, get invited to a ceremony where the Mayor and MP of North Tyneside announce the newly elected members.

It feels amazing to be elected. I have worked really hard in recent years to get here. The council is a tier system and to be in one of the highest and most influential positions is really exciting.

Year 11 student Abi Tang, MYP for North Tyneside

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At the end of my term, I hope to have made a large impact on the environment, and I hope to work with other MYPs from neighbouring boroughs and North Tyneside’s adult cabinet.

The UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) has over 364 representatives of elected MYPs, all aged between 11-18. Once a year, all the MYPs take part in an annual debate in the House of Commons chamber. We debate five issues chosen by the ‘Make your Mark ballot’. This ballot is the UK’s largest youth consultation. We then vote to decide which two issues should become UKYP’s priority campaigns for the year ahead.

I’ve only recently become interested in politics, with a dream of being Prime Minister one day. Being on the youth council gives me opportunities to talk to local influential politicians, which has inspired me to represent my borough the best I can.

RAC H E L S H I N E S O N S TAG E I N LO N D O N Gifted Year 8 student, Rachel Robinson, performed with the British Youth Music Theatre in London over the Christmas holidays.

Rachel first auditioned in 2018 with the British Youth Music Theatre (BYMT). It is a three-hour audition of singing, acting and dancing. She performed in Cautionary Tales last year in Plymouth when she was only ten. The age range is between 11 and 21 but as she turned 11 soon after, she was offered a place. This year in August she performed in ‘A.L.I.C.E in wanderlust’ at the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield. For each production she boarded for two weeks. In December every year the cast of all BYMT productions reunite at Regent Hall in London to perform some of the songs from their production.

Rachel performed a dance solo in this year’s performance – dance being her strongest discipline. She has been performing since she was three and has performed in various theatre productions and is currently studying dance for seven hours a week at the Centre for Advanced Training at Dance City.

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CHESS CHAMPIONS RA I S E F U N D S F O R B U R S A RY C A M PA I G N

Holly Brooks, Duncan Robb, Euan Wayman and Hugo and Toby Green volunteering for Junction 42

Lending a hand to mental health

RGS chess champions, Yichen Han (Year 7), and James Moreby (Lower Sixth), decided to raise funds for those RGS families who were struggling in the lockdown as well as the NHS by hosting a series of fun chess exhibitions for a week in May. The chess enthusiasts spent the whole week accepting challenges, analysing games, hosting tournaments, and much more, raising more than £300 which was then donated to the Bursary Campaign.

A tremendous effort by the boys, and a huge thanks to all of those who took part and donated.

Five of our students worked together to produce 1,000 packs that were delivered to prisons around the country, with the aim to help boost the mental health of men and women during lockdown.

Duncan Robb (Year 7), Holly Brooks (Year 8), Hugo Green (Year 8) and Euan Wayman (Year 8) and Toby Green (Lower Sixth), volunteered to help local charity, Junction 42, and between them filled 1,000 packs with 8,000 items.

Each pack of eight items includes some mindful colouring, a Thought for the Day, an eagle print bible verse poster, a CD, two testimony stories of hope and a prayer journal to record daily gratitudes and personal prayers for family and friends.

“I can’t imagine being stuck in a tiny cell in this lovely weather and with no internet, so I was happy to help and try to brighten up their day.”

Chess enthusiast Yichen Han (Year 7)

The UK Chaplaincy team approached Junction 42 with an urgent request to create 12,000 in-cell faith and creativity packs, to boost the mental health of the men and women, and to help minimise in-cell anxiety and frustration, the risk of self-harm and even rioting.

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1 2 DAYS O F C H R I ST M A S This year we wanted to try a new tradition of sharing an electronic RGS Christmas card; we are incredibly aware of the environmental impact of printing cards, and of course we’re keen to direct the saved printing and postage costs to our Bursary Campaign, a major priority for the school.

The card represented the entire RGS Family, from our youngest seven-year-old student, to one of our most Senior Old Novos, Professor Peter Alberti, who started at the school in 1945.

It included bursary students, current and former parents, teachers, catering staff, administrators, groundsmen and many other countless individuals who collectively make the RGS so special. Over one hundred people helped to create the card, but special thanks need to go to our wonderful Head of Junior School Music, Mrs Clappison, and our Performing Arts Centre Technical Manager, Mark Burton.

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A selection of stills from our electronic RGS Christmas Card; 12 Days of Christmas

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NEW FAC I L I T I E S Following an extensive building project, we completed phase three of our ambitious plans to improve and update our facilities to ensure we continue to provide an exceptional learning environment for our students.

In Autumn 2019, our new £7 million Library building opened its doors to students and staff. The 2,600 sqm facility also includes Art studios, Maths classrooms, a pastoral suite and assembly space on the site of our original swimming pool.

The new open-plan Sixth Form Centre

In January 2020, we opened our new Sixth Form Centre, which saw the combination of the old Sixth Form area and old Library into a much larger and modern area.

The open-plan style centre comprises individual study pods, a Sixth Form only bank of computers, a space for collaborative working, printing and photocopying facilities and a new coffee bar, serving hot and cold barista style drinks and snacks.

“We are delighted with the new building. It has greatly improved the facilities available to our students. In particular, the library and art studios add a fantastic state-of-the-art dimension to the school.”

The new open-plan Sixth Form Centre

Some of our Sixth Form students relax in the new seating area

The Agora

Our new Art studios

Our new Art studios

Mike Pitkethly, Bursar

The new Library

Students walking through the new building

The new Library

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T H E P LU S P R O G R A M M E The Plus Programme for our Sixth Form continues to grow and go from strength to strength, with a wide variety of subject material and speakers for our students to learn and be inspired by. Old Novos Jonathan Bloxham and Chris Stokel-Walker delivered lectures on Inspirational conducting and publicising a new book, ‘YouTubers’, respectively. We also welcomed Judge HHJ Aitken, Buddhist Monk, Sherab, Letlapa Mphahlele, Chair of the Bursary Campaign, Nigel McMinn, a former commander of a South African liberation army, and, Ricky Munday, World explorer.

Not to be deterred as the school moved to remote learning, the plus programme continued to operate for our students as programme lead, Celia Bone, created different content to keep our Sixth Formers engaged.

Firstly, the students were asked to work in either form groups or friendship groups (all remotely) to do some practical tasks, such as: basic first aid, making a mask, training a dog and finger knitting.

After this, Celia realised students needed a bit of a break from their academic studies and instead called in a few favours with some of the teaching staff to give inspirational talks around their subject.

First up was Michael Smalley, who’s talk was entitled ‘Making Good Decisions With Money’, with Lower Sixth students being tasked to look at insurance comparisons and interest rates etc.

Up next, were Alice Lee and Naomi Kyle (both learned Psychologists) who offered students an opportunity to understand the wonders of Bi and Trilingualism from an expert psychological perspective. They presented, along with interested student, Laura Naylor, some fascinating web content.

Following this, Dr Marc Read delivered a super presentation on ‘HPS and why should I care’ (HPS is History and Philosophy of Science). His talk was an hour in length, but could have been so much longer, particularly when mentioning the demarcation problem of science and pseudo-science!

Lastly, Diccon Tryeman, Head of History, gave an East and West Global perspective of 4000 years of history in 40 minutes, creating a great impression of themes in History.

It included everything from three mast sailing ships in Holland to Chinese White Lotus and Laiping rebellions.

What a great year for the Plus Programme, despite the challenges.

#RGSGIVES Sees Parents Provide Food Parcels Through #RGSGives, we encouraged every member of the RGS community to think about ways that they could help others during the most challenging time.

One parent with a heart of gold, who already supports an RGS bursary, was horrified at the thought of any bursary families going hungry, and worked with the school to provide food parcels to 16 of our bursary families in the greatest need. Another RGS parent donated a van and a driver to distribute the parcels.

It is amazing what two RGS parents, who simply want to help their own children’s school buddies in need, can achieve.

One of the bursary families, said: “Please do pass on my sincerest thanks to everyone involved. There are so many kind hearted people behind the scenes who are working away quietly and relentlessly.”, Another said: “I’m overwhelmed. I have never had anyone help me so this is absolutely amazing. Thank you so much.”

One of the many lectures our Sixth Form students were able to access as part of the Plus Programme

Volunteers help build food parcels

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RGS N E WC A S T L E FOUNDER’S S E RV I C E On Thursday 26th September, our Year 7s and their parents were invited to St Nicholas Cathedral for our Founder’s Service.

The newly re-established ceremony, led by the Bishop of Newcastle, Christine Hardman, commemorated our founder, Thomas Horsley, and welcomed the Year 7s to the RGS family.

The ceremony also included an address

by Geoffrey Stanford who talked about the history of the school, a reading by Kate Harman, representing Old Novocastrians/ the ONA, prayers led by the Head Boy and Head Girl and musical interludes by members of the junior and senior choirs and ensembles.

At the end of the ceremony, Year 7 students departed through a guard of honour of Sixth Form Senior Prefects.

CHARITIES WEEK Charities Week 2019 supported two local charities: The People’s Kitchen, and St Oswald’s Hospice, as well as African Tukkan, a charity we support through our rugby and hockey bi-annual tour.

Staff and students across the school participated in various events from cake sales and bake-offs to a readathon and rowathon to name but a few.

On Friday 6th December, the Winter Wonderland, which featured a Christmas Tree competition, raffle, tombola and plenty of festive food, made £2,010.05.

Overall, Charities Week raised £5,392.12 in total, with £1,409.57 from the Readathon and £273.75 from the Rowathon respectively.

Year 9 students take part in a bake-off

V I RT UA L L E AV E R S ’ CEREMONY – CLASS OF 2020 On Friday 26th June we said farewell to our Class of 2020 in the form of a virtual ceremony. A first for the school, the event was live-streamed to students and their parents and featured a mixture of live and pre-recorded videos, featuring messages of advice from RGS staff, the journey of the year group from Year 7 to Sixth Form and a thank you from the students to staff and their peers.

Those taking part in the ceremony were encouraged to dress up for the occasion and each student received a personal hamper, prior to the ceremony, for them to enjoy on the night. Inside each hamper, students found a champagne flute, a RGS branded mug, a class photo, party poppers, a soft drink, some popcorn and sweets and a university cookbook. Speeches were given by the Head and Head of Sixth Form, as well as the Head Boy and Girl. Although it was perhaps not how the Class of 2020 envisioned saying ‘Goodbye’ to the school, a great night was had by all involved.

Students taking part in this year’s Readathon

The process of building our Leavers’ hampers

Bishop of Newcastle, Christine Hardman, leads the Founder’s Service Plenty of support and taking part in this year’s Rowathon

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REMEMBRANCE S E RV I C E 2 0 1 9 This year’s Remembrance Service was one of great significance being the centenary of the end of the Great War, and it would also mark Mr Tilbrook’s final Remembrance Service at RGS. He delivered a fantastic service, supported wonderfully by Mr Stanford, and Old Novo and former Head of the CCF, Mike Barlow. As is now RGS tradition, our Head Girl and Head Officer of the CCF, laid wreaths in front of the memorial wall in the Main Hall, before our Senior School Choir gave a truly sombre performance, with Ankit Kumar (Year 11) delivering a powerful rendition of the Last Post.

Mr Tilbrook delivers his final Remembrance Service at RGS

Old Novo and former Head of the CCF, Mike Barlow, gives a poignant reading

The Senior School Choir perform at this year’s Remembrance Service

Wreaths are laid during the Remembrance Service

Ankit Kumar (Year 11) performs the Last Post

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TIME CAPSULE The English department set the whole RGS community the challenge of producing something to go in a physical time capsule that will be built into one of the walls at RGS. Here are a selection of some of the outstanding entries we received.

TO T H E F U T U R E I F I T E X I S T S , What we are going through will never happen again, most likely. You will probably study it in history and think, boring. Well, it both has, and it has not been. At the start, I thought, great, no school. But now, even though I never thought I would say it, I miss school.

Every day I wake up and see the same faces and do the same repetitive, tedious routine. I did not realise how vital it was to have human interaction. I do not even like many people.

But if there is one thing I have learnt so far in lockdown it is that it is important to talk to the people most valuable to you. And I have to say I think I am failing in that department.

However, despite the monotonous routine, there has been aspects that I did not think I would enjoy. Firstly, I have come to realise how great it is to have my family all together (for a while at least). I know it sounds uncool, but you would be surprised. Secondly, on a deeper note, I have come to realise that humanity as a whole, with a few exceptions, has come together in a way I would not expect. You might already have studied it, but every Thursday we go outside and clap for the NHS. This act is something we will preserve in our memories for a long time as it is praise to the people who have kept our country alive during this time.

On a lighter note, I have been able to cook, and eat, more food. Also, I have had the freedom to do more sports and exercise.

Except the only thing is, lockdown has made me very lazy. As this was an unpredictable side effect of my ‘exciting’ routine. I think going to school every day keeps you from being lazy as you always must be thinking, while now, I sit at a computer for 6-7 hours, then eat, sleep, repeat. Like the t-shirts. You have no idea what I am talking about do you?

Just assume I am witty and funny.

To end it off I have to say, I never want to do this again and I think I speak for everybody there. There has been a rise in domestic violence, suicide rates and drug abuse. To sum it up, this is a trash time in the history of humans, probably not the worst but definitely not the best.

Hope you solved climate change, Ben Wilson, Year 9 P.S Do you still have sarcasm?

This is a computer. I bet you had no idea!

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DEAR C OV I D - 1 9, It’s been 9 weeks now, getting to know you, and of course everything that comes with you has been interesting; the hour long lines outside super markets only to get inside and finding that everything is sold out, the nomore-school and the sitting in the same chair and staring at the same computer screen for 5 hours a day. Some would thank you, they would say, ‘thank you for letting me live through a monumental time in history, you give me a story to tell my grandkids!’ but I think I speak for many when I say...

“Dear covid-19 you have destroyed this country, you came storming through England not caring who you killed, who you hurt or who you disappointed in your path. You have robbed the world of hundreds and thousands of lives, but I see no regret and for that I am saying to you, I hate you. I hate that you stole at least one of the following from nearly everyone on this planet: Their life Their hope Their stable mental and physical health Their money Their experiences Their loved ones Their family’s stability Their education

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Despite all of the things you have done to our world, I am sure that you will be remembered, and I am sure that you will be talked about for thousands of years to come.”

And dear the people in 20, 50 or a hundred years listening to or reading this, I hope that you learn a lesson from these times as I know that I and many others did.

I hope you learnt that the most important thing you have is each other, whether that be friends or family or even just your peers. You will never truly know what someone is going through inside of their own mind and learn that just a smile or a ‘how are you?’ can make someone’s day.

Yours sincerely Rae Faith, Year 8

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M Y LO C K D O W N R E F L EC T I O N I’ve drawn round all the objects I’ve used each week in lockdown to create a 14 panelled work that reflects innovative use of the ordinary things I have used to do my job at home!

This is one panel. I intend to finish the whole work during the holidays and display it at school and I’ve been asked to show it at Baltic 39.

Christine Egan-Fowler, Art Teacher

C OV I D 1 9 POEM The meticulously constructed illusion of unfaltering security, effortlessly destroyed by a simple virus.

We stare on, helplessly, as the engine of our so carefully made world crashes to a stop.

A hidden enemy illuminates the otherwise concealed lines of our independence.

Eerie silence prowls the empty streets of the now seemingly abandoned cities, for everyone is inside, hoping for the best.

The safety of our homes is not enough to save us from the virus; people still recklessly venture outside, disregarding the rules entirely.

Schools closed, sports cancelled, aisles picked clean, conferences cancelled, and Weeks and weeks of enforced isolation teaches us just how much we need each other.

However, we stand together, and it is only together that we shall overcome.

Peter Van Orsouw, Year 8

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C O R O N AV I R U S POEM

C OV I D F RO M M Y W I N D OW

Coughing absent-mindedly.

Officials announce new virus.

Rising nervous energy as it hits UK soil.

Orders made that lives must change.

New virus is the only ‘chat.’

Apprehension grows as schools close.

Vehicles disappear in our lockdown world.

Impromptu acts of kindness appear.

Recurring Clap For Carers – our heroes.

United we become, despite the separation.

Stay Alert, Control The Virus, Save Lives.

I woke again today, Saddened in my heart, Hoping and hoping for a change, When yet again all I could see, Was the view from my bedroom window,

Bobbie Doe, Year 6

I came up close-no joke, And saw a scene, Of many masked folk, Now this was as scary as Halloween, Keep your distance two metres apart The shops are shut, No trains, no buses, Can’t play in the park, No toilet paper you may ask, A substantial task, To shop for many things,

2020 IS RU I N E D The epidemic is here, Quarantine is near.

Many people are fighting, But lots of people are dying.

Schools are starting to close, Life is going so slow.

Lockdown has started, Loved ones have parted.

The streets are empty, Having a fringe is now trendy.

The animals have started to come out, Our world is less polluted right now.

One day it will end, But until then, we can’t see our friends.

Mahdiyah Ahmed, Year 8

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A twisting snake of people standing in a queue, Looking at watches that seem overdue, Boris has got us locked inside, Yet, powerless, 34,636 people still have died, No children laughing outside, Just endless Netflix running inside, The street has no atmosphere, From my window its plain to see That people will only last for a certain degree, From my window, The sun still shines, Though, the black clouds still remain, So much confusion in the air, No easy answers for people anywhere.

Alexia Ward, Year 8

R OYA L G R A M M A R S C H O O L N E W C A S T L E

H OW TO S U RV I V E A PA N D E M I C It is the year 2020, and the world is at war with an invisible killer – the coronavirus. Starting in the far east, it has swept across the globe, landing in every country and infecting millions of people worldwide. Countries have gone into lockdown, and thousands have lost their lives, with millions stuck at home with a new way of life to adjust to.

FIGHTING THE BOREDOM Being stuck in your house all day can get boring, and when England has been in lockdown for nearly three months now, the days can become immensely dull. Until recently I wasn’t allowed to meet friends, and all entertainment venues are closed.

However, there are things to cope with this.

M E N TA L H E A LT H With many young people stuck at home, and with a drastic change of life, the number of mental health cases are rising. This is a serious problem, and I haven’t experienced any mental health issues, however I have been told that keeping in touch with friends and sharing my worries is a good way to cope.

E X PA N D I N G YO U R I N T E R E S T S Many people have used this time to expand their hobbies, knowledge and to volunteer to help in the pandemic. Do something you have been wanting to do or achieve for ages.

I have been painting a chandelier for my room, baking, running, and learning the guitar.

Young people all over the country have also volunteered to help old people, and people raise money for the NHS.

LONELINESS Staying at home can get very boring, and I must stay two metres away from anyone outside my household. Meeting with my friends is limited, and it can get lonely, but I stay in touch with my friends on social media and have lots of work from school to keep me busy.

KINDNESS When people are struggling to cope with these changes, it takes a few people to start SCHOOL off the chain of positivity and spread the Schools have closed and I take part in online remote learning from home. I get a lot of work message around the country. There are huge rainbows drawn on pavements, messages and have a lot of meeting calls to attend to, but the school day is also very flexible. There on social media and clapping for people is a lot of independence, and at the start there who have helped us in this time. We are brought together as a is a lot of stress, but it gets easier with time. community, and we will get through INDEPENDENCE this pandemic There is a lot of responsibility that comes with being at home all the time and attending together. online school. You must make sure you get Shreya Gellia, all the work done in time, and that you stay healthy. It is surprisingly easy to let yourself go Year 9 and not exercise or eat healthily. Remember to look out for yourself and others.

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N U MB E R O F T E AMS C HAN N EL M E S S AG E S :

232,463

( W H I C H H A D 1 0 9,9 0 7 R E P L I E S )

L O C K D OW N FAC T S

N U M B E R O F C H AT M E S SAG E S ON TEAMS:

2 9 3 ,1 2 0 NUMBER OF GROUP CALLS ON TEAMS:

2,609 NUMBER OF OUTBOUND EMAILS (MARCH-JUNE):

36,614 NUMBER OF CLICK V I E W V I D EO S :

NUMBER OF 1:1 SESSIONS:

2 ,0 9 3

44,891

( V I D E O S V I E W E D F RO M RG S LO G I N S )

NUMBER OF R E M OT E L E S S O N S AND MEETINGS:

2 8 ,1 0 2

AV E RAG E C O N TAC T W I T H F O R M S U P E RV I S O R F O R SENIOR SCHOOL STUDENTS:

DA I LY N U MB E R O F R E MOT E DIS CO S , C O N C E RT S , R EC I TA L S A N D P L AY L I ST S :

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NUMBER OF WELL-BEING LESSONS: NUMBER OF ASSEMBLIES AC R O S S T H E S C H O O L :

62 JUNIOR, 10 SENIOR, 8 HOUSE

12 JUNIOR

4

( I N VO LV I N G A L L T H E J U N I O R S C H O O L C H I L D R E N I N S C H O O L , A N D T H O S E R E M OT E L E A R N I N G )

N U M B E R O F F O R M A L W E L L - N U M B E R O F PAV E M E N T B E I N G S U RV E YS C O M P L E T E D GA M E S :

BY S E N I O R S C H O O L ST U D E N T S : ( I N VO LV I N G A L L ST U D E N TS F RO M Y E A R S 7 TO 1 0 )

2

5 NUMBER OF HOUSE COMPETITION ENTRIES:

1, 4 1 3 N U M B E R O F F O O D PA R C E L S DELIVERED:

125 NUMBER OF JUNIOR VI RTUAL PLAYT IM ES :

216

NUMBER OF BUBBLE S P O RT S ’ DAYS :

N U M B E R O F P E M OV E S C A R R I E D O U T A S PA RT OF YEAR 6 FUNCTIONAL M OV E M E N T L E S S O N S :

LU N G E S :

2 1, 6 0 0 JUMPS:

2 7,0 0 0 PLANK (TIME):

30HRS SPIDERMANS:

2 1, 6 0 0 RA N :

280K IN AN AFTERNOON ( EQ U I V RU N N I N G TO L I V E R P O O L )

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O U R R E S U LT S OUR DEMOGRAPHICS

2020 was an unprecedented year with neither Upper Sixth or Year 11 sitting public exams. Grades were given on Centre Assessed grades, which you can see below:

GCSE

OVE RA L L AC H I E VE M E N T

C OV I D C E N T R E A S S E S S E D GCSE GRADES

G RA D E 9 :

70 .1 % AC H I E V E D 8 / 9

44% G RA D E 8 :

6 5 GIRLS

2 6 .1 %

76 88.3% B OYS AC H I E V E D 7 - 9

G RA D E 7 :

18.2% % OF G CSE STUDENTS WHO AC HI E V E D A* -A (7 -9)

100% RGS 80% National Average 60% 40% 20%

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2017

2018

2019

2020

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“This has been a very tough year for all, especially those in exam year groups, or looking towards concluding GCSEs or A Levels next summer.

The tremendous GCSE and A Level results, based on the assessments of teachers who know our students best, are a good reflection of both the effort they have put into their studies over the years and their ability.

They continue the consistently high academic achievements year on year at the RGS.”

A-LEVEL

Geoffrey Stanford

C OV I D C E N T R E A S S E S S E D A LEVEL GRADES

OUR DEMOGRAPHICS

35.3% 6 9.7 % 71

GIRLS

9B OYS6

9 0.1 %

AC H I E V E D A* G RA D E S AC H I E V E D A* –A G RA D E S

UNIVERSITY CHOICES

75%

20

AT T H E I R F I R M C H O I C E

AT T E N D I N G OX B R I D G E

24

13

S T U DY I N G M E D I C I N E

S T U DY I N G A N ENGINEERING B A S E D D EG R E E

AC H I E V E D A* – B G RA D E S

% OF A LEV EL STUDE N TS W HO AC HI E V E D A* -B

100% RGS 80% National Average 60% 40% 20%

2016

2017

2018

2019

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PRIZES SIR JOHN MCNEE PRIZES FOR ALL GRADE 9 RESULTS AT GCSE Elise Brechin Gautam Chauhan Francesca Dent Jiawen Dong Alice Geoghegan Rebecca Gill Ankit Kumar Imandi Kumarapeli Elizabeth MacLeod Harsha Menon Anik Mitra Adam Mumtaz Kushi Rao Shenali Scott Jessica Slater James Taylor Theodore Wride

HARTWELL FOUNDATION PRIZES FOR ENTRY TO OXFORD OR CAMBRIDGE Darina Andriychenko Anushka Aradhyula Peter Baker James Critchley Justin Cronk Joseph Dalton Charlotte Dargan Alexander Dent Carolyn Dickson Finnian Gavin Miles Gittins Hector Hawkins Emilia Keavney Michael Lawlor Andrew Liang Rhea Sarawgi Jonathan Scott-Bromly Ambika Sehgal Francesca Southwood Sophie Thompson

RUTHERFORD PRIZES Nathanial Mohammed, Year 7 Thomas Aldridge, Year 7 Aditi Kamanahalli, Year 7 Jasper Hall, Year 7 Betty Hill, Year 7 Lucy Stables, Year 7 Kate Snedden, Year 8 Akshaya Ramesh, Year 8 Alex Nice, Year 8 Tony Gao, Year 8

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Elspeth Warren, Year 8 Flo Elliot, Year 8 Ruairi Welby, Year 9 Sophie Somerville-Roberts, Year 9 Rob Jones, Year 9 Ashni Nair, Year 9 Matthew Dunn, Year 9 Ellen Lowrie, Year 9 Zak Old, Year 10 Hannah Stobart, Year 10 Kamran Thompson, Year 10 Joshitha Arvind, Year 10 Sam Gerrard, Year 10 Nicholas Johnston, Year 10 Carlo Fazlic, Year 11 Ananya Viswanath, Year 11 Hannah Head-Rapson, Year 11 Abi Tang, Year 11 Jemima Hawkins, Year 11 Faizah Ashraf, Year 11 Frances Clifford, Lower Sixth Laura Naylor, Lower Sixth Lucinda Jowett, Lower Sixth Matilda Souter, Lower Sixth Avantika Sehgal, Lower Sixth Emily Scott-Bromly, Lower Sixth Emma Gowling, Lower Sixth Gabrielle Dawson, Lower Sixth Milo Kat, Lower Sixth Lucy Conroy, Lower Sixth Max McLeod, Upper Sixth Hannah Pilling, Upper Sixth Ellyn Willsher, Upper Sixth Charlotte Gray, Upper Sixth Jasmine Metters, Upper Sixth Louisa Wilkinson, Upper Sixth Ruchika Thapar, Upper Sixth Faizan Ahmed, Upper Sixth Grace Hudson, Upper Sixth Megan Wilson, Upper Sixth

HEADMASTER’S PRIZES Adriana Calderon-Deevy, Year 7 Helen Chen, Year 7 Krishen Kashyap, Year 7 Janice Kuang, Year 7 Sarrah Khushnood, Year 7 Joseph Powell, Year 7 Oliver Rajan, Year 7 Milo Sancho Nikolova, Year 7 Emma Ashman, Year 8 Holly Brooks, Year 8 Grace Chang, Year 8 Ava Humble, Year 8 Rishi Matla, Year 8 Caleb Nicholls, Year 8 Katie Robinson, Year 8

Annika Sarawgi, Year 8 Harry Whitfield, Year 8 Sophia Young, Year 8 Jacob Colbeck, Year 9 Tara Gupta, Year 9 Cat Hierons, Year 9 Isla Hutton-Stott, Year 9 Dorothy Liu, Year 9 Joe Prescott, Year 9 Daniel Thompson, Year 9 Harry Wilson, Year 9 Aidan Butler, Year 10 Yuvi Chauhan, Year 10 Amy Davis, Year 10 Anna Leitch, Year 10 Libby Reid, Year 10 Eleanor Rikkerink, Year 10 Siya Sharma, Year 10 Amy Varghese, Year 10 Nikhil Bajekal, Year 11 Joe Ducker, Year 11 Emma Forrest, Year 11 Laura Gray, Year 11 Francesca Kurdi, Year 11 Emma McWhinnie, Year 11 Thomas Smail, Year 11 Henry Wynne-Jones, Year 11 Ella Bannister, Lower Sixth Drew Blackett, Lower Sixth Jake Bowyer, Lower Sixth Olivia Ditchfield, Lower Sixth Maisie Dures Taylor, Lower Sixth Maria Jatin, Lower Sixth Daisy Nicholson, Lower Sixth Anna Greig, Upper Sixth William Haslam, Upper Sixth Amelia Ikwue, Upper Sixth William Jones, Upper Sixth Adam Lowrie, Upper Sixth James Telfer, Upper Sixth Grace Varley, Upper Sixth Joe Whitehurst, Upper Sixth

ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT David Baker, Year 7 Hana Dennison, Year 7 Emmanuel Horsman-Elphick, Year 7 Stanley Imogen, Year 7 Aditi Kamanahalli, Year 7 Alissa Lietz, Year 7 Chalida Prapunwong, Year 7 Ayesha Premchand, Year 7 Shreenidhi Raj, Year 7 Hannah Zheng, Year 7 Neha Bajekal, Year 8 Emil Brunsnes, Year 8 Medansh Gaur, Year 8 Hugo Green, Year 8 Aydan Jones, Year 8 Will Kelly, Year 8 Esther Kim, Year 8 Aida Mohd Faez, Year 8 Alexia Ward, Year 8 Abigail Wright, Year 8 Lucia Baker, Year 9 James Booth, Year 9 Shreya Gellia, Year 9

Kunjal Gopani, Year 9 Chloe Green, Year 9 Aliza Hassan, Year 9 Matthew Rees, Year 9 Celia Talks, Year 9 Parul Tiwari, Year 9 Henry Young, Year 9 Ciara Boaden, Year 10 Clarke Chong, Year 10 Thiara De Alwis, Year 10 Jennifer Lowrie, Year 10 Willow Morris, Year 10 Chi-Chi Ojigbani, Year 10 Akshita Ramesh, Year 10 Maia Snedden, Year 10 Iona Stuart, Year 10 Olivia Van Delft, Year 10 Faizah Ashraf, Year 11 Elise Brechin, Year 11 Rebecca Gill, Year 11 Bobby Green, Year 11 Marten Gunning, Year 11 Vishnu Kaura, Year 11 Imandi Kumarapeli, Year 11 Charlotte Leonard, Year 11 Nikhita Varma, Year 11 Katie Wynne-Jones, Year 11 Lizzie Angus, Lower Sixth Agi Cornelissen, Lower Sixth Alexandra Doolan, Lower Sixth Callum Fletcher, Lower Sixth Sophia Frey, Lower Sixth Raiyan Haq, Lower Sixth Livia Kippax, Lower Sixth Gabriel O’Brien, Lower Sixth Marshall Osei-Bonsu, Lower Sixth Ben Wardle, Lower Sixth Kraig Coutinho, Upper Sixth Coral Economides, Upper Sixth Ruby Edmiston, Upper Sixth Hannah Glanville, Upper Sixth Yasmine Hamud, Upper Sixth Chanka Jayaweera, Upper Sixth Jacob Peatfield-Muter, Upper Sixth Nathan Powell, Upper Sixth Thomas Rees, Upper Sixth Philippa Sanders, Upper Sixth Francesca Southwood, Upper Sixth

YEAR 7 PRIZES Tabitha Ayalogu, Engineering, Design and Technology Gareth Bell, History Jesdina Daniel, Art Suyash Dhull, Latin Basma Gharib, German Anna Hamilton, English Isobel Hodgson, Computer Science Ray Li, Biology Rosie Ma, Maths Saad Ramzan, Physics Callum Riccalton, Chemistry Maria Shenton-Pareja, Drama Alice Warneford, Geography Jason Yuan, Music

R OYA L G R A M M A R S C H O O L N E W C A S T L E

YEAR 8 PRIZES

YEAR 11 PRIZES

Sara Brizzi, Spanish Lara Elliott, Computer Science Izzy Goldberg, History Jeremy Kay, German Jasmine Mohammed, Biology Mina Mohammed, Engineering, Design and Technology Silvia Mosquera, Drama Esha Raja, Chemistry Ethan Roberts, Physics William Rowe, English Rohan Singh, Music Ania Snowden, Geography Anushka Taribagil, French Peter Van Orsouw, Latin Seth Wylie, Art Jessica Yang, Maths

Ayesha Bajwa, Greek Jake Bradbury, Drama Thomas Campbell, Latin Rosanna Carrick Daly, Ancient History Athena Chan, Maths Gautam Chauhan, Physics Jiawen Dong, French Aidan Ewart, History Alex Ford, English Literature Jemima Hutchinson, Engineering, Design and Technology Ankit Kumar, Music Harsha Menon, Biology Anik Mitra, Spanish Adam Mumtaz, English Language Kushi Rao, Chemistry and Bank of England Economics Prize Jess Slater, Economics James Taylor, German Izzy Winter, Geography Theodore Wride, Art and Coates Head Prefects’ Prize

YEAR 9 PRIZES Bede Doe, Drama Anna Dorman, Greek Josh Eapen, Chemistry Gina Elliott, Engineering, Design and Technology Lola Fazlic, Music Sophie Feenan, Geography Cassie Hill, Latin Seanan Kale, Ancient History James O’Connell Nash, History Jai Premchand, Biology Duncan Seller, Computer Science Tanisha Sharma, Spanish Irvin Thanacoody, English Dhruv Varier, German Oliver Wall, French Alex Wride, Art Weiming Xu, Maths Amy Zheng, Physics

YEAR 10 PRIZES Adam Aslam, Biology Aidan Baker, Computer Science Daniel Bansal, Spanish Hannah Bansal, Engineering, Design and Technology Oliver Douglass, English Language Daniel Edwards, Latin Beven Galagedara, Geography Iris Klenka, Art Kush Mahawar, Chemistry Laki Palaniappan, German Ruby-Anne Reynolds, Drama Kunal Sen, Music Sanjana Shanbhag, Ancient History Evie Tate, Economics Jemima Thomas, Maths Katie Thompson, French Charlotte Waldron, History Laura Wisse, Greek Joseph Wright, English Literature Eve Yates, Physics

LOWER SIXTH PRIZES Alexander Adamson, Further Maths Harry Baldwin, Music Emma Busby, French Kit Cawthorn, Philosophy Roddy Cummins, History Lucy Davis, Geography Emily Dunstan, Politics Helen Edwards, Greek Amelia Fenwick, Art Toby Green, German Ben Hewitson, English Literature Dominic Hodgson-Bajoria, Theatre Studies Millie Ireland-Carson, Economics George John, Chemistry Oliver Longstaff, Latin Kush Makkapati, Computer Science Cara Powell, Psychology James Scott, Ancient History Lucy Thompson, Spanish Nuyara Udawatte, Film Studies Megan Wardle, Sports Studies Rosa Whittingham, Biology Annie Zhu, Physics Alina Zhu, Maths

UPPER SIXTH PRIZES Matthew Abraham, Collingwood Prize for Service to the Community Anushka Aradhyula, Economics Peter Baker, Engineering, Design and Technology and Harding Prize for Service to the Community Jemima Barreto, Latin and Stanier Prize for Service (by award) Kai Best, Sports Studies Philip Brantingham, The John Elders Senior Boys’ Games Player of the Year

Archie Brooks, Maths Daniel Buffham, Spanish Nathan Byatt, Stanier Prize for Service (by award) Amanda Chakkoria, Kishore Prize for an intending Medical Student Lottie Craven, Ancient History James Critchley, English Literature and Stanier Prize for Service (by award) Justin Cronk, Chemistry Charlotte Dargan, Theatre Studies and Stanier Prize for Service (by award) Alex Dent, Greek Sam Edwards, The Music Prize Pardis Farahi, Stanier Prize for Service (by award) Finnian Gavin, Zaamin Hussain Prize for an intending Medical Student and Stanier Prize for Service (by award) Kirstin Gerrand, Dennison Prize for Outstanding Service (by award) Miles Gittins, French and Dennison Prize for Outstanding Service (by award) Aadam Haq, The Bill Gibson Prize for Outstanding Mathematician in Upper Sixth Jacob Harrison, Politics Blake Herdman, Further Maths Emilia Keavney, Physics Keshav Krishnan, EPQ Mikey Lawlor, German Hannah Lee, The Ellen Barton Trophy for Outstanding Contribution to Girls’ Games Trudie McCarthy, Collingwood Prize for Service to the Community Rachel McWhinnie, Film Studies and Harding Prize for Service to the Community Jatin Naru, Bewick Art Prize Katie O’Connor, Psychology Anna Ord, Philosophy Daniel Partleton, Biology Talha Pathan, Computer Science Chloe Rana, Joseph Petty Prize for an intending Law Student Millie Robson, Joseph Petty Prize for an intending Law Student and Dennison Prize for Outstanding Service (by award) Rhea Sarawgi, History Jonathan Scott-Bromly, Geography and Dennison Prize for Outstanding Service (by award) Aaryan Sehgal, Bank of England Economics Susie Thomas, Dennison Prize for Outstanding Service (by award) Oliver Waterhouse, Dennison Prize for Outstanding Service (by award) Gemma Watson, Art

79 THE REVIEW 2019–20

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L E AV E R S ’ L I ST Matthew Abraham, Medicine, University of Leeds

Olivia Burgin, Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Exeter

Faizan Ahmed, Medicine, Hull York Medical School

Nathan Byatt, Geophysics with Geology, Durham University

Arif Alam, Mechanical Engineering with a Year in Industry, University of Sheffield

Sarah Carluke, Neuroscience, University of Glasgow

Anushka Aradhyula, Economics and Management, Pembroke College, Oxford Elliot Ashton-Edminson, Sport Coaching, Northumbria University Peter Baker, Engineering, Christ Church College, Oxford Ahmed Bakr, Gap Year, Medicine (2021 entry), University of Liverpool Jemima Barreto, Spanish (with a year abroad), University of St Andrews Jonathan Bell, Politics and International Business, University of Liverpool Matthew Bell, Gap Year, University application 2021 Kai Best, Physical Education, Leeds Beckett University Safiyah Bholah, Medicine, University of Leeds James Blackett, Combined Honours, Newcastle University Lara Blackett, Politics and International Relations, Newcastle University Joseph Boaden, Gap Year, English Literature (2021 entry), Durham University Philip Brantingham, Economics and Business Management, Newcastle University Archie Brooks, Gap Year, Physics (2021 entry), University of Manchester Benjamin Brown, Gap Year, University application 2021 Daniel Buffham, Modern Languages and Cultures (with Year Abroad), Durham University

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Ethan Cave, Business Economics, University of Liverpool Amanda Chakkoria, Medicine, University of Glasgow Nancy Charlton, Natural Sciences, University of Nottingham Kimiko Cheng, Mathematics, Newcastle University Daniel Clarke, Chemistry, University of Bristol Stefan Clough, Management (International Business Economics)

Ruby Edmiston, Veterinary Medicine, University of Nottingham

Ethan Heardman, Business Economics (SocSci), University of Glasgow

Samuel Edwards, Physiology and Sports Science

Blake Herdman, Mathematics, University of Warwick

Archie Elliot, Gap Year, University application 2021

Olivia Heron, Medicine, University of Liverpool

Katie Elliott, Medical Sciences, University of Leeds

Thomas Hewson, Mechanical Engineering, University of Glasgow

Pardis Farahi, Computer Science, University of Edinburgh

Grace Hill, Digital Media and Society, University of Sheffield

Maisie Fisher, Business and Management (SocSci), University of Glasgow

Edward Howe, Gap Year, University application 2021

Jessica Ford, Law, University of Manchester Finnian Gavin, Medicine, New College, Oxford Kirstin Gerrand, Chemistry with Scientific Computing, University of Bristol Sohaib Ghafoor, Business and Management Foundation Year, Northumbria University Edward Gilhespy, Economics and Mathematics, University of Edinburgh Miles Gittins, French and Spanish, Pembroke College, Oxford Hannah Glanville, Gap Year, Modern Chinese (2021 entry), Cardiff University

Kraig Coutinho, Gap Year, University application 2021

Max Golightly, Computer Science and Electronics with study abroad, University of Bristol

Charlotte Craven, Gap Year, University application 2021

Dominic Gowling, Primary Education, Durham University

James Critchley, English, Trinity College, Cambridge

Isobel Grace, International Politics and Policy, University of Liverpool

Justin Cronk, Natural Sciences, Robinson College, Cambridge

George Grainger, Computer Science, University of Manchester

Joseph Dalton, History, Magdalene College, Cambridge

Charlotte Gray, International Development, University of Leeds

Alexander Daniel, General Engineering, Newcastle University

Anna Greig, Architecture, University of Nottingham

Charlotte Dargan, Geography, Robinson College, Cambridge

Yasmine Hamud, Classical and Middle East Studies, University of Edinburgh

Stella Deckers Coulter, English Literature, Newcastle University

Aadam Haq, Mathematics, University of Warwick

Alexander Dent, Classics, Trinity College, Cambridge

Theodore Hardman, Politics (SocSci), University of Glasgow

Carolyn Dickson, Psychology and Linguistics, St Hugh’s College, Oxford

Jacob Harrison, Economics, University of Warwick

Jake Dorman, Economics (with placement), University of Bath

William Haslam, Gap Year, Geography with study abroad (2021 entry), University of Exeter

Coral Economides, International Business, University of Edinburgh

Hector Hawkins, Natural Sciences, Trinity College, Cambridge

Grace Hudson, Gap Year, Psychology (2021 entry), University of Manchester Amelia Ikwue, Neuroscience, University of Glasgow Adelynn Immanuel, Medicine BMBS (Nottingham/Derby pathway), University of Nottingham Chanka Jayaweera, Mathematics and Physics, University of Warwick Matthew Jennings, Sports Coaching with Foundation Year, Leeds Beckett University William Jones, Gap Year, University Application 2021 Emilia Keavney, Engineering (2021 entry), Homerton College, Cambridge Danisha Kohli, Psychology, Northumbria University Keshav Krishnan, Medicine, University of Leeds Rajpreet Lally, Business Accounting and Finance (includes business placement), Newcastle University Lewis Lant, Economics, University of Leeds Michael Lawlor, Spanish and Linguistics, Oriel College, Oxford Hannah Lee, English, University of Bristol Andrew Liang, Engineering, Queens’ College, Cambridge Elizabeth Liddle, Psychology, University of Liverpool Ruoqu Liu, Gap Year, University application 2021 Peter Lord, General Engineering, University of Sheffield Katherine Loughney, Gateway year to Medicine, University of Leeds Henry Major, Business Management, University of Sheffield

R OYA L G R A M M A R S C H O O L N E W C A S T L E Isaac Marchant, Gap Year, University application 2021

Toby Peach, Engineering with Foundation Year, Cardiff University

Saul McCabe, Medicine, University of St Andrews

Jacob Peatfield-Muter, Chemistry with year abroad, University of York

Trudie McCarthy, Gap Year, Biochemistry (2021 entry), University of Sheffield

Abigail Peyton, Business and Management (SocSci), University of Glasgow

Shiv Sehgal, Gap Year, University application 2021

Joseph Whitehurst, Mechanical Engineering (year in industry), University of Sheffield

James McKeen, Civil Engineering, University of Leeds

Hannah Pilling, Civil Engineering with Architecture, University of Glasgow

Kannan Sekar Annu Radha, Gap Year, University application 2021

Louisa Wilkinson, Psychology, University of Sheffield

Max McLeod, Gap Year, Modern Languages (2021 entry), University of Exeter

Michael Plumley, Psychology, Queen Mary, University of London

Elise Shields, Painting, University of Edinburgh

Alina Willis Andreu, Portuguese/ Spanish, University of Glasgow

Rachel McWhinnie, Gap Year, University application 2021

Isabelle Potier Godinho, Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, University of Leeds

Seher Siddiqui, Medicine (six years), University College London

Ellyn Willsher, Biomedical Sciences, Newcastle University

Hazel Mehlawat, Population Health, University College London

Nathan Powell, Business Management, Lancaster University

William Slater, Economics, University of Warwick

Holly Wilson, Medicine, University of Glasgow

Jasmine Metters, Criminology and Sociology with Quantitative Methods, Manchester Metropolitan University

Nikhil Prasanna Ponna, Medicine BMBS (Nottingham/Derby pathway), University of Nottingham

Patrick Smeal, Mathematics, University of Exeter

Megan Wilson, Politics and International Relations with Placement Year, University of Reading

Ben Milne, Gap Year, University application 2021

Ben Proffitt, Mathematics and Philosophy, University of Bristol

Miriam Mitchell, Gap Year, University application 2021

Hamish Purcell, Chemistry, University of Edinburgh

Sebastian Moroz-Butler, Gap Year, University application 2021

Eashan Ragbir, Economics, University of St Andrews

Thomas Murphy, Gap Year, University application 2021

Chloe Rana, Law, University of Birmingham

Aaron Naik, Gap Year, University application 2021

Jacob Ravenhall, Law/MLaw, Northumbria University

Jatin Naru, Architecture, University College London

Thomas Rees, Gap Year, Physics (2021 entry), Durham

Aliyah Nojib, Law/MLaw, Northumbria University

Helena Rezaie, Gap Year, University application 2021

Katie O’Connor, Psychology, Durham University

Matthew Robertshaw, Politics and Philosophy, University of Sheffield

Odera Okoli, Gap Year, University application 2021

Emilia Robson, Law, University College London

Daniel O’Neil, Business Accounting and Finance (includes business placement), Newcastle University

Otis Robson, Economics, University College London

Anna Ord, Gap Year, University application 2021

Max Sajjanhar, Chemistry with European placement, University of Glasgow

Joseph Owers, Gap Year, University application 2021

Philippa Sanders, Medicine and Surgery, Newcastle University

Lucas Oxford, Politics, University of Sheffield

Rhea Sarawgi, History, Homerton College, Cambridge

Unnamalai Palaniappan, Medicine and Surgery, Lancaster University

Henry Schmid, Medicine, Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Agha Pathan, Computer Science, University of Warwick

Andrew Scott, Economics (SocSci), University of Glasgow

Martin Paul, Economics, Heriot-Watt University

Michael Scott, International Business (year in industry), University of Liverpool

Jacob Payling, English Literature, University of Leeds

Ambika Sehgal, Classical Archaeology and Ancient History, Lincoln College, Oxford Samir Sehgal, History, University of Birmingham

Francesca Southwood, English, Magdalene College, Cambridge Donald Stembridge, Business and Management with Law, Sheffield Hallam University

Oliver Waterhouse, Medicine and Surgery, Newcastle University Gemma Watson, Music, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester

Samuel Wincott, Mechanical Engineering, University of Sheffield Joseph Wise, General Engineering, University of Sheffield

Arun Summerfield, Gap Year, University application 2021

Maxwell Wraith-Whiting, Computing Science, University of Glasgow

James Telfer, Architecture, Glasgow School of Art

Martha Wylie, International Business, Finance and Economics, University of Manchester

Ruchika Thapar, Gap Year, University application 2021 Rosa Thomas, Painting, University of Edinburgh Sreya Thomas, Medicine (Phase one), University of Sheffield Lucy Thompson, Gap Year, University application 2021

Jessica Yip, Mathematics, University of Edinburgh Zheming Zhang, Mathematics and Statistics, Newcastle University Qianhang Zhou, Biology, University of St Andrews

Sophie Thompson, Classics, Trinity College, Oxford Susanna Trevelyan, Gap Year, English Literature and Creative Writing (2021 entry), University of Warwick Ira Upadhye, Medicine, Imperial College London Diya Varghese, Medicine and Surgery, Newcastle University Grace Varley, Medicine, University of Manchester Jon Vickers, Criminology, University of Sheffield Lily Wade, Geography, Durham University Benjamin Walker, Economics, University of Bristol Shu Wang, Physics and Philosophy, University of Bristol

Jonathan Scott-Bromly, Land Economy, Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge

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STA F F A N D G OV E R N O R S

Miss S G Davison, BA, Warwick, PGCE Dr C Goulding, BA, MLitt, PhD, Newcastle Mrs K J Keown, BA, Robinson College, Cambridge, PGCE Mr A King, BA, MA, Newcastle, PGCE Dr S C Masters, (Film Studies), BA, Newcastle Polytechnic, MA, Newcastle, PhD, Sunderland Mrs L A Stadward, BA, MA, Northumbria, QTS

GEOGRAPHY

SENIOR SCHOOL

CAREERS AND HIGHER EDUCATION

DEPUTY HEAD PASTORAL

Mr M G Downie, BA, Lancaster, PGCE * Mr O Edwards, (Oxbridge Coordinator), MA, King’s College, Cambridge, PGCE Mrs R J L Laws, (Asst. Head) MA, Durham, PGCE Miss B Milburn, (Careers Coordinator, medical), BSc, Imperial College London, MA, Northumbria, PGCE Dr M B A Read, (North American Universities Coordinator), BA, MA, Balliol College, Oxford, BA, Open University, MPhil, Darwin College, Cambridge, PhD, King’s College, London Mrs C Towns, (Careers Coordinator, non-medical), Staatsexamen, AlbertLudwigs-Universitat Freiburg, GTP

Miss S J Longville, BA, Newcastle, PGCE

CHEMISTRY

HEADMASTER Mr G Stanford, MA, MBA, FRGS, St Hugh’s College, Oxford

DEPUTY HEAD Mr T E Keenan, BSc, Bradford, MSc, Northumbria, PGCE

DEPUTY HEAD ACADEMIC Mr R C M Loxley, BSc (Econ), Birkbeck College, London, MEd, Newcastle, PGCE

HEAD OF SIXTH FORM Mrs N McGough, MSc Imperial College, PGCE, MRes

ART Mr G P Mason, BA, Manchester Metropolitan, MA, Northumbria, PGCE* Miss H C Bray, BA, MA, Northumbria, PGCE Mr P Edwards, BA, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, PGCE Mrs C Egan-Fowler, BEd, Notre Dame College, Liverpool University, MA, Northumbria Mrs K Nowicki, (Head of Year 7) BA, London Metropolitan, PGCE

BIOLOGY Mr P J Heath, BSc, Sheffield, PGCE * Dr M H Bell, BSc, Aston, PhD, Aberystwyth, PGCE Mr S Hall, BSc, Newcastle, PGCE Mrs S F Hutchinson, BSc, Edinburgh, PGCE Mrs J A Malpas, BSc, Brunel, PGCE Dr C J Murgatroyd, (Head of Year 8) BSc, Sunderland, DPhil, Newcastle, PGCE Mr L Shepherd, MA, Homerton College, Cambridge, PGCE

82 THE REVIEW 2019–20

Dr E A Smith, BSc, PhD, Newcastle, PGCE* Dr R Campbell, BSc, PhD Newcastle, PGCE Mrs S L Coates, MChem, MSc, Durham, PGCE Dr J L Greenhalgh, BSc, Northumbria, PhD, Newcastle, PGCE Mrs C J Hutton-Stott, BSc, Open University, PGCE Mr T Kelso, (Head of Year 13) BSc, Newcastle, PGCE Dr A J Pulham, (Head of Science), BA, Keble College, DPhil, Linacre College, Oxford Mrs M C Slack, BSc, Leicester Polytechnic, PGCE Mr R W Wiggins, BSc, Imperial College, London, PGCE Mrs N Wright, (Head of EPQ) BSc, MEd, Newcastle, PGCE

CLASSICS Mrs V C Mee, BA, MA, Jesus College, Oxford, PGCE* Mr S M F Belfield, MA, New College, Oxford, MA, Birkbeck College, London, PGCE Mrs P R Coningham, MA, Newnham College, Cambridge, PGCE

Dr L E Hope, PhD Toronto, MA Florida, BA Massachusetts Amherst Dr D A MacLennan, BA, MA, PhD, Durham, PGCE Miss P L Whitworth, BA, Durham

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTER SCIENCE Mr C J Wilde, BA, Newcastle, PGCE* Miss J Lynn, BSc, Edge Hill University, PGCE

DRAMA Mrs R A Shaw-Kew, BA, Bretton Hall College, University of Leeds Mr T Walters, BA, Sussex, PGCE

ECONOMICS Mr J D Neil, BA, Durham, MPhil, Hughes Hall, Cambridge, PGCE * Mrs L E Davison, MA, BA, Newcastle, PGCE, QTS Mr S O’Dwyer, BA, Bangor, PGCE, Nottingham Mr R C M Loxley, (Director of Studies) BSc (Econ), Birkbeck College, London, MEd, Newcastle, PGCE Mr P Shelley, BA, Liverpool, MSc, Southampton, QTS Mr M J Smalley, BA, Manchester, QTS

ENGINEERING, DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY Mr P M Warne, MEng, St Aidan’s College, Durham, PGCE* Miss R Harvey, MFA, Newcastle, BA, Cumbria Mr M Lowe, BA, Nottingham Trent Mrs C A Pipes, BA, Northumbria, PGCE Mr JMP Stevens, BA Staffordshire, MA Coventry, PGCE

ENGLISH Dr S J Barker, BA, St David’s University College, Lampeter, PhD, University of Wales * Miss H C Charnley, BA, MA, St Andrews, PGCE

Mr D A Wilson, BSc, King’s College, London, PGCE * Mr M G Downie, (Head of Careers & HE), BA, Lancaster, PGCE Mrs K E Hammill, BA, Sheffield, QTS Mrs R J L Laws, (Asst. Head of Careers), MA, Durham, PGCE Mrs R Leigh, BA, MA, Newcastle, PGCE Miss Z C Morrow, BSc, MA, Institute of Education, UCL, PGCE

HISTORY Mr D Tyreman, MA, Lancaster, PGCE * Mr O L Edwards, MA, King’s College, Cambridge, PGCE Mr D C Greenhalgh, (Head of Year 9) BA (JtHons), MPhil, University of Wales, Bangor, MA, Aberystwyth, PGCE Dr E S Matthews, MA, PhD, Lancaster, MSc, Stirling, PGCE Mrs A J Palmer, MA, Dundee, PGCE Mr S E Tilbrook, BA, Birkbeck College, London, PGCE

MATHEMATICS Mr J A Smith, BSc, Edinburgh, MEd, Newcastle, PGCE * Dr J Argyle, BSc, Durham, MSc, Sheffield, PhD, Durham, PGCE, MEd, The Open University Mr H M W Bingham, BA, Pembroke College, Cambridge, PGCE Mr A Delvin, BSc, Bristol, MSc, Manchester, PGCE Mr G D Dunn, BSc, Northumbria, PGCE Mrs J Gwillim, BSc, Nottingham Trent, PGCE Dr P M Heptinstall, BSc, PhD, Newcastle, PGCE Mr D A Jardine, BSc, Strathclyde, PGCE Mr T E Keenan, (Head of Sixth Form), BSc, Bradford, MSc, Northumbria, PGCE Mr A Pearson, BSc, MEd, Newcastle, PGCE Mr M J Poole, BSc Birmingham, PGCE Mr H Rashid, BSc, MSc, Newcastle, PGCE Mr A A Snedden, BSc, Newcastle, PGCE Miss R M Watterson, BSc, Edinburgh, PGCE

R OYA L G R A M M A R S C H O O L N E W C A S T L E MODERN LANGUAGES Ms K E Sykes, BA (double hons), Bradford, PGCE * Mr M S Bailie, (Head of Year 11), BA, Stirling, MA, Queen’s University of Belfast, PGCE Miss J Budd, (Head of Year 12) BA, Aberystwyth, PGCE Miss S Demoulin, (Head of French), University of Mont Saint Aignan, France Mrs C L Diaz-Crossley, BA, Jesus College, Cambridge, PGCE Mr T Harman, BA, Newcastle, PGCE Miss E L Hayes, BA, Newcastle, PGCE Senora B Membrado-Dolz, (Head of Spanish) Mr M Metcalf, (Head of Year 10) MA, MPhil, Trinity College, Cambridge, PGCE Mrs C Towns, (Careers Coordinator, non-medical), Staatsexamen, AlbertLudwigs-Universitat Freiburg, GTP Mrs D Williams, (Head of German) BA, Durham, PGCE

MFL ASSISTANTS Miss Prunelle Beguier, (French Assistant) Miss Mahinur Ayar, (German Assistant) Miss Paula Navarro Gonzalez, (Spanish Assistant)

MUSIC Mr Z Fazlic, BA, University of Sarajevo, PGCE* Miss S L Bolt, BA, Newcastle, PGCE Mrs K Clappison, (Head of Junior School Music), MA, Glasgow, PGCE

VISITING MUSIC TEACHERS Annie Ball, (Piano) Dip ABRSM, BMus M.Mus Katrina Conaty, (LAMDA) BA(Hons), ALAM Sarah Davie, (Flute) M.Mus (perf), BA, CPGS RSAMD Mark Edwards, (Orchestral Percussion) M.Mus / PGDip John Ferguson, (Classical Guitar) Licentiate Trinity College London (LTCL) Dov Goldberg, (Clarinet and Saxophone) GMus RNCM (hons), PPRNCM dist.

Dave Hignett, (Brass) BA (Hons), LGSM, PGCE Julia Jasinski, (Violin) L.T.C.L. (performers / teachers) A.R.A.M Lada Khazanovych, (Piano) James Morgan, (Voice) Janet Nicolls, (Piano) FTCL, LGSM, DipEd Nicholas Nowicki, (Piano) M.Mus (perf) RNCM, BA (Hons) MISM Rebecca O’Donnell, (Oboe and Bassoon) M.Mus (perf), BMus (Hons) Jo Quiliam, BA Hons, PCGE

Peter Richardson, (Cello, Guitar and Bass) DRSMD (performance) Andrew Soulsby, (Piano and Harpsicord) B/Mus (Hons) Dip ABRSM, PGCE Stephen Wall, (Drums) Michael Walton, (Violin) B.Mus (R.C.M.), M.Mus

PASTORAL Mrs H J Hardy, (Learning Support Assistant), BA, Sheffield, MA, Open, PGCE Mrs N Kyle, (Learning Support Assistant), BA, Durham, MSc, Northumbria, PGCE Ms A E Lee, (Director of Student Progress), MSc, Nottingham, BA, Newcastle, PGCE

PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION Dr M B A Read, BA, MA, Balliol College, Oxford, BA, Open University, MPhil, Darwin College, Cambridge, PhD, King’s College, London*

PHYSICAL EDUCATION Mrs A J Ponton, (Director of Sport) BSc, Liverpool John Moores, PGCE * Miss H J Atkinson, BA, York St John, PGCE Miss H Bowerman, BSc, Sunderland, PGCE Mr A G Brown, BSc with QTS, Sheffield Hallam Mr H R T Chadwick,(Deputy Director of Sport), BSc, Loughborough, QTS Miss E Davie, BEd, Edinburgh Mr F Dickinson, BEd, Carnegie College, Leeds Polytechnic Miss J Harrison, BSc, Manchester Metropolitan, PGCE, Durham Miss H Larsen, BSc, Loughborough Miss A Lill, BSc, Northumbria, PGCE Mr R V Mackay, BSc, Northumbria Mr A E Watt, BA, Manchester Metropolitan Mr B Wollerton, BSc, Northumbria, PGCE Mr J A Wood, BA, Manchester Metropolitan

PHYSICS Mr E T Rispin, BSc, Newcastle, PGCE * Mr J L Camm, BSc, Manchester, PGCE Mrs P M Gill, BEng, Sheffield, PGCE Dr R M Houchin, MSci, PhD, Durham, QTS, DipEd Mrs N McGough, MSc, Imperial College, PGCE, MRes Miss B Milburn, (Careers Coordinator, medical), BSc, Imperial College London, MA, Northumbria, PGCE Mr P Wilson, BSc, Newcastle, MSc, Sunderland Polytechnic, PGCE

PSHE Mrs K E Hammill, BA, Sheffield, QTS*

PSYCHOLOGY Dr C M Bone, BSc, Manchester Polytechnic, MA, Durham, PhD Northumbria PGCE* Miss K A Jacques, BSc, Newcastle *denotes head of department

JUNIOR SCHOOL HEADMASTER Mr J N Miller, BA, Northumbria (from January 2020) Mr R J Craig, Bed, Leeds (until January 2020)

STAFF Mrs C Baker, BA, Northumbria Mrs E J Barlow, BSc, Ulster, PGCE Mr A Cragg, BA, Durham, QTS Mrs K Clappison, (Head of Junior School Music), MA, Glasgow, PGCE Miss H Close, BSc, Lancaster, PGCE, MA, University of Sunderland Mrs C M Cree, BSc, Newcastle, PGCE Mr T G Lloyd, BA, Nottingham, QTS Mrs S J McCulloch, BA, Liverpool, PGCE Miss M A Noble, BA, Hull, PGCE, MA, University of Northumbria Mrs C O’Hanlon, BA, Newcastle, PGCE Miss R Scott, BA, Sheffield, PGCE Dr A J Spencer, (Deputy Head), BSc, PhD, Birmingham, PGCE Mrs L M Stairmand, BA, Leeds, PGCE Mrs R S Towers, BA, Leeds, MEd, Newcastle Mrs K Wall, BA, University College of Ripon & York St John, QTS Ms A J Whitney, BA, Southampton, PGCE Miss L R B Wood, BA, Newcastle, MA, Durham, QTS

TEACHING ASSISTANTS Mrs A Gilmore, CACHE Level 3 Mrs L M Johnston, STA, Northumbria, HLTA Level 4 Mrs H Sisterson, BA, CACHE Level 3 Mrs H Dearing, HLTA Level 4, FD

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S U P P O R T S TA F F LIST BURSAR AND CLERK TO GOVERNORS Dr M J Pitkethly, CEng, FIMMM, BSc Imperial College London, PhD, Surrey

ADMINISTRATION Administrative and Exam Assistant: Mrs J Pringle Attendance Manager/ Staff Cover Manager: Mrs L J Wright, HND, Bedfordshire Bursar’s Assistant: (Acting) Mrs S Forster, BA, Birmingham Performing Arts Manager: Mrs J M Graham Headmaster’s Secretary: Miss S Ellis

Miss E Munro, Mr J Murtha, Mrs S Redhead, Mr G Reid, Miss T Smith, Mrs S Spearman, Miss S Watkins

SPORTS CENTRE

Maintenance Staff: Mr M Graham, Mr S Blanchflower

Sports Centre Assistant: Mr O Young

Grounds Staff: Mr D Payne (Head Groundsman), Mr D Gibson, Mr J Rippon

SUPERVISORY ASSISTANTS

Fencing: Mr I Aberdeen

FINANCE

TECHNICAL STAFF

Swimming: Ms T Etherington

Finance Officer: Mrs A Findlay

Art Technician: Miss R M Gibson, BA York

COUNSELLORS

Finance Officer: (Acting) Mrs G Fazlic

Performing Arts Centre Technical Manager: Mr M R Burton, BA, Northumbria

Mrs L Hodgson, Miss S Knight, Miss C Ludbrook, Miss C Lyon, Miss J O’Dwyer, Miss C Stewart, Mrs L Storey, Mrs S Turnbull, Mr J Webb, Miss H Wilkins

COACHES Chess: Mr D Eggleston

Miss A E Jordon, BSc Newcastle, PGDip Psychotherapy Mr D J Merritt, MA Cambridge, PGCE Newcastle, Dip Pastoral Counselling

DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

Head of HR: Mrs L Ledger, LLB, Leicester, LPC, College of Law, York

Director of Development and Communications: Ms S Beck, MSc, Southbank, London, InstFCert

Junior School Secretaries: Miss A Noble, Miss A Gravely, BA, Hull, Mrs E Evans

Communications Manager: Mrs J Macleod, BSc, Northumbria, PGCert, Royal Holloway

Bursary Access Officer: Mrs J Browne, BA, Newcastle Receptionist: Mrs J Cross Administrator: Ms T Barden, BSc London, MSc Cranfield

Senior Finance Assistant: Mrs S A McGregor

Assistant Technical Manager (Performing Arts Centre): Mr B Squire

IT

Senior Technician: Mr P L Emmerson, BA, Northumbria

Director of IT Services: Mr P J Miller, BSc, MSc, Newcastle Database Manager: Ms J Shutt, BSc, Leeds Specialist in End User Computing: Mr D Baker Support Services Technician: Mr J Mayer

Development Manager: Ms J C Medcalf, BA, Leicester, MBPsS, MInstF

LIBRARY Librarian: Mrs C J Richardson, BA, Newcastle Polytechnic Library Assistant: Ms S Huck

Senior School Secretary: Mrs J M Glendon

FACILITIES

ADMISSIONS

Facilities Manager: Mr S G Lymn, MA, Durham

MEDICAL STAFF

Porter/Security Officer: Mr L Johansen

School Nurses: Mrs M Thorniley-Walker, RGN Mrs V Duns

Caretakers: Mr G J Fuery BEM, Mr D Broom, Mr O Gooding

School Medical Officer: Dr R Pedlow

Domestic Manager: Mrs J Gallagher, ABICsc

OUTDOOR PURSUITS

AUDIO VISUAL Audio Visual Manager: Mr S Corrigall

Domestic Supervisor: Ms J Tullis

CATERING

Domestics: Mrs M Adair, Miss G Carter, Mrs S Charlton, Mrs L Clark, Miss L Conlin, Mr M Conroy, Mrs S Davison, Mrs T Day, Miss J Emmerson, Mrs C Fairlamb, Mr J Fothergill, Mr A Francis, Mrs L Hodgson, Miss P Irving,

Head of Admissions: Mrs A Perry

ARCHIVIST Dr G L Silvanus, BA, Cardiff, MScEcon, Aberystwyth, PhD Northumbria

Catering Manager: Mr B T Bulch Catering: Mrs M Armstrong, Mrs A Crisp, Miss L Docherty, Mrs G Gott, Mrs D Graham, Mr W Halfpenny,

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Mrs J Browne, Miss R McCabe (Administrator)

Finance Assistant: Mrs M Keeler

Communications Manager: (Acting) Miss L Foad, BA, Newcastle, PCGE, NCTJ

External Relations Administrator: Miss N Matias

Sports Centre Supervisor: Mr L Herbertson

Outdoor Pursuits Instructor: Mr R O’Hagan CCF: Mr P Barlow

PARTNERSHIPS AND OUTREACH Director of Community Partnerships and Outreach: Mr A A Bird, BMus, Sheffield, MEd, Newcastle, LRAM, PGCE

Technicians: Mr G Bowman, BSc, Northumbria, Miss J English, Mrs S Graham, Mr I Norris, BSc, MPhil, Newcastle, Mr C Robinson

G OV E R N O R S 19/20 Mrs J Drummond, BA, MA, Chair of Governors Mr P Campbell Ms N C D’Cruz Mr I Evbuomwan Mr R H Fell, FRICS Mr A Fletcher, LLB Mrs S Green Mrs A Gupta Professor S Hambleton, BA, BM, BCh, MRPCH, DPhil Professor M Haniffa, BSc, MBBCh, MRCP, PhD Mrs T Hartley, MRICS, BSc (Hons), MSc, MBA, Vice Chair of Governors Mr A Lamb, BA, CA Mr N McMinn Ms S Milligan, LLB Mrs C Murphy Mr T Murphy Mr I R Simpson, ACIB Mrs C Stonehouse Councillor T Thorne, BA Mrs S Woodroofe

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Royal Grammar School Eskdale Terrace Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4DX Tel: 0191 281 5711 Royal Grammar Junior School Lambton Road Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4DX Tel: 0191 281 8955 General Enquiries: hm@rgs.newcastle.sch.uk or communications@rgs.newcastle.sch.uk www.rgs.newcastle.sch.uk

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