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WELCOME – 3
PRIZES – 68
JUNIOR SCHOOL – 4
LEAVERS’ LIST – 71
SENIOR SCHOOL – 26
STAFF – 74
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WELCOME I thoroughly enjoy writing the introduction for our annual review as it gives me time to look back and reflect on all the incredible achievements of the students, staff and wider RGS Community over the last year. Twelve months ago, when I wrote the welcome for the 19/20 review, I talked about how challenging the year had been. While navigating a pandemic is not something any Headmaster would wish to repeat, it was certainly a year at RGS of which I am incredibly proud.
We started the 2020/21 academic year welcoming all students and staff back on site, only to find that, five months later, we would once again be closing our doors and returning to the world of virtual learning. Again, it became a world without summer exams for our GCSE and A Level students, one where performances and parents’ conferences were attended online and, sadly, sporting fixtures with other schools were cancelled. However, despite all the restrictions, what I hope the following pages in this review will demonstrate is how the four pillars of our school ethos have remained central to all we have accomplished as a community: inspiring a sense of belonging, love for learning, belief in each other and ambition to succeed. While the review is simply a snapshot of the school year, I am sure you will agree it shows an impressive range of activities, made possible by the energy and enthusiasm of our students, staff and parents. Once more I must praise the community for remaining strong, able, calm and kind throughout these tough times. These values which we embed in our Junior School and build on in the Senior School helped us all to overcome what have been some of the pandemic’s most challenging months. I hope you enjoy looking back on the memories of the 2020/21 academic year and join me in feeling a sense of satisfaction and pride regarding the resilience and maturity with which the RGS Community has approached this period of time.
G E O F F R E Y S TA N F O R D HEADMASTER 3 THE REVIEW 2020–21
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In the Junior School, of which we are all very proud, most (if not all) that goes on is driven by our RGS Superpowers: able, strong, calm and kind. Most people think of superpowers as the ability to stick to the side of buildings or fly over the treetops with nothing but a cape to help, in truth unless you can demonstrate ability, strength, calmness and kindness, becoming invisible is largely pointless anyway!
The highlight of the year gone has been the community cohesion demonstrated in the face of significant challenge. I’m going to reserve the highest praise for our fabulous children who have shown great adaptability and determination to make the most of every opportunity that we could provide. As you will see in the following picture and articles, the pupils of the RGS are not ones to let a mere pandemic get in their way. The whole RGS community has learned many lessons over the last year or so, and I know of plenty of people who have recalibrated their values and sense of perspective. At a time of significant personal and professional difficulties, the superpower of kindness has come to the fore and my great hope is that the most significant legacy that our ‘friend’ Covid leaves us with is a greater understanding of how important compassion is. I hope you enjoy reading this review and that it puts a smile upon your face. MR JAMES MILLER HEADMASTER JUNIOR SCHOOL 5 THE REVIEW 2020–21
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D E M O N S T R AT I N G T H E S K I L L S O R K N OW L E D G E TO M E E T A C H A L L E N G E
F RA S E R A N D RA F F Y J O I N T H E 1 0 0 0 D O O D L E C LU B Two of our Junior School mathematicians achieved a 1000–day streak on DoodleMaths, becoming proud members of the 1000 Doodle Club. Fraser Hall and Raffy Bonner both from Year 6, reached the impressive milestone of 1000 consecutive days of doodling on the maths platform, which is used in the Junior School to provide all students with a tailored approach to learning and consolidating their mathematical knowledge. Speaking about his achievement, Raffy, said: “I am amazingly excited to reach my 1000–day streak. Top tip, keep calm, keep your streak and doodle on.” The ‘little and often’ approach – which involves using DoodleMaths for 10 minutes a day – has proven to be hugely successful at maintaining interest levels among students and ensuring the development of long–term knowledge and understanding. 6 THE REVIEW 2020–21
“I could not be prouder of the boys’ achievements. It is a huge undertaking and highlights their desire and dedication to improve. Two fantastic role models for the rest of the school community. Well done!” T E AC H E R , M R L L OY D
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YEAR 6 ANNIE PRODUCTION NSPCC Number Day May 7th 2021 was NSPCC Number Day – a maths–inspired fundraising event where schools across the UK raise money for the NSPCC. On this day, children take part in maths activities, are encouraged to make a donation and wear an item of clothing with a number on it. Our pupils worked together to solve a variety of problems. Robot Wars in Lambton House seemed to be a huge success with some intelligent designs and launching mechanisms. In Brandling House, the Year 5 and Year 6 afternoon consisted of creating our own Top Trumps.
In spite of lockdowns and bubbles, the Year 6 pupils performed an amazing production of the musical Annie. The children worked phenomenally hard in both the rehearsals and the recording sessions, and all the staff were immensely proud of all they achieved. Their commitment and dedication to the show and their fellow cast members reinforced just how important it was that they had the opportunity to take part in a production before their time in the Junior School came to an end.
PUPI L S TAKE O N T HE PRINGLE RINGLE CHALLENGE As part of the Year 6 curriculum, pupils looked at hyperbolic paraboloids and thought what better way to look at the properties of this unusual shape than to have a go at the Pringle Ringle challenge. As a warm–up task, pupils created origami hyperbolic paraboloids and then we moved on to the Pringles. We think they all look fantastic!
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M U S I C I A N S P L AY O N TO AC H I E V E TO P G R A D E S This year, a number of our talented musicians have achieved some fantastic results in their music exams: •B ernard Socha (Year 4) passed his first Drums exam. He skipped Grade 1 and jumped straight to Grade 2 – passing it with Merit! • J ack Copland (Year 5) passed his Grade 3 Drum exam with Merit. •P oppy Melville (Year 4) who passed her Grade 1 Piano exam with Distinction. • Jeffrey Li (Year 4) achieved his Grade 6 Piano with Distinction. •A llan Zeng (Year 3) has achieved his Grade 5 Piano with Distinction. •A nya Joseph (Year 6) was awarded Distinction in her Grade 3 Piano exam. •A aryan Krishnamurthi (Year 5) who was recently awarded a Distinction in his Entry Level 3 (Debut) Acoustic Guitar exam. •A rjun Godse (Year 5) passed his classical guitar Step 1 exam with Distinction.
B U S H C R A F T AT B R O C KW E L L WO O D S Our Year 6 pupils enjoyed some learning outside the classroom when they spent the day discovering Bushcraft at Brockwell Woods. Pupils learned how to construct shelters using tarpaulin and rope and build fires to boil water for hot chocolate and cook chicken and vegetable kebabs. They investigated ways to filter water to develop their survival skills before putting their map skills to the test in a tricky orienteering task. 8 THE REVIEW 2020–21
Egyptian Day On Tuesday 3rd December Year 4 experienced Egyptian Day. Here’s what some pupils thought: “The top favourite thing I liked on Egyptian Day was the food tasting. I’ve never had the T’ameya falafel and it is quite good.” – Charlotte Todd “I liked it when we mummified our toys because it felt like we were real Egyptians and we made death masks and charms to put on the bear.” – Evangeline Bowes
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EVACUEES’ DAY On Thursday 25th March, Year 6 took part in an Evacuees’ Day in school. They all wore 1940’s dress and we imagined that it was Friday 1st September 1939, two days before war was declared and the day that RGS staff and pupils moved to Penrith to share premises with Queen Elizabeth Grammar School. This was so the RGS could become the North East Regional War Room.
Super Science
The children were all labelled, so that nobody got lost and we spent the day thinking about the life of an evacuee, and how they must have felt, leaving their families to go and live with strangers.
Tiree Rastogi (Year 3) created a model of the solar system, which she put together and painted.
We took part in a session with Beamish Museum, to help them find a missing evacuee, as well as with Victoria Tunnel, all virtually (which is not very 1940s!) and produced our own air raid art work, using chalks. We finished the day by looking at some artefacts from the RGS Archive. We all agreed it was a great day and we can’t wait to continue our topic on World War II back in history lessons.
Solar Eclipse – The clouds cleared at just the right time, which meant it was perfect for all of the children to see the partial solar eclipse.
Her favourite planet is Saturn because it is beautiful, with its rings made of rock and ice.
They used special eclipse glasses to safely see about 40% of the Sun covered by the Moon, as the Moon came between the Sun and the Earth. Fossil Fun – Year 3 enjoyed creating and unearthing dinosaur fossils in science.
PUPILS CONQUER THE OUTDOORS Tristan Errington–Stevens (Year 3) practised looking at a map of the Cheviots, finding symbols from the key at the side. Charlie Brook (Year 5) struggled with a fear of heights but determined to overcome his nerves, conquered a tree top adventure at Whinfell Forest, including a 255–metre zip wire across a lake. Ralph Manners (Year 6) made it to the top of Ros Hill, also known as Ros Castle an Iron Age hill fort. It was a hard Four–hour return hike from Chatton with amazing views across Northumberland.
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S H OW I N G C O M P O S U R E & CLARITY OF THOUGHT
WO R L D B O O K DAY 4 T H M A R C H On World Book Day we certainly weren’t going to let a little thing like remote learning stop us celebrating everything to do with books and reading! Our theme this year was ‘detectives and spies’, so we spent the morning creating fake identifications and our new identities before enjoying a virtual visit from one of my personal favourite authors, Robin Stevens. She talked to us about her writing process, the Murder Most Unladylike series and what she’s up to now that she’s written the final book. With children at home and in school dressed up as spies and detectives, a great day was had by all.
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Beautiful beach necklaces Noah Patterson (Year 5) used lockdown with time on his beach walks to create some lovely sea glass necklaces which he sold and he is now planning to make more.
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PUPILS TURN THEIR HAND TO PHOTOGRAPHY During the last year, Amelia McCready (Year 6) tried her hand at photography and has turned out to be rather talented, as you can see from some of these superb shots. Noah Patterson (Year 5) tested out his photography skills during a visit to Gibside, the Georgian landscape garden with over 600 acres of gardens, woodland and countryside – perfect for wildlife spotting.
GREENFINGERED STUDENTS DELIGHT IN G R OW I N G These pupils certainly love digging in the soil, getting dirty and creating things but they also learned a variety of other skills including responsibility from caring for plants and self– confidence from achieving their goals and enjoying the food they have grown. Raffy Bonner (Year 6) experimented on tomato plants to see whether they grow better in coffee compost (coffee grounds), home– made compost from rotten plants or shop bought compost. Derek Balaraj (Year 6) and his brother took up gardening with gusto and designed and created a horticultural Persian carpet. Kathy Punnoose (Year 5) enjoyed helping out with potting a pothos plant. Amrit Jagpal (Year 4) has been encouraging bees into her garden with some help from her Grandad, by planting lots of wild flowers. On the 20th May it was World Bee Day, Amrit has been learning about bees and how they are important to the food chain.
Yoga wellbeing sessions help during lockdown Aniruddh Kalluri (Year 3), Rufus Edwards (Year 5), Cassius Edwards (Year 3), Jake Perry (Year 6) and many other Year 6 pupils all enjoyed taking part in yoga sessions throughout the year. Yoga is great for our pupils as it helps strengthen their growing bodies and helps them improve their flexibility, which can reduce their chance of injury. It also teaches them about discipline as they work on clearing their minds and perfecting their poses. 11 THE REVIEW 2020–21
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5C Commune with Nature Class 5C pupils headed outdoors to participate in some nature listening, ‘looking up’ and finding their balance during Mental Health Awareness Week.
L O C K D OW N L I T E R AT U R E Millie Maddison (Year 3) spent her lockdown engrossed in a whole host of different worlds as she got through this impressive pile of books. Abhindra Karki (Year 6) and Simran Toor (Year 4) also took this time to keep up with their reading.
RGS FAMILY In February, we challenged our pupils to take part in the RGS Family Bake Off. We were delighted to receive a whole range of delicious looking entries and we were so impressed with all the students’ efforts. Well done everyone! Ellie Al–Jumaili (Year 5), Amrit Jagpal (Year 4), Mehar Marwaha (Year 4), Will Brien (Year 6), Millie Maddison (Year 3), Ben Goldberg (Year 3), Ambika Vedhara (Year 3).
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S E L EC T I O N O F B E AU T I F U L A RT WO R K Our pupils have always loved creating art and then sharing their work with us. Here is just some of the beautiful artwork which has been created over the last year. Shuquan Gan (Year 5), Hemadri Pakhira (Year 6), George Chen (Year 3), Ishaan Oruganti (Year 3), Will Brien (Year 6).
LEGO LEGENDS George Thompson (Year 3), Zachary Van Bedaf (Year 3) and AJ Paul (Year 5) used their time outside the classroom to build these impressive Lego creations.
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T H I N K I N G O F OT H E R S O R AC T I N G S E L F L E S S LY
ST U D E N T S HELP THE COVID CRISIS IN INDIA Mohitha Bonam (Year 3), Havish Kamtam (Year 5), Pranay Mukesh (Year 5) and Akshara Saranga (Year 6) who, along with their friends, participated in a sports challenge to help people in need. They set up physical activity targets to achieve over a period of one month. They all reached their targets successfully and went beyond their goals. Through its COVID campaign, the EKAM Foundation has been filling up the gaps in the health care system in India by setting up quarantine wards, supplying PPE and critical care equipment to government hospitals.
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DA R I N G D E X T E R DESCENDS FOR CHARITY Year 6 pupil, Dexter Brissenden–Lang, has raised thousands of pounds for charity by abseiling down Langley Castle. Participating in his first proper abseil, Dexter took on the 90ft challenge, raising over £1,000 for Maggie’s, the cancer care charity at the Freeman Hospital.
BEN’S DOUBLE CLIMB FOR CHILDREN’S CANCER CHARITY Having successfully completed a challenge which saw Ben Goldberg ‘Climb’ Ben Nevis, the Year 3 pupil carried on and conquered Machu Picchu, raising £100 for North East Children’s Cancer Research (NECCR).
It was his first proper abseil and it was a bit scary but really exhilarating! It was a perfect, sunny day and Dexter was very brave. “I really enjoyed the whole experience and felt really excited when I had finished,” said Dexter. “The views from the top were pretty special too. The scariest moment was stepping over the turrets of the castle and seeing how far down it was!” Dexter, along with his mum who also took part on the day, chose to support Maggie’s charity as they are local to where the family lives and do amazing work in supporting people diagnosed with cancer and their families. Ms Brissenden, said: “I have abseiled off the Tyne Bridge before, but Dexter had only done a really small one during an adventure week, and I knew he would enjoy the challenge. “It feels great that the money will make a difference to families in our local area and support them when they need it the most. People have been very generous, including lots of Dexter’s school friends, so we are very grateful for their donations.”
RGS CANCER RUN The much–loved annual North East Children’s Cancer Run had to be cancelled due to the ongoing Covid–19 pandemic. We decided to organise our own Cancer Run this year in order to raise much–needed funds for this very worthwhile charity. In December the RGS Cancer Run took place across the Town Moor. As usual, the children entered into the spirit of things with great enthusiasm and energy and raised an amazing £960 for North of England Children’s Cancer Research fund.
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W I L L’ S R U N HELPS RAISE THOUSANDS FOR CHARITY Will Oliver (Year 6), along with his sister Gabriella and 14 of her friends from Year 9, committed to run a marathon (half marathon for Will) over a week for an amazing charity founded by their cousin, Mabel’s Enterprise. Thanks to a fantastic effort from all 16 pupils, 406.1 miles were run throughout the week and a grand total of £1,807 raised.
Yogam’s December donations to food bank Yogam Vinayak (Year 3) and his brother, Aaryan (Year 7)both believe that ‘sharing is caring’. When they opened their advent calendars throughout December, they each added something to their food bank box to donate to their local food bank. Lyla Shirley (Year 3) and her sister, Amira, have enjoyed buying a different item for each day of Ramadan to donate to the local food bank. Oorja Chakraborty (Year 3) did some shopping to donate to The People’s Kitchen. Oorja very kindly chose to do this using her own pocket money, rather than adding on to the family weekly shop.
N I K I TA B A K E S FOR CHARITY
J AY J O I N S P R O J E C T S A N TA
Nikita Alagar (Year 4) and her brother set up a cupcake and hot chocolate stall outside their house. They raised a grand total of £85.50 for North East Children’s Cancer Research (NECCR).
Jay Vadhera (Year 3) his mum and a team of friends got together with local schools to collect for children and their families who are known to their schools to be living in poverty. The team, known as Project Santa, facilitates gifts and food hampers for these identified families, this year they helped 411 children with gifts bags and over 170 families with food bags to help feed them during the holidays.
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ST U D E N T S H E L P WITH CLEAN UPS DURING HALF T E R M H O L I DAYS Olive Matthews (Year 4) and her brother Artie spent time litter picking on the streets of Heaton and Bernard Socha (Year 4) helped to clean the beach at Robin Hood’s Bay. Daniel Hempton (Year 6) was up and out early (before 9am!) to spend two hours with the Backworth Clean Team on a volunteer litter pick. He was even called out as a ‘superhero of the week’ as he helped to collect all the bags of rubbish into one massive heap for the council to collect.
Emma and Mina take part in a charity chop We were really proud of Emma Barabino (Year 4) who donated 30cm of hair and Mina Johnson–Lynn (Year 3) who donated 20cm of hair to the Little Princess Trust. The charity provides free real hair wigs to children who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment.
PHOEBE HELPS P RO D U C E PAT I E N T NEWSLETTER Phoebe Spyridopoulos (Year 6) helped her Dad to illustrate a patient newsletter for the COVID–HEART study which is a research study to understand how the Coronavirus affects the heart.
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S H OW I N G A R O B U S T N E S S O F M I N D, B O DY O R S O U L
THOMAS WINS THE G O L D E N B O OT Thomas Thiele (Year 6) received an award for winning the golden boot for his football teams five years in a row. He won four golden boots for Red House Farm Eagles, a Saturday team he played for from U7 – U10. This year he won the golden boot playing for the Bedlington Bisons U11, a Sunday team he joined last summer.
Gymnastic Success Jaya Bedi (Year 4) achieved the British Gymnastics proficiency award advanced level Bronze in floor.
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COUNTY CRICKET C A L L U P F O R E L L I OT A N D TO BY Elliott Mee (Year 5) and Toby Jobling (Year 5) were both chosen to represent their county in U11 cricket this year. The pair played for South North Cricket Club and in one game they played pairs cricket and opened the batting, scoring a respectable 39 runs from four overs.
M U LT I P L E M A RT I A L A RT S M E R I T S Several of our students have enjoyed success in their martial arts disciplines this year. Mina Johnson–Lynn (Year 3) passed her black stripe kickboxing grading after 4 years of hard work. James Botan (Year 3) was very pleased to have passed his Tae Kwon Do grading. Yogam Vinayak (Year 3) was awarded his brown belt from Newcastle Goju Ryu Karate Academy.
J AC K A N D A L E X E N J OY L E AG U E C U P V I C TO RY Jack Copland (Year 5) and Alex Davy (Year 5), who both play for Hexham Roma U10s, won the West Division League Cup 7–1.
Adam takes third place at National Skiing Competition Adam Hardy (Year 4) came third in the Club National U10/12 Skiing Slalom competition with a time of 18:13.
C RIC K E T ‘MOST IM P ROV E D ’ F O R RA L P H Ralph Manners (Year 6) won ‘most improved player’ in the Rock U11s awards. They’ve had a brilliant season, winning five of the six games they played. They finished off the season with a game of diamond cricket, children against parents, and the children won that game too.
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Harry signs for Sunderland Gifted footballer, Harry Wood (Year 3) officially signed for the Sunderland AFC Academy. The eight–year–old has been heavily involved with academy football, from the age of four, and attracted interest from Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Sunderland with all three clubs offering him a contract. “I’m very happy to have signed for Sunderland as I really like the coaches and think they got the best out of me,” said Harry. “Being at the academy is a lot of fun and I really enjoy the training sessions.” As part of the Sunderland AFC Academy, Harry is expected to train twice a week and play a match on the weekend. He also gets the chance to meet the Senior 1st team players occasionally and is provided with some nice kit as well. During lockdown, Harry was extremely committed to his football, attending up to four Zoom sessions a week. Following the easing of restrictions, he has played matches against Everton, Manchester United, Wigan, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday. Harry, who is able to play in a number of positions, but prefers the left wing, said: “My favourite match was the away game at Everton because I played really well and enjoyed the challenge.” Speaking about his son’s success, dad, John, said: “It’s been a busy year for Harry as even in lockdown he had technical sessions and conditioning sessions via Zoom. He has worked incredibly hard and we’re very proud of his achievements so far. It’s going to be exciting watching he gets on.” 20 THE REVIEW 2020–21
A N I RU D D H WA L K S 100 MILES Aniruddh Kalluri (Year 3) completed 100 miles of walks between June and Dec 2020. Some of these walks have included the Northumberland Country park including Simonside Hills, Breamish Valley, Bolam Lake, Hadrian Wall, Sycamore, Linhope Spout, The North Berwick Law, Druridge Bay, Herrington Country Park, Chopwell Woods and Thornley Woods. What a fantastic initiative and well done Aniruddh.
EASTER CHALLENGE Mohitha Bonam (Year 3) was awarded a certificate and medal for taking part in the Junior Great Run Solo Accumulator Challenge April 2021, Mohitha successfully completed the required 10 physical activities.
Tennis Ace Scarlett wins tournament Scarlett French (Year 5) became the girls U12 and U10 champion at the annual Cullercoats Lawn Tennis Club tournament.
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DA N I E L W I N S P L AY E R O F T H E Y E A R AWA R D Daniel Hempton (Year 6) was awarded Player of the Year for last season’s U10s at Whitley Bay Rockcliff RFC.
TAY L O R ’ S S P O RT I N G SUCCESS It’s been a great year for Taylor Miller (Year 6) who has enjoyed several sporting achievements. She was selected to trial for Durham County Cricket’s Player Pathway in October. With over 50 girls from across the region trialling, Taylor impressed the selectors with her attitude and style of play and was named in the county Player Pathway programme. She spent the winter season training and developing her skills before taking part in a league competition which saw Durham compete against other northern counties in an U11 league. In May, Taylor gained a place at the Durham County Netball Satellite Academy after impressing at the trials. She was one of 20 girls to be asked to join the academy out of a cohort of 200 who attended the trials during the Easter holidays. Taylor, a talented centre, who has been playing netball for five years, participated in attacking and defensive drills, as well as matches, as part of the rigorous trials and was delighted to receive the coveted red hoodie upon being selected.
Fraser wins prestigious award
Taylor, who also runs for Chester le street AC and North East Project Elite Running programme – focusing on middle distance (800m – 1500m) and Cross Country also competed in the Dalton Park Girls Junior 2K Run. She was so happy to win the event, which was on a very tough course, in awful conditions.
Fraser Hall (Year 6) was awarded the Endeavour Cup by his tennis club, Beverley Park. This is a prestigious award for determination, perseverance, commitment and sportsmanship.
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JUNIOR SCHOOL HOUSE MUSIC House Music Competition Finals took place in the Miller Theatre on 20th May – the final 16 children, painstakingly whittled down from 90 applicants, waited patiently for their time in the spotlight to come.
Year 3 Winner – Allan Zeng
Year 4 Winner – Jeffrey Li
Year 5 Winner – Shuquan Gan
Year 6 The standard of musical performance was quite exceptional, and the unenviable task of selecting a winner for each category fell to our very own Mr Fazlic (Director of Music and Performing Arts in the Senior School). There was clearly hours and hours of practice that had gone into preparing our young performers for this moment!
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Winner – Clara Lingam
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House Cricket All four year groups took part in our House Cricket competition during the second week of October. With small boundaries and short innings, the runs kept flowing as the ball sailed over the boundary line. Our bowlers demonstrated good technique and bowled with pace and accuracy.
SUMMER SWIMMING GALA It was so lovely to finally host a gala again, after almost 16 months, whilst still managing to adhere to all the restrictions! The gala had a Hawaiian beach theme, with races carrying giant ice creams, buckets, and beach balls, amongst other things. To end the event, there was a Dress the Teacher race, where all the items were brought through the pool – we ended up with some very soggy teachers!
H O U S E DA N C E COMPETITION
Year 3 Winner – Emily Smalley Runner Up – George Chen
Year 4 Each student received a dance tutorial to follow and learn each week throughout the second lockdown, they then recorded their performances and sent them in to be judged by Miss Barlow. We were then able to merge all the videos into one big House dance video for each year group.
“Dancing with the feet is one thing, but dancing with the heart is another.” M I K H A I L B A RYS H N I KOV
Winner – Annabel Mableson Runner Up – Nikita Alagar
Year 5 Winner – Amelia Roberts & Ellie Al–Jumaili Runner Up 1 – Hèléne C Runner Up 2 – Bethany Cottee
Year 6 Winner – Akshara Saranga Runner Up – Sophie Waite 23 THE REVIEW 2020–21
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WINNERS Year 3 Results
MILLER CUP O C TO B E R 2020 All Junior School students took part in the Miller Cup cross country event, where they demonstrated their resilience, fitness, and commitment.
Fastest boy – Oliver Smalley Fastest girl – Elizabeth O’Grady
Year 4 Results Fastest boy – Lucas Collins Fastest girl – Emma Barabino
Year 5 Results Fastest boy – Elliott Mee Fastest girl – Emma Blackburn
Year 6 Results Fastest boy – Frankie Foster Fastest girl – Maggie Copland 24 THE REVIEW 2020–21
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S P O RT S DAYS JUNE 2021 This year, we wanted to ensure everyone took part in every single activity and so each year group split into groups to rotate round each event. Track events: 60m/80m sprint, 200m sprint, middle distance run, hurdles, 4 x 50m relays. Field events: Sack race, egg & spoon race, tennis ball throw, skipping, obstacle course, long jump and last but not least, the highly coveted TUG OF WAR!! There was the opportunity for everyone to excel and win points for their House and we couldn’t be more proud of everyone’s determination, energy, and enthusiasm on the day! The smiles and laughter were infectious and the sportsmanship on display was extraordinary.
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Sense of belonging is our first value. Our school community reaches far and wide. With an open mind and with care and respect for those around us, we inspire collaboration, forging connections that last a lifetime. We value our heritage, our roots are important to us and once you’re part of the RGS ‘family’ this experience stays with you. But what comes with our firm roots in Newcastle is an awareness and respect for the community around us, and a desire to grow that community and share our sense of belonging with the wider world. We like to welcome others to our school and we want to do more of exchanging and sharing our ideas and experiences beyond our school walls. We want people to think warmly and positively when they think of the RGS or meet someone from our school. We should always be thinking how we can strengthen these connections. During the 2020/21 academic year, we’re proud of how the whole RGS Community has nurtured this sense of belonging, as you will see in the following pages. 28 THE REVIEW 2020–21
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S O P H I E S E L EC T E D A S YO U T H C A M PA I G N E R O F N AT I O N A L C H A R I T Y Lower Sixth student, Sophie Balmer, was selected as a Youth Campaigner of a national charity. Sophie joined nine other members – aged 15 to 21 – as part of the Magic Breakfast team and will get to make important decisions about future campaigns run by the registered charity. Magic Breakfast works with schools to ensure breakfast is offered to children without stigma. It provides healthy breakfasts to around 167,000 children in England and Scotland during normal term time, in over 960 primary, secondary and Special Educational Needs schools, plus Pupil Referral Units. “It’s just the beginning but I am very excited as we have so much planned and I will get to make some important decisions going forward,” said Sophie. “Nothing is set in stone but we’re thinking that our first campaign should have a mental health aspect to it, especially given what is going on at the moment with the pandemic.” Sophie started campaigning last year for Bite Back 2030, during the country’s first lockdown when the Government took the decision to stop free school meal vouchers. Having relied on this support in the past, Sophie knew that she couldn’t stand by without speaking up about this issue. “I’ve always been taught that the problems are too big for me to fix but I am determined to play my part and give back,” said Sophie. “I’ve learned it’s important to set small but achievable goals at the beginning, so that when you reach them you feel a great sense of pride which helps you not to give up.”
“We need change and I know a lot of people who don’t have the voice or confidence to speak up. I’ve been so lucky with how everything has panned out for me and I need to use my voice to speak up for others now and in the future.” SOPHIE BALMER
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O L D N OVO S R U N H A L F M A R AT H O N I N M E M O RY O F C L A S S M AT E ’ S FAT H E R Four members of the Class of 2013 joined their friend and former classmate, Tom Clark, (03–13) to run a half marathon on Sunday 13th September 2020, in memory of Tom’s father. Peter Clark sadly passed away in December 2019, following a brief spell of very aggressive prostate cancer. With the race cancelled due to Covid–19, Tom and his friends, Chris Robson (03–13), Ishan Deshpande (03–13), Thomas Gholkar (03–13) and Anish Dhir (11–13) decided to complete their own Great North Run (GNR) – along the Derwent Walk and ending at the Millennium Bridge – to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK. The friends also made a cash donation to local cancer support charity, Daft as a Brush, which provided lifts for Peter to his chemo appointments. Speaking about the support from his friends, Tom, said: “I don’t think you could ask for a more considerate or genuine show of support. As we are long–term friends, who grew up and all went to school together, they all knew my Dad really well. My Dad was very invested in raising funds for charity and ran the GNR five or six times himself.”
RGS collaborates with Schools North East to deliver virtual training across the region Schools across the region took part in a virtual TeachMeet training session hosted by RGS and Schools North East. As the oldest school in the city, we worked with the first and only school–led regional network in the UK, collaborating to present the EdNorth event, which focused on how teachers are incorporating elements of traditional classroom teaching with new, remote learning strategies. Over 30 schools were represented at the online session, which featured a mixture of interactive, live and pre–recorded material provided by RGS staff. Head of Digital Technology and Computer Science, Chris Wilde, headlined the event with a presentation about Japanese Logic Problems and how he has integrated these into Class Notebooks. Head of Art, Graham Mason, spoke about his experience of leading the Art Department through remote teaching, John shared his thoughts about the lessons learned so far from remote teaching and Andy Pulham, Head of Science, led an interactive session on Socrative. Two Junior School teachers, Helen Close and Rachel Towers, also provided a video on how they have been using Microsoft Forms.
R E C YC L E –A– R E A D As part of our partnerships work, throughout the year we made reading links with other primary and secondary schools in the wider Newcastle area. During the summer term we asked all students and staff to bring in one book from home that they have enjoyed and were willing to pass on for another child to enjoy. Those donating books were also asked to write a short review about the book on a post–it note so that the person receiving it would have an idea what the book was about. In total we were able to donate two large boxes of books. 30 THE REVIEW 2020–21
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RG S ST U D E N TS MAKE THEIR MARK Theo named in Queen’s Birthday Honours Lower Sixth student, Theo Wride was the youngest person named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for the contributions he made to the community during the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. Theo received a British Empire Medal (BEM) “for services to the community and keyworkers in Sunderland during Covid–19.” The 16–year–old gave hundreds of hours of his time designing and creating protective face coverings for his parents, both medical professionals, and their colleagues as well as care home staff up and down the country. He used the 3D printer he had at home to produce the face coverings. The not–so–simple task involved melting plastic and then extruding this into the face visor shape. At the start, Theo was making four visors a day, before fine–tuning some of the settings to allow for production to increase to six/seven. With demand for his visors increasing due to the PPE shortage across the NHS and Care sectors, Theo successfully raised £3,000 through a crowdfunding campaign enabling him to increase his production to 70 visors in 24 hours thanks to the addition of new materials and printers.
In November, our students were encouraged to use their voices to discuss the important issues that are affecting their generation as they took part in the Youth Parliament’s ‘Make Your Mark’ campaign. Make Your Mark is an opportunity for 11–18–year olds across the UK to have their say and begin their democratic journey by voting on the policies they want to introduce or change. The issues they vote as the most important will be debated by Members of Youth Parliament. They will campaign to influence the UK Parliament and their local representatives, ensuring that the views of young people are listened to by decision makers. Lower Sixth student, Abi Tang, a current Member of Youth Parliament debated the issues voted on in The Commons, albeit virtually. She proposed one of the motions on this year’s ballot, the take action on the climate emergency motion. Speaking about the Make Your Mark campaign, Abi, said: “Make Your Mark is so important to young people; now more than ever. Young people will forever remember how their generation were affected by the pandemic.”
“Make Your Mark gives us the opportunity to be heard during this time of uncertainty. As tomorrow’s leaders, our voices must be heard and now is that chance!” A B I TA N G
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UCAS Delivers Careers Talk As we started the year, and Autumn term, our Upper Sixth students were the first to experience a new way of delivering careers talks, with half of them seated in the Miller Theatre, and half seated in their classroom bubbles watching the talk via a live–streamed link. This talk on UCAS was vital for students as they prepared to submit their UCAS applications in the Autumn term.
RG S C O M M U N I T Y ‘ WA K E S U P ’ TO M E N TA L H E A LT H AWA R E N E S S In what was perhaps one of the best collaborations of the year, the RGS Family – parents, governors and members of staff came ‘together’ to perform the poignant ‘Wake me up!’ by Avicii. After what was a very tough year for many people within our community, we wanted to highlight the need to look after our mental health and share the ways we look after ours. The video proved to be a success.
S P O RT S D E PA RT M E N T G E T A C L E A N S H AV E F O R M OV E M B E R Four members of staff in our Sport department raised over £1,000 by taking part in Movember. Ben Wollerton, Oliver Young, Lewis Herbertson and John Wood raised money by growing a moustache in support of medical research, groundbreaking tests and trials, life–changing men’s health programs and innovative treatments.
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R U G BY 1 S T X V R U N TO T W I C K E N H A M FOR CHARITY 20 members (10 forwards, 10 backs) of the RGS 1stXV squad raised £4,725 by running 1124 miles over 10 days, averaging 5.62 miles per day, per person. The distance of 1,124 miles represents the distance from Newcastle to Twickenham (twice). All the funds raised went towards the Movember Foundation which raises awareness for men’s health issues.
A LEVEL STUDENTS DISCUSS ECONOMICS W I T H G OV E R N O R OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND
COVID–19 Vaccine Virtual Talk
Thanks to the North East England Chamber of Commerce, two of our A Level Economics students were given the opportunity to join a special session with Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England in September.
Dr Tom Klenka, a molecular biologist, works for a British biotech company that through 2020 worked with many of the major pharmaceutical companies involved in developing and producing global vaccines against the pandemic COVID–19 virus.
The students were able to participate in a fascinating discussion on the global, national and regional economic changes currently taking place.
The Biology Department was delighted to offer Sixth Form and Year 11 students the opportunity to take part in a virtual talk from one of the scientists working on the COVID–19 vaccine.
More specifically his company provided key safety testing services to allow the safe release of millions of vaccine doses all around the world and he personally set up the safety regiment for a global vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. During the talk, Dr Klenka spoke to students about the various types of vaccine in development, how vaccines are manufactured and how companies ensure vaccines are safe. At the end of the talk, students were given the chance to ask their own questions to Dr Klenka. 33 THE REVIEW 2020–21
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YEAR 9 RUNNERS RAISE A L M O ST £ 3 ,0 0 0 F O R CANCER RESEARCH UK During the January lockdown, a group of Year 9 friends raised almost £3,000 for Cancer Research UK (CRUK) by running an impressive 456 miles in one day. Each runner from the group of 19 completed 24 miles in 24 hours ensuring they hit the collective target they had set themselves. The students chose to raise money for CRUK as a result of several members of the group having personal experience of someone close to them being diagnosed with cancer. They understand the crucial role the charity plays in improving the treatment to all patients around the UK to make their experience better and wanted to show their appreciation and support. Speaking about the decision to set up the challenge, Alex Searro, said: “I feel it is really important to raise money for charities this year, as they have been hard hit by the pandemic and are struggling to gather donations from their usual sources. With many events such as the Great North Run being cancelled, I thought I would do my part this lockdown to help raise some funds.” Given the nature of the challenge, the students admitted that the hardest part was pacing themselves in order to complete their individual 24 mile distance, however they all agreed the hard work was worth it when they saw the number of donations they had received. Runners: Zuhair Abdullah, Ben Gilroy, James Hewson, Matthew Jackson, Jonny Johansen, Aydan Jones, Rory Linkleter, Patrick Magil, Alastair McClure, Joseph McMinn, Musa Nawaz, Idris Pritchard, Lewis Reilly, Nico Savic, Alex Searro, Olly Tailford, Drew Taylor, Sam Wardle, Luke Wintrip.
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TO P M AT H S ST U D E N T S J O I N N AT I O N A L M E N TO R I N G PROGRAMME Sixteen of RGS’s finest Lower Sixth Maths students became mentors as part of a national scheme. The mathematicians joined the Colet Mentoring initiative, an online tutoring programme, designed to provide students across the UK with free 1:1 academic support, all via an app. A partnership between EasyA, St Paul’s and St Paul’s Girls’ School in London, the Colet Mentoring initiative launched at the height of lockdown in Summer 2020 and has so far delivered over 700 sessions of free help to students across the country. Speaking about the importance of RGS students joining the programme, Director of Partnerships, John Smith, said: “We were keen to find a way to support students in our area but in such a way as to get around the physical restrictions of COVID, therefore an online tutoring programme fits the bill.
Chris Lubbe Inspires the
“It is vital that our students look beyond the school walls to interact and support their local community, particularly in times like this.” The scheme ran until the end of the academic year and saw students aged 11–16, offered a dedicated one–hour slot each day when they knew mentors would be online and available. If they were stuck on a question, they took a screenshot and sent it through to mentors via the app. One of the mentors would pick it up and talk the mentee through the question – via teaching prompts rather than just ‘telling the answer’.
In March, as part of an extended assembly, RGS students, parents and staff heard from the most phenomenal guest speaker, Chris Lubbe. He served as a close aide to Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, FW De Klerk and Colin La Foy and spoke passionately about South Africa’s journey from apartheid to democracy and his lifelong work to end discrimination. Our whole community was blown away by Chris’ thoughtful presentation, one student even shared “I’m just wondering if this is a miracle because it’s my birthday and Chris is one of the most inspirational people I’ve ever heard.” Thank you Chris Lubbe for lighting the hearts and minds of our community. 35 THE REVIEW 2020–21
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Love for learning is our second value. In a happy environment where people can be themselves, we teach and learn in diverse and surprisingly different ways. By exploring our passions, we have the freedom to bring specialist knowledge to life, supporting creativity, encouraging self–expression and truly nurturing academic promise. We encourage everyone to enjoy school and to have the freedom to learn and teach how they feel will bring out the best in themselves and those around them. There are times when learning and teaching is tough and challenging but if we can support and encourage self expression and bring a positive approach to each day, we believe we can make the school a warmer and happier place to be for everyone. The following pages highlight some, but certainly not all, of the ways our students have expressed their love for learning. 36 THE REVIEW 2020–21
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RGS Newcastle named North East Independent School of the Decade In December, we were thrilled to be named The Sunday Times North East Independent School of the Decade by Parent Power, The Sunday Times Schools Guide. Published in The Sunday Times and online, Parent Power is widely acknowledged as the most authoritative survey of the country’s best schools. The 28th edition of Parent Power identified the 2,000 highest–achieving schools in the UK, ranked by their most recently published examination results, and honours the top school in each region. Alastair McCall, editor of Parent Power, said: “RGS Newcastle is hands down the top–achieving school in North East England, the only independent school to rank well inside the UK top 75 every year in the past decade. Our North East Independent Secondary School of the Decade award recognises the consistent academic excellence that every year sees close to 90% of A Level grades achieve A*, A and B. The RGS Junior School is no slouch either, never ranking below 15th and regularly in the top 10 nationally.” “RGS Newcastle’s contribution to the region goes much wider, however, with a lengthy list of former pupils who have made a major impact on civic life. The school is committed to making itself accessible to as many families as possible, and around 6% of children are on bursaries, the majority covering full fees, supported by a successful and ongoing Bursary Campaign.”
“Whether in the classroom, concert hall or on the cricket pitch, RGS makes an impact across all aspects of school life and sets a benchmark for the rest.” Geoffrey Stanford, Headmaster of RGS Newcastle, said: “To be recognised by The Sunday Times as a much coveted ‘School of the Decade’ is an incredible honour; we are amongst exceptional company alongside the very best independent schools in the country. We are rightly proud of our consistently outstanding public examination results, the product of our students’ hard work and determination plus the expertise and encouragement of our staff.” It is so important for the prosperity of the region, that the North East has such a high performing school which has produced Old Novocastrians who are making a huge impact on the region’s economy, health and culture. Not only is the North East one of the most beautiful places in the country to live, it is also one of the best places to learn, to build businesses and to make a difference in the world. Mr Stanford added: “We are indebted to generations of pupils, parents and staff, who for almost 500 years have contributed a component part to establish RGS Newcastle as the North East Independent School of the Decade. As proud Headmaster, I very much look forward to building on this phenomenal heritage, and continuing to drive achievement, ambition and impact in our amazing region.”
“It is right that independent schools are celebrated for doing good, as much as they are applauded for doing well.” G EO F F R E Y STA N F O R D 37 THE REVIEW 2020–21
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YEAR 8 COMPUTER MAKE SEMI–FINAL S OF CYBERFIRST GIRLS COMPETITION “Our work into getting more girls into technology has led us to develop a number of initiatives focused around inspiring young women into tech. The hard work of Miss Toyah Banerjee, Basma Gharib, Janice Kuang Lynn to organise initiatives such as Cyber First Girls, First Lego League and the Perse Coding and Chalida Prapunwong represented the Challenge is helping us to develop our young RGS on Friday 19th March, where they battled ladies’ confidence in their cyber skills.” against teams from across the region for a place in the Grand Final. Run by the National Cyber Security Centre, content for each category of the competition The Year 8 girls were one of 1,625 teams who is consistent with subjects within the entered the national competition, working Computer Science syllabus from both remotely over 10 days to solve challenges in the National Curriculum and Scotland’s Cryptography, Networking, Programming Curriculum for Excellence. However, the and Logic. competition also contains some advanced cyber topics that are not covered in traditional Each challenge was scored based on how education but seek to stretch the lateral correct answers were, with different levels thinking and additional cyber knowledge of difficulty and varying numbers of points of the teams. available. The teams could also see their percentage completion for the competition as a whole and for each section. Four of our computer studies students made it to the semi–final of this year’s CyberFirst Girls competition.
“We are fantastically happy and proud of the progress of our super Year 8 girls.” H E A D O F D I G I TA L T EC H N O L O GY & COMPUTER SCIENCE, CHRIS WILDE
OX B R I D G E SUCCESS FOR L A N G UAG E S T U D E N TS Two of our Modern Languages students were delighted to learn they had gained Oxbridge places – Helen Edwards to read German & Classics at Oxford, and Lucy Thompson (Head Girl) to read MML (Spanish/ French) at Cambridge. Ms Sykes & Mr Metcalf provided tailored tuition to our hopefuls in person and remotely via Teams. Well done to the students! 38 THE REVIEW 2020–21
LINGUISTS L E A R N W H AT I T ’ S L I K E TO S T U DY A B R OA D Our Modern Languages and Careers Departments collaborated in the spring term when they held a remote, bespoke ‘A Star Future’ talk and Q & A. Host, Mark Huntington, who is an ON and CEO of the company spoke to approximately 100 students via Zoom. The presentation focused on the benefits of university study abroad. Mark also hosted a talk on American Universities a few days later, which many of our students attended, too.
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2 0 2 0 B I O L O GY O LY M P I A D SUCCESS Organised by the Royal Society of Biology, a number of our students did particularly well in the competition, with one of our students, Daniel Prime (Upper Sixth) awarded gold – an extremely rare feat indeed! The Olympiad sees talented biology students across the country complete two virtual multiple–choice answer quizzes under exam conditions. Those who score top marks are awarded with certificates. This year we had one student achieve gold, four achieve silver, three bronze, one highly commended and three commended. Well done to all the students who have been awarded certificates.
Results Gold – Daniel Prime (Upper Sixth)
Bronze – Christopher Van Der Merwe (all Upper Sixth)
Silver – Sree Kanakala, Emily Scott–Bromly, George John, Molly Rudd (all Upper Sixth)
Highly commended – Gemma Lant (Upper Sixth)
Bronze – Matthew Deehan, Ollie Longstaff
Commended – Natasha Berkley, Gabrielle Dawson, Megan Cottee (all Upper Sixth)
SIXTH FORM C H E M I S T S E N J OY O LY M P I A D S U C C E S S In March, seven of our Sixth Form students took part in the UK Chemistry Olympiad. The students completed a challenging two hour paper, and to achieve certification is a superb achievement – with only 9% of total entries achieving Gold, including RGS student, Cayman Osei–Bonsai. Designed to challenge and inspire, the UK Chemistry Olympiad is the leading chemistry competition for students in secondary education across the British Isles. This enriching experience is a unique opportunity for students to push themselves further and excel in the chemistry field. Budding chemists develop critical problem–solving skills, learn to think more creatively and get a chance to test their knowledge in new, real–world situations. Speaking about the success, Head of Chemistry, Natalie Wright, said: “These really are fantastic results, particularly for the Year 12 students, as the competition is aimed at Year 13. Well done to all the students for their hard work!”
Lower Sixth results Silver – Adam Mumtaz Silver – Gautam Chauhan
Upper Sixth results Gold – Cayman Osei–Bonsai Silver – Oliver Longstaff Silver – Aarayan Dharmadhikari Bronze – Christopher Van Der Merwe Bronze – Jacquetta Stevens 39 THE REVIEW 2020–21
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A R KW R I G H T SCHOLARSHIPS SUCCESS FOR L OW E R S I X T H STUDENTS
ST U D E N TS AC H I E V E G O L D STA N DA R D I N B E B RA S C H A L L E N G E
Seven RGS Lower Sixth students were successful in their applications for an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship following an extensive application process. An Arkwright Engineering Scholarship is the most esteemed scholarship of its type in the UK, designed to inspire students to pursue their dreams and change the world as a future leader in engineering. Scholarships are awarded to hard–working 16–year old students through a rigorous selection process, supporting them through their A Levels. Each Scholar receives a personal financial reward of £600, personal development, support from their sponsor, a dedicated Engineering mentor, and invitations to industry and university events. This year, we had an impressive seven Lower Sixth students who were successful in their applications and were Arkwright Scholars for the forthcoming year: The process that all the students went through is rigorous with an application, interview and two–hour exam. Head of Engineering, Design and Technology, Pete Warne, said: “I am delighted to see such a high number of students be recognised for their hard work in STEM subjects and awarded an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship.
In the autumn term, RGS students from Year 6 right the way through to Upper Sixth participated in the annual Bebras Challenge, with four students achieving the best scores in Tyne and Wear. Bebras is an international initiative aiming to promote Informatics (Computer Science, or Computing) and computational thinking among school students at all ages. This year, there were over 124,000 entrants across the country. Logical reasoning and computational thinking are encouraged through our computing curriculum, and it is great to see so many of our students achieving the top award. We had 507 students enter this year, with 149 achieving the Gold standard. This means 30% of our students ranked in the top 10% of all participants in the challenge. This included 14 from our Junior School. Luke Cadamy and Solomon McLean (both Year 7) were best in the county in the Junior category, David Baker (Year 8) top scored in the Intermediate category and Weiming Xu (Year 10) in the Seniors category. David and Weiming were both just one correct answer away from being placed in the top 60 participants nationally. All 149 students who achieved the gold standard have been invited by Oxford University to participate in their computing challenge which took place in February.
“This group is extremely talented and will fully appreciate the support and guidance that their sponsors Reece Foundation and Ward and Burke will provide them.”
Arkwright Scholarships: Faizah Ashraf – sponsored by the Reece Foundation
Jess Slater – sponsored by Ward and Burke
Phillip Daniel – sponsored by the Reece Foundation
Thomas Smail – sponsored by the Reece Foundation
Pranav Gajawada – sponsored by the Reece Foundation
Theo Wride – sponsored by the Reece Foundation
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H A R RY AC H I E V E S FULL MARKS FOR HIS EPQ Harry Baldwin (Upper Sixth) was delighted to achieve full marks in his Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), which he chose because of his love of music, science and art and his ambition to study architecture.
RGS recognised by cyber experts for first–rate teaching We were delighted to receive CyberFirst Schools status for our excellent cyber security teaching. As one of 14 institutions across the UK, we were awarded silver status for showing excellence in cyber security teaching by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). The programme recognises schools and colleges that can show their dedication to inspiring the next generation of cyber security experts and addressing the UK’s cyber skills gap. Speaking about the award, Geoffrey Stanford, Headmaster, said: “We are delighted to have received recognition from the National Cyber Security Centre for our Computer Science provision at the RGS and how the subject is able to inspire and motivate our pupils. “We recognise the importance of having a thorough grounding in the discipline and we anticipate that it may provide the foundation for a future career for many young people.” The CyberFirst Schools programme was launched in 2020 and successful schools have been able to demonstrate a range of work aimed at engaging students, including offering lunchtime coding clubs, sessions where students could pitch Internet of Things concepts, and running projects linking computing to medical sciences.
Harry’s EPQ focused on the interplay between music and architecture and whether he could create a piece of music from an architectural standpoint, focusing on both phenomenological (qualitative) experiences and mathematical (quantitative) data. He chose to create a piece of music based on the buildings of the RGS because he has such a personal understanding of the space. Harry chose areas of the school which were most important to him and created the structure of the music based on the order in which he typically travelled through the school. He also recorded the sounds of fellow students walking around the school, chatter and sounds from the sports pitches. “Architecture, to me, is encapsulated by much more than simply buildings, but by the life within the building,” said Harry. “RGS holds a great significance for me and has been important to my development during the ten years I have been a student there. During this time, I have also seen development of the school buildings. “With regards to the architecture of RGS, I believe for it to fully represent the community of people, culture and history of the school, the music must have a strong phenomenological thread.”
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R E N OW N E D CLASSICS P RO F E S S O R H O STS L I V E TA L K Edith Hall, a Professor in the Classics Department at King’s College London, visited the school in September to deliver a talk on ‘Women in the Ancient World’ to our Lower Sixth students. Edith is a world leader in the study of ethnicity, class and gender in ancient sources, of ancient theatre, and of the instrumentality of ancient ideas in world culture since the Renaissance. She has published thirty books, broadcasts frequently on radio and television, works as consultant with professional theatres, lectures all over the world, and publishes widely in academic and mainstream journals and newspapers. Following the talk, Edith attended a Q&A with Upper Sixth students interested in studying something classical at university.
C H E M I ST S T U R N H O M E S I N TO SCIENCE LABS Being in a lockdown didn’t stop our Sixth Form chemists from carrying out their practical work. They turned their homes into science labs as they performed a home colorimetry experiment.
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M U S I C I A N S AC H I E V E ABRSM SUCCESS This year, our talented musicians achieved another set of fantastic results in their ABRSM exams across both the Junior and Senior school. Below is a summary of the awards: 4 distinctions 7 Merit Grades (1 Merit Diploma Grade) – 3 Senior School and 3 Junior School 18 Pass Grades – 9 Senior School and 9 Junior School
Senior School Distinction Awards: Lola Fazlic – (Year 10) Violin, Grade 6 Jessica Yang – (Year 9) Violin, Grade 8 Hannah Z – (Year 8) Piano, Grade 8
Junior School Distinction Awards: Rory Clappison – (Year 5) Clarinet, Grade 1
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Year 7 Computer Science students make national finals A team of five Year 7 Computer Science students made it to the finals of a national competition.
WW1 RECORDS BRING Y E A R 9 H I STO RY L E S S O N TO L I F E Our Year 9 students made the most of having an on–site school archive to help them learn about WW1 records. Working in groups, they got to learn what life was like in 1914 through reading letters and postcards from serving soldiers and looking at copies of the Roll of Honour for those who have fallen, including a larger one for all RGS former students (ONs) and staff who had served. They saw a ‘Memento of the Signing of the Great Peace on June 28th 1919’, given to all school pupils in Newcastle and read copies of the Novocastrian magazines to see the impact of the war on the boys. They also looked through Newspaper cuttings relating to Colonel Robinson, a PE teacher at RGS, and WW1 soldier, and correspondence concerning pupil behaviour, particularly with regard to corporal punishment. It was a fascinating way to bring history to life for the class.
Nicholas Ojomaikre, Misheel Mendbayar, Sofia Walker, Luke Dornan and Jasmine Guan entered the PA Consulting Raspberry Pi Competition in April and were selected as finalists to attend the (virtual) Awards Day in May. The annual competition – now in its ninth year – promotes STEM education by challenging schoolchildren to invent systems that could benefit society using their engineering and coding skills. For this year’s competition, 8 to 18 year–olds were challenged to design technology to help create a positive future for everyone as we come out of an unprecedented period of uncertainty. Pizza Incredibles – as the team is known – chose to tackle the issue of how to minimise the spread of viruses and have developed a visor that automatically lowers when you’re within two metres of another person. The prototype consists of a visor attached to a helmet that houses an ultrasonic distancing sensor, servo, buzzer and battery. The team programmed the ultrasonic sensor to activate the servo and lower the visor whenever the person wearing it is within two meters of someone. The buzzer also makes a noise when the wearer gets within two metres of someone, to encourage social distancing. Unlike masks we have all become accustomed to wearing, the visor is more comfortable and doesn’t restrict breathing, meaning more people can use it.
UPPER SIXTH DRAMA ST U D E N T S R E T U R N TO T H E In May, after such a long time away from the stage, we were lucky to enjoy a performance in our Miller Theatre as our talented A Level Drama students performed their devised exam play.
Speaking about the team’s success, Computer Science teacher, Miss Lynn, said: “I’m delighted that the team have been selected as finalists. The students worked incredibly hard on this project, despite their progress being interrupted by lockdown, and pulled together to get their submission finished on time. I hope this will inspire more of our students to get involved next year!”
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M OT H E R TO N G U E , OT H E R TO N G U E A number of students were awarded certificates for their entries in Mother Tongue, Other Tongue, a competition that was part of the NE Festival of Languages held before Easter.
SOLAR ECLIPSE On June 10th, students enjoyed some learning outside the classroom as they viewed a partial eclipse. They even managed to take a sun image on their phones through solar viewing glasses!
The competition was split into two categories: Mother Tongue where students were asked to write in their Mother Tongue either an original poem, or a memory of a poetic text (a song, nursery rhyme, lullaby, poem) from their early life. They also had to write up to 100 words in English to explain why they had written/chosen the text and its personal importance. Other Tongue where students were asked to write an original poem in a language they study. They also had to write up to 100 words in English to explain why they had written the text and its personal importance. RGS had around 50 entries across the two categories, with the following students receiving certificates:
Mother Tongue
Other Tongue
Prachi Arora – Y7 – Hindi
Zuhair Abdullah – Y9 – French
Sara Brizzi – Y9 – Italian
Izzy Goldberg – Y9 – French
Ilayda Kucukmetin – Y9 – Turkish
Lara Elliott – Y9 – French
Jasmine Mohammed – Y9 – Arabic
Ayesha Bajwa – L6 – Ancient Greek
Anushka Taribagil – Y9 – Hindi Alexia Ward – Y9 – Polish Ayesha Bajwa – L6 – Urdu
O L D N OVO S H A R E S UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE Old Novo, Matthew Clark (08–17) held a virtual session with the Sixth form Classics society in February, in which he shared his experiences of studying Classics at Oxford, including a useful Q&A session. Matthew also conducted an interactive presentation on a text he was studying, linking it to texts the Lower Sixth were studying which students found very helpful.
Barry the robot brings Year 10s First Lego League success It was another successful year in First Lego League Robotics for our Computer Science Department and students. Yet another trophy was added to the cabinet, with our Year 10 team’s famous robot “Barry” winning the Robot Design element in the regional finals. Really well done to all involved in Robokai this year, with special mentions for Year 10 students Shreya G, Parul Tiwari, Chloe Green, Lucia Baker, Amy Zheng and Gina Elliott, the founding members of RGS Robotics.
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H E X R AC E I N TO Hex Racing came in poll position to represent the North East in the National Finals of the prestigious F1 in Schools Competition. One of the two RGS teams who entered this year’s virtual competition, Hex Racing, consisting of Year 9 and 10 students, earned themselves a spot in the National Finals in early October having been pitted against World Finalists from Yorkshire in the newly created ‘Regionals: The NORTH’. F1 in Schools the only global multi–disciplinary challenge in which teams of students aged 9 to 19 deploy CAD/CAM software to collaborate, design, analyse, manufacture, test, and then race miniature compressed air powered cars made from F1 model block. Lower Sixth team, Igneous Racing, were not so lucky but all members of the team were awarded a Gold CREST for their entry– an award that formally recognises their independent work in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics. Speaking about the teams’ success at regional level, Head of Physics, Dr Houchin, said: “Both teams have done extraordinary well despite the disruptions we have had this year. “They have risen to the challenges they have faced and developed the skills required to work effectively as a team, without meeting in person.”
HEX RACING:
IGNEOUS RACING:
Henry Young – Y10
Tom Smail – Y12
Rob Gold – Y10
Theo Wride – Y12
Jacob Colbeck – Y10
Fraser Davies – Y12
Aidan Lord – Y10
Naveen Naru – Y12
Will Kelly – Y9
Phillip Daniel – Y12
Alexandra Quinton – Y12
Alexandra Quinton – Y12
ST U D E N TS C O M P E T E I N N AT I O N A L F I N A L S O F T H E OX F O R D COMPUTING CHALLENGE Two of our students made it to the national finals of the Oxford Computing Challenge. Archit Upadhye and Oliver Marks represented the school at this stage of the competition for the first time, as two of 20 students in the country to make it to the finals. Round 1, which took place in February, saw Year 6 student, Archit, qualify out of 2,713 Year 6 and Year 7 students while Oliver, Lower Sixth, qualified out of 584 Sixth Form students. Speaking about his achievement, Archit, said: “Round 1 was challenging and really tested my practice! I have learned lots about computing during the preparation for the event and getting to Round 2 feels so surreal; I can’t believe I managed to get through.” The Oxford University Computing Challenge is an invitation event which aims to encourage students who have achieved a top 10% score in the UK Bebras Challenge to develop their skills further and produce programmed solutions to computational thinking problems. Participants have 60 minutes to answer as many of the 12 problems given to them as possible, across three levels of difficulty. Juniors and Intermediates could answer all of the questions in Blockly while Seniors and Elites had to use a text– based language for at least some of the questions. Section A questions are the most straight forward and each test a single skill. Section B are more complex and test a combination of multiple skills. Section C are the most difficult and are extended questions. “We are extremely proud of the progress our young people are making in their computational thinking skills,” said Chris Wilde, Head of Digital Technology & Computer Science. “Challenges like the OUCC give our students the opportunity to demonstrate how awesome they are. We celebrate all who participated and extend a huge congratulations to Oliver and Archit for their achievement.”
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Belief in each other is our third value. There are no limits to what we can achieve when we work hard, support and look out for each other. Through a shared belief, we appreciate and celebrate everyone’s achievements. With well–being at the heart of everything we do, our warm and caring culture helps nurture confidence and develop all of the skills needed for a successful and happy life. This is a place where we care about one another, a nurturing environment where we look out for each other and we want everyone to do as well as they can. We work hard in everything we do and we expect others to do the same, but with that hard work comes a level of support and nurture. We are encouraging and inspire the confidence, hope and self–belief to achieve. Through House Competitions, Sports and Performing Arts our community is truly able to demonstrate a belief in each other. 46 THE REVIEW 2020–21
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STUDENTS COMPETE I N N AT I O N A L V I RT UA L S P O RT S F I X T U R E RGS students joined around 500 others from around the country to take part in a virtual sports event – helping the north take first place. The event, which took place on the last weekend in February, saw our students join forces with other students from schools in the north to compete against teams from schools in the south. Combing with Ashville College and Giggleswick School, RGS participants took on a variety of running, cycling and walking challenges against King’s College Wimbledon, St Paul’s School and Dulwich College, with the aim of contributing towards the top five times and distances.
1
Speaking about the competition, Deputy Director of Sport & Head of Boys Games, Mr Chadwick, said: “Collaboration across the country, between schools, has never been more evident than through the pandemic. Therefore, to team up with other like–minded establishments to compete in a friendly fixture with schools in the south, we felt we had something to engage students to get active. st
“Our ultimate aim was to encourage our students and their families to get active. Allowing them an excuse to get outside and active by running, cycling or walking in the absence of gyms and other such communal facilities was perfect.” The final results were as follows:
Run
Bike
Walk
Year 3
North
South
North
Year 4
South
South
South
Year 5
North
South
South
Year 6
South
South
South
Year 7
South
North
North
Year 8
South
North
Draw
Year 9
South
North
South
Year 10
South
North
North
Year 11
North
North
North
Year 12
South/ South
North
North
North
South
Year 13
North
North
North
17
16
Overall Points
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L AU RA C A L L E D UP FOR ENGLAND HOCKEY In June, Year 10 hockey star, Laura Cottee, was called up to the England U16 Girls Hockey Team. The Midfielder made the final selection after passing various assessments including drills on different parts of the game, 11–aside matches and a 10pitch length fitness test. Laura, who started playing hockey in Year 3, was part of the squad that played matches against Nottingham University, on Saturday 5th June and against Wales and Scotland in July. “I am really looking forward to playing some really high–quality hockey games and training and working hard to show my hockey skills.” As part of the national team, Laura completed a weekly physical strength and running programme and also experienced day and overnight camps with her teammates. Head of Hockey, Mr Wood, said: “After an exceptionally challenging year, Laura has remained focused, worked hard and achieved her goal.” “She has done amazingly to reach the England U16 team at such a young age and I hope she enjoys the opportunity of representing her country this summer. Hopefully, this is just the beginning and more is yet to come as she improves.”
“It’s really exciting to have been selected to play for my country” L AU R A C OT T E E
DA N I E L R S A I L S I N TO REGIONAL TEAM Windsurfer, Daniel Read, was picked to represent the region at this year’s “Eric Twiname” regatta. Daniel, who has been windsurfing for five years, will head to the Lake District this summer, to compete in the two–day competition which is being held on Bassenthwaite Lake. The Year 9 student is one of three Northern windsurfers in the “small sails” (4.5 square metres) section and will compete against the other eight teams which make up the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Regional Groups. Daniel – who was invited to apply after winning bronze in his sail–size at a national championship in 2019 – learned to windsurf with his mum who is also a keen surfer and has been following the “T15” programme designed to encourage young windsurfers. Speaking about the competition, Daniel, who surfs with the “Kielder Kestrels” club and on Ladyburn Lake, said: “This is my first year being in a regional group and I’m really excited to have been invited. “I have been training with the team most weekends since lockdown allowed, in venues from the Wirral, to Bridlington, via the Peak District (jointly with the Midlands group), on lakes, reservoirs, lagoons, and the sea, in all types of conditions from flat–calm to a minor gale. “I have had to give up all my other weekend activities to fit it all in, but I don’t regret the commitment at all.”
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RIDERS JUMP THEIR WAY I N TO N AT I O N A L CHAMPIONSHIPS The RGS Riding Club qualified for the National Championships after enjoying success at the prestigious Belsay International Horse Trials. Five riders took part in the event, with Libby Chrisp (Lower Sixth), Jessie Combe (Year 10), Ruby Naylor (Year 10), and Bea Chin (Year 7) competing as a team, and Sophie Duns (Year 10) as an individual, all in show jumping classes. Taking the decision not to go for speed in the 85cm class, paid off for the team who came first in what is considered the most competitive class, with two of the four riders getting a clear round. The girls also created Riding Club history by becoming the first team to ever win a class at Belsay. In the individual competition, Sophie rode a beautiful clear round and narrowly missed out on qualification. Speaking about their success, club leader, Mrs Hutchinson, said: “This was the all–time best performance by the Riding Club and we’re thrilled with the result as we weren’t expecting to win. “We enjoy entering these competitions for fun but this was a delightful surprise.” Around 185 riders from 16 different schools in the North took part in the Belsay International Horse Trials and the win for the team means they will head to Buckinghamshire in October to take part in the National Championships.
L O L A E XC I T E D TO M A K E A S P L A S H I N H AWA I I Upper Sixth swimmer, Lola Davison, made a verbal commitment to The University of Hawaii for its Class of 2026. The talented distance swimmer will head to the Aloha State in September 2022 where she will become part of a 40–member swim team which boasts around 13 different nationalities. In April, the University of Hawaii claimed the 2021 MPSF Conference Championships title. Lola’s converted times would have placed her in the top eight of the 100, 200, and 500 free. Her top times would have made her the team’s third–fastest 100 freestyler and its second–fastest 200 and 500 freestyler. Speaking about her university choice, Lola, said: “The University of Hawaii has a really good distance programme and I thought it would be a place where I will be really happy. “Obviously I think the weather and beaches will be incredible, but I am really excited about meeting new people and making friends from around the world. I also can’t wait to try surfing.” Lola – who started her career at baby swim classes in Byker where she now trains fulltime – is taking a gap year after her A Levels and graduation from the RGS Class of 2021. During these 12 months, she will train full time with her coach, Ryan Livingstone, but also plans to head out to Hawaii for a couple of weeks to meet her future team mates. As a student at the University, Lola hopes to study psychology or sports psychology, and will have to fit her studies around a gruelling training schedule which will see her train 9 times a week in a mixture of morning and evening sessions. However, she will be offered personal support in how to manage her time. Lola trains year–round with Newcastle Swim Club and at the 2018 British Championships, she earned gold in the 400m/800m free and silver in the 200m free. In 2019, she won the 800m free and was the runner–up in the 400m free. She has also represented England at Open Water national meets and was a 2020 British Olympic Trials qualifier. She has represented England at Open Water national meets and qualified for the 2020 British Olympic Trials. Unfortunately, Lola did not get the chance to compete for a spot in the British Olympic team, as the meet was cancelled due to the pandemic. 49 THE REVIEW 2020–21
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T E N N I S AC E B E N B E C O M E S J U N I O R I N T E R N AT I O N A L DOUBLES FINALIST Year 7 tennis ace, Ben Beard, made it to the final of the prestigious Tennis Europe Junior International Halton last weekend. Currently ranked in the UK top 20 in his age group, Ben and his doubles partner, Matthew, played and won three matches to get into the final, despite having never before played doubles together. Ben met Matthew (who is from Warwickshire) at a tournament in Birmingham a couple of years ago when he played singles against him. The duo knew each other’s game and were keen to get on court and play together. The standard of the week–long competition – which took place near Aylesbury –was exceptionally high and the pair had to work hard and communicate well with each other in order to progress all the way through. Speaking about getting to the final, Ben, said: “Our first match was really tough playing against two top 10 players who have played together before. We got into a brilliant rhythm and managed to win the match in straight sets – we were so happy! “That first win gave us the confidence to progress. The semi–final was very tough but again we managed to persevere, hold our nerves and win the match tie break. We were both absolutely thrilled to make it to the final in such a prestigious tournament.”
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Ben has been playing tennis since he was 4 years old, joining Northumberland Tennis Academy when he was around 8–years–old. He was first selected to play for the county at under 10 level. This year he played as County number 1 at 12u and also represented Northumberland in 14u category. He currently trains 6–7 times per week and plays tournaments at weekends. He has won several regional tournaments and is starting to compete at a National level this year. He was invited to take part in a post lockdown National event at Repton college in April 2021 where he played exceptionally well, winning 4 out of 5 of his matches in the Junior series. “My favourite thing about playing tennis is competing,” said Ben. “I also love travelling the country and making friends at tournaments. I have also been lucky enough to travel abroad and play in La Manga and Gran Canaria at Tennis Academies. I can’t wait to be able to travel and compete in more International events soon.”
“My favourite thing about playing tennis is competing.” BEN BEARD
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R G S N E WC A S T L E C R I C K E T F E S T I VA L 2 0 2 1 We were delighted to see the return of the annual RGS Cricket Festival in June, following a break in 2020 due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. This year it was our turn to host the event and we welcomed RGS Colchester, RGS Guildford, RGS High Wycombe, RGS Lancaster and RGS Worcester to Newcastle. The festival was spread across five days with teams competing at some of the best venues in the North East – Jesmond CC, Benwell Hill CC, South North CC, Morpeth CC and Tynemouth CC.
M AT T H E W C A L L E D U P TO R E G I O N A L HOCKEY TEAM Goalkeeper, Matthew Jones, was selected for the North East U13 hockey squad. Year 8 student Matthew first started to play hockey towards the end of Year 5. He had only played at school until last year, when he took the decision to join Morpeth Hockey Club. Matthew has been quick to impress and now finds himself representing the region, playing at the highest level he has to date. “I have to say I was quite surprised to be selected as I haven’t been able to play much hockey during lockdown,” said Matthew. “Now that I’m in the squad for this season, I’m excited to see how we do as a team. I am very proud to be allowed to represent our region.” Being part of the regional team involves an intense training programme which sees Matthew train with his teammates every other weekend across the North East, as they prepare for a three–day national tournament in Nottingham at the end of this month. Speaking about Matthew’s accomplishment, Head of Hockey, Mr Wood, said: “Matthew has continued to make excellent progress with his hockey, considering he was only introduced to the sport very recently. “He has done incredibly well to be selected into the U13 regional team. We’re so proud of him, and wish him all the best at regional tournament.”
RGS Guildford proved worthy winners, unbeaten throughout the tournament, with RGS Newcastle placing second. Upper Sixth student, Nathan Gough, was awarded Player of the Tournament, with a specific highlight of his coming against RGS Lancaster where he took six wickets in the process of defending a 1st innings score of 125. Teammate and Lower Sixth student, Bobby Green, also received recognition for scoring 150 runs on the last day against RGS Colchester. Speaking about the festival, Head of Cricket, Michael Smalley said: “Given the circumstances since we last got together in 2019 at the brilliant RGS Worcester Festival, a week away with friends, playing competitive sport against likeminded opponents was the perfect way to end the season. Special mention goes to departing Upper Sixth great servants – Captain, Calum Fletcher, Nathan McGough and Sree Kanakala.
“Despite rain on day one and two which attempted to dampen spirits, we’re delighted with the success of the cricket festival and are already looking forward to High Wycombe next year.” H E A D O F C R I C K E T, M I C H A E L S M A L L E Y
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PULLS TO G E T H E R TO S U P P O RT C H I L D R E N ’ S M E N TA L H E A LT H W E E K From 1st–7th February 2021 we joined schools, youth groups, organisations and individuals across the UK to support Children’s Mental Health Week. This year’s theme was Express Yourself and we asked students, staff and parents to share how they express themselves to manage their mental health. Our Sixth Form Prefects shared a series of videos offering advice to our younger students about how they can look after their mental wellbeing. Their ideas ranged from reading to exercising, to checking in on friends and walks with friends. Other students shared pieces of art work they had produced and some even enjoyed home baking sessions. Staff members shared all the ways they express themselves, from jewellery making to jigsawing and gardening to photography, proving what a talented bunch they are!
CHARITY ROUND UP In what was another difficult year for many people in our region, as a community we endeavoured to seek as many opportunities as we could to keep up our charity fundraising. During November and December, we collected over 25 large crates of food, which contributed towards Feeding Families delivering 8,014 hampers to families in need during Christmas. That is an increase from 3,003 hampers delivered in 2019, which demonstrates both hugely increased need, and also enormous generosity in 2020. We also donated around 25 large crates of toys and gifts to the Cash for Kids Mission Christmas Appeal. Our School took part in Denim Day on Wednesday 28th April and raised a fantastic £1,259.59 for ‘Someone Cares’. The local counselling organisation works with anyone, regardless of their gender, who is a survivor or a supporter (from 11 years plus), whose lives have been negatively affected by experiencing or witnessing any type of abuse including domestic violence and neglect. 52 THE REVIEW 2020–21
R E M E M B R A N C E S E RV I C E The Remembrance Service of 2020 was especially poignant, bringing our community together for a service of reflection and reminding us of our collective strength during times of adversity. With a moving Last Post played by this year’s Head Boy Ankit Kumar and stirring performances from the Choir and Brass Group, the Remembrance Service was a truly fitting tribute to those fighting for freedom around the world.
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SPRING C O N C E RT
AU T U M N R EC I TA L With such a staggering number of students keen to be involved in the Autumn Recital, this became two events and it was wonderful to see students from right across the school getting involved. The standard was very high and the amount of preparation and practice going on behind the scenes was clear. With a variety of genres and instrumental disciplines being displayed, every participant should be very proud of their achievement, particularly as this was pre–recorded and this can be quite daunting to those unused to playing to a camera.
The Spring Recital was a lovely occasion to see what our solo musicians had been working on and what a variety of music we heard. It was fantastic to see students from every house and year group keen to showcase their progress. Many thanks to all the instrumental teachers who helped prepare student for their performances.
The Spring Concert was an opportunity to showcase what our ensembles had been working on either in year group bubbles, socially distanced or remotely. At this pre– recorded event it was great to see so many students getting involved in the co–curricular timetable and enjoying making music in every possible shape and form.
L E AV E R S ’ C O N C E RT After a tumultuous year, it was fantastic to have our 2021 leavers performing in the Miller Theatre. Whilst also being broadcast, there was a great sense of community as the students supported each other for, what was for some their first, live performances. There was a great array of talent displayed and we hope that music continues to be a big part of the lives of our leavers as they move on to pastures new.
CHRISTMAS C A RO L S E RV I C E Whilst it was a shame not to be able to share our Carol Service with our Friends at St George’s Church this year, our recorded Carol Service was uplifting and as festive an event as you could wish for. With fantastic performances from the Brass Group, Orchestra and Choirs it was clear that music was still very much alive at RGS in spite of COVID–19.
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Ambition to succeed is our final value. Excellence and success are built on our freedom to explore, courage to innovate and spirit to push boundaries both in and outside the classroom. We don’t stand still, challenging, provoking and stretching minds to help our students evolve new ways of thinking and discover future opportunities. We are ambitious for the future, in everything we do. We want to keep innovating, evolving and developing new ways to do things. We won’t rest on our laurels, what enthuses and inspires one class or individual may not engage with another, we are focused on every child. Ultimately we have the courage to change and adapt so we can all grow and succeed. The pages which follow demonstrate how our students and staff are constantly striving to challenge themselves. 54 THE REVIEW 2020–21
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R G S ST U D E N T S D E B AT E T H E I R WAY TO N AT I O N A L FINALS Two of our Upper Sixth students, Elizabeth Angus and Helen Edwards, progressed to the finals of one of the most prestigious competitions in the school debating calendar. Having competed against 35 teams in the regional round, the duo joined top performing schools from around the country on March 13th, for this year’s Oxford Schools’ Debating Finals Day. It is the fourth year in succession that RGS has had a team head to the Oxford Finals – though last year, unfortunately, the final was cancelled. “Debating has been a highlight of my school experience as I’ve met and become friends with people I otherwise wouldn’t have, and I have been able to travel all over the country to go to fun competitions,” said Elizabeth, who first took up debating in Year 8. “Getting to the Oxford finals really is just the icing on the cake, and a great achievement of which me and Helen are both incredibly proud.” Helen joined the debating society in Lower Sixth, as a way of helping her to improve public thinking and the ability to think on her feet. She said: “I started debating as I wanted to push myself, so it’s very exciting to be in the final, but to be honest, a little surprising.”
“This is a tremendous achievement for both Lizzie and Helen who demonstrated great mental agility and stamina to break to one of the most prestigious finals in the debating calendar against tough opposition.”
To secure their place at the distinguished event, the team competed in two debates: 1. This house believes that doctors should be able to lie to their patients when they believe it is in the interest of their health. 2. T his house supports the narrative that one’s identity should determine the credibility of one’s perspective on social justice issues. Both girls are strong advocates for debating and the skills it can help students to develop. Elizabeth said: “I would definitely recommend debating because public speaking is such an invaluable skill and to be able to talk about often quite controversial issues in a calm, logical way is another skill that’s hard to come by so debating really helps to hone in on that too.” Helen added: “If a student is thinking about joining the Debating Society, I would say do it. It will improve your confidence with public speaking and thinking on your feet, as you might expect, but more valuable is the opportunity to meet people, either in your school who you otherwise wouldn’t have or from other schools at competitions.” Elizabeth and Helen were one of five RGS teams to attend the regional finals on Thursday 21st January, with the other four teams consisting of Lower Sixth students who had never competed before but picked up valuable experience.
D R S C OT T M AT T H E W S , H E A D O F D E B AT I N G
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TO BY P R O D U C E S GERMAN P ODCAST Upper Sixth linguist, Toby Green, produced his first podcast – in German. After finding out that his week of work shadowing in the town of Schwäbisch Hall, in the South–West of Germany, was cancelled due to the pandemic, Toby chose to attend a podcasting week organised by the Goethe Institut. He was one of 20 German A Level students from around the UK to be involved in the scheme and the podcast he produced, Deutsch und Kultur”, involved him and his peers sitting down with University lecturer Dr Seán Williams and actress Lynne Brackley to discuss their cultural experiences and Germany’s influence in their own lives.
“At the end of the week, I felt really positive, as I’d had a great time, learned so much and enjoyed myself.” TO BY G R E E N
Speaking about the project, Toby, said: “I initially applied to improve my German, meet like–minded German learners, and also to gain an insight into the world of German business. As well as being taught techniques about how to create a podcast, including podcast production and script writing, each morning, students took part in German cultural workshops where they learned about German workplace etiquette, enjoyed a session from the German Academic Exchange Service and translation workshop.
C L I M AT E C LU B E D U C AT E T H E SCHOOL ON E A RT H DAY The Climate Club took over our Instagram account on April 22nd to celebrate Earth Day and to educate their fellow students about the importance of this day and looking after the planet. Their Instagram story included asking questions, a quiz for students to take part in and it also featured a video on how to make recycled paper.
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B E AC H DAYS FOR YEAR 9 AND 10 STUDENTS
DofE Expedition In late June, we were delighted to arrange for around 58 students to head to Greencarts, Hexham to complete their Silver Duke of Edinburgh Practice. Some initial training had taken place in school relating to equipment, meal planning and navigation – which students would put into practice use over the weekend. They walked as small groups on the Saturday with a member of staff and covered approximately 22km over at least a seven hour period. Each student was expected to carry their own equipment and be totally self–sufficient during this time. The students found some aspects of the day challenging but worked effectively within their teams.
In June, we took advantage of the good weather and organised day trips for all our Year 9 and Year 10 students. Each year group spent the day at Cullercoats and Longsands Beach taking part in a mixture of beach sports and outdoor activities, including beach volleyball, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding (individual and XL) and coasteering. We were excited to give students the opportunity both to vary their curriculum and to allow them to interact with their peers in a different environment and learn new skills.
On Sunday, groups completed the next part of the route which again involved them covering a distance of around 20km. It was great for students to be able to get out into the countryside after such a long period spent in lockdown.
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K AT Y ’ S AWA R D –W I N N I N G P H OTO G R A P H Y K E E P S SNAPPING UP PRIZES Talented photographer Katy Read (Lower Sixth) saw a number of her photos win accolades over the last year. They include: • F eatured Photographer in the Natural History of Northumbria’s magazine, with Rooftop Sparrow. •W inner, Glaslyn Osprey Centre competition, U18, with Gannet Stare. •W inner, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust competition, U17, with Spotlit Robin. •W inner (second year running), GWCT Julian Gardner Memorial competition, U17, with Winter Robin. •C ategory Winner (second year running), Audubon CNC competition U18 (New York, USA) with Gannets Galore. • F ront cover photograph for the Tyne Rivers Trust charity calendar (open to all ages) with Prudhoe Swan. In February, Katy proceeded to the district round of the Rotary Young Photographer Competition 2021 after winning the Newcastle round of the “Young Photographer” competition with a portfolio on the competition’s theme of “Wild Nature.” The Young Photographer Competition is a well–established and successful competition promoted by Rotary Great Britain and Ireland (Rotary GBI). It is a three–stage competition designed to support and encourage the development of photographic skills, culminating with a National Final in June 2021.
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YO U N G E N T E R P R I S E T E A M TA K E S S EC O N D P L AC E I N R E G I O N A L S The Young Enterprise team came runners up in the regional round of the competition. Debate–A–Card, made up of Lower Sixth students, Pia Gupta, Henry Wynne–Jones, Abigail Mableson, Simran Thapar and Amelia Robertson impressed the judges with their fun and intellectual card game – Opinionate. Each card within the pack has as question or motion for debate and the idea is that people take it in turns to discuss their viewpoint about current topical issues. The idea for the game came as a result of a survey of over 1000 people which found that due to the recent Covid–19 pandemic, people were feeling isolated and struggling to start conversations, particularly about certain topics. “As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention,” said Managing Director Pia. “Given the situation with lockdown, we realised we wouldn’t be able to make a physical product initially, and the idea of a card game proved much easier to develop. “From our survey, we realised there was a gap in the market as people weren’t communicating with each other as much and this game can be played virtually. We’re hoping that as restrictions lift, people will get to meet up more and can play the game with their friends and families.”
Financial Director, Henry, added: “We believe we have developed a highly interactive experience for friends and families to get together to learn how to articulate their ideas in a fun way.” The team raised the initial funds for their company by each becoming stakeholders and then through the distribution of sweets to Junior School pupils during festive periods such as Hallowe’en and Christmas. To ensure Covid safety standards were met, the team asked staff to hand out sweets to the younger pupils. Being in lockdown between January and March meant the students had to rely on weekly Teams meetings in order to progress their ideas. As MD, Pia would set tasks for the team and they used the time to research and then decide what product they were going to design. The students – who formed the company at the start of Lower Sixth – found that having specific roles assigned to them helped them to work better as a team and felt the inclusive environment allowed them to deliver the product as they hoped. Pia continued: “The product we have created is certainly reflective of both the time and us as people. Our company name also reflects us and our interests as a few of us currently debate or have done in the past and we all like to articulate our ideas.”
Debate–A–Card Pia G – Managing Director Henry W–J – Financial Director Abigail M – Head of Communications Simran T – Head of Marketing and Social Media Amelia R – Head of Marketing and Social Media 59 THE REVIEW 2020–21
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E N GI N EER S RE–BUILD S O C IE T Y A team of budding engineers re–established the RGS Engineering Society. Lower Sixth students Lydia Matterson, Fran Dent and Tom Smail hope that reinstating the co–curricular society will allow other students, as well as themselves, the chance to explore their interests in engineering. The society meets on a weekly basis, every Thursday at the end of the school day, and members get the chance to hear from guest speakers, as well as taking part in research projects and team timed challenges.
“We’re also keen to connect with ONs who are currently studying at university and can give an insight into the different types of engineering and why they chose their specific branch of engineering.” While the society is currently only available to Year 12 students, the Executive Committee members are hoping to roll out the invitation to join the society to younger students.
Lydia continued: “We thought Year 10 would be a good year group to start with because students pick their A Level options in Year 11, so it would give students a full year to see if engineering is an option for them at university Senior Prefect Lydia, who is also the Head of and therefore help them to make an informed Outreach and Charities, said: “We’re really excited about rebuilding the society. One of the decision when it comes to A Level choices. It might also help encourage them to stay on main aspects will be the opportunity to speak at the RGS in Sixth Form.” to current engineers to understand the career path and journey to how they got there, so that come September when we apply to university, The society is keen to welcome any students who share a passion for engineering, regardless we’re in a much better position to make an of their future career path. informed decision about what it is we want to do in the future.” Tom, who is the F1 Team Manager, said: “I have no plans to study engineering at university but I Fran added: “We’re hoping that we can get am interested in certain aspects of it so the RGS some people from the industry to come in to talk to the society members, as it will be a really Engineering Society is perfect for me.” valuable experience to hear from practicing engineers talking about specific disciplines.
During the February 2021 lockdown, we challenged our students to discover their inner DJ. In a whole school competition, students were asked to pick a TV theme tune which they had to pretend to be DJing to for 30 seconds using general household items found in their kitchen. The results were epic!
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H E N RY ’ S WO O DWO R K G O E S G LO B A L Year 10 student, Henry Lee, became a self–taught woodwork entrepreneur whose products have been bought worldwide.
“The best thing about being an entrepreneur is being able to do what I love. During the holidays and on weekends, I can spend all day making shavings and managing my social media account which has helped me grow my reputation.” H E N RY L E E
The fourteen–year–old comes from seven generations of cabinetmakers dating back to the 1850s and follows in the footsteps of his Great–Great–Grandfather and his Great–Great–Great–Grandfather, who were both cabinetmakers to Queen Victoria and Parliament. Henry started woodturning in 2020 during the first national lockdown, when he spent most of the time honing the skills he had developed in his EDT lessons. The gifted craftsman spent several months watching YouTube videos and receiving advice from social media communities, as well as seeking guidance from his Grandfather, who is himself a woodturner. A year later, Henry’s talent has flourished, and he has sold his products all over the world, after setting up his own business, Handcraftduk. Henry, who loves seeing a project come to life, hopes to continue using his artisan skills in the future to pursue a career in woodwork. He might even continue the family tradition by becoming a royal cabinetmaker.
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Senior Leadership Team ‘bake off’ for British Pie Week Members of the Senior Leadership Team got creative during British Pie Week as they went to head–to–head to see who could bake the best pie. Entries included a St Clement’s Pie, apple and raspberry, apple and cinnamon, apple and strawberry, strawberry, cheese and onion and a chicken, pork and pancetta. Voting took place across our social media channels with Susan Beck (Director of Development and Communications) coming in first place with her elegant looking strawberry pie.
J E S D I N A’ S A RT WO R K EARNS LOCAL RECOGNITION Talented artist, Jesdina Daniel (Year 8) has produced some incredible artwork throughout the year, with several pieces winning competitions, as well as being chosen for displays in a local art gallery. At the start of 2021, Jesdina had a piece of artwork featured in a calendar after entering a competition last year. Her painting, ‘Lockdown through her eyes’ was chosen as the March 2021 picture. As part of Children’s Mental Health Week in February, Jesdina produced a piece to share with her peers and wider school community. “This is a piece of art I created based on my feelings for mental health week” said Jesdina. “It shows a person (in this case myself) being pulled away by a time swirl from the things I love which are art and music. The big hand shows someone trying to help amidst everything with some lamps of hope in the sky.” In March, Jesdina’s drawing, depicting a happy family at home, was chosen to feature in a display on the Laing Art Gallery’s online exhibition, under the Home Education section. The following month, Jesdina took first place in Watling Spaces – The Roxy’s World Theatre Day Art Competition.
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YEAR 7 AND 8 R AC E TO T H E LINE DURING P R O J EC T W E E K Students took part in the Race To The Line challenge. All students worked in teams to design and make the fastest rocket powered car and compete with their designs across multiple stages in a national challenge, using independent learning, collaborative learning and problem solving skills in the process.
Adventure and Activities for Year 7 and Year 8 The easing of restrictions across the country allowed for our Year 7 and 8 students to spend some much needed time with their peers outside the classroom. Students took part in three activity days, where they were split into three groups and participated in a Bushcraft and Survival Day, Coasteering and Archery and Canoeing.
Every car used the same size CO2 motor and competed over the same track distance with the winning teams on race days producing the cars that had the most efficient aerodynamics, had lower mass and that had safe, well designed wheels that reduced friction and could survive the forces of a high speed run. The project culminated on a Friday with the groups doing a big Pit Presentation / USA Science Fair presentation including displays and talks.
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Sports Day at Monkton Stadium became a week of Sports Afternoons on the RGS field which worked out very nicely. Students were banded based on athletic ability and then signed up to events giving them a chance to represent their House against peers of similar ability. A very loud and entertaining outcome was the result with much credit to students who filled in and helped out as isolations threatened our best laid plans. Some new events, ones that perhaps you wouldn’t find at the Olympics (!) but which were very well received, shook things up a bit: anything involving water, water slides, and water guns seemed to go down well. Collingwood shaded the overall results en route to the overall House Cup but more so than ever, it really was the taking part and a chance to blow off some steam that really mattered. The PE Department deserve much credit for making this work. Miller Cup: again, circumstances necessitated a new format and so we went all in. Rather than requesting sign up to take part, we took entire year groups to the edge of the Town Moor and ran a boys’ race and a girls’ race. Blessed with good weather (except for the Seniors), the ‘runners’ covered the course in 15 mins whilst those for whom running is more a chore than a delight, took somewhat longer. Lots of support for peers, sprint finishes and comedy slides, added spice to an event that is very much part of RGS tradition. We also uncovered some hidden talent, some of whom had only really started during lockdown, who were added to Mrs Ponton’s running stable. So, nearly 1000 students took part, four times the usual, and this created a new tradition that we are going to stick with in future. Collingwood came out on top but only narrowly and all Houses did themselves great credit.
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Our annual House Drama competition took on a virtual format this year. Across an action–packed week we showcased the top three entries of each category daily on our social media platforms. From devised comedy to creative monologues to the speaking of verse, there was a wonderful variety of entries on display and some excellent performances from actors in every year group. The competition was extremely tight, with Horsley retaining the trophy as winners for another year! Various attempts to stage a live House Music competition were halted resulting in the next best online option in the summer term. There were some excellent entries from across the range of vocal and instrumental categories and once again, the students participated in large numbers. As a couple of leavers pointed out with some rather touching sadness however, if it’s not live and there’s no audience then it’s not even close to being the same. At the time of writing, the Heads of House are working with the Performing Arts Department to ensure that we come back with a bang in Autumn 2021! The recently departed Mr Chadwick was the architect of the so called ‘Lockdown Challenges’! In January and February, the students, staff and their families were invited to take part in and contribute towards an athletic/fitness related target for their House, with points awarded based on which house ran, cycled and stepped their way across the UK and Europe. Once again, there were some enthusiastic entries and some amusingly competitive members of our community really went for it! We were also able to run the usual year group House Swimming galas which produced another round of noisy, hot, competitive mornings. Much like the Sports Afternoons, students were banded and swam against their peers in other Houses based on ability.
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So, when everything was said and done, COLLINGWOOD were the overall winners. Thanks should go to the PE Department, everyone in Performing Arts, the Heads of House and particularly the students for their ‘give it a go attitude’... it would have been easy not to do things because it wasn’t ideal, or things were difficult but all of the above exemplified the positive and resilient attitude of RGS in 2020/21.
SW I M M I N G Year 7 Results Winners – Horsley 2nd – Eldon
Year 8 Results
MILLER CUP
Winners – Collingwood
Year 7 Results
Year 9 Results
2nd – Eldon
Girls – Mille Moat
Girls – Emma Ashman
Year 9 Results
Boys – Alex Lienard
Boys – Jake Moir
Winners – Collingwood
Girls Team Event – Stowell
Girls Team Event – Horsley
2nd – Stowell and Eldon
Boys Team Event – Horsley
Boys Team Event – Stowell
Year 8 Results
Year 10 Results
Year 12 Results
Girls – Alice Warneford
Girls – Anna Dorman
Boys – Freddie Nickalls
Boys – Sam Allison
Boys – James O’Connell Nash
Girls – Kate Salthouse
Girls Team Event – Collingwood
Girls Team Event – Eldon
Team Event – Collingwood
Boys Team Event – Stowell
Boys Team Event – Horsley
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SIR JOHN MCNEE
RUTHERFORD PRIZES
Adam Aslam, Year 11 Daniel Bansal, Year 11 Hannah Bansal, Year 11 Ciara Boaden, Year 11 Thiara De Alwis, Year 11 Christopher Deehan, Year 11 Cecile Durkin, Year 11 Daniel Edwards, Year 11 Binara Galagedara, Year 11 Kirstin Greatorex, Year 11 Helena Grundy, Year 11 Martin Guy, Year 11 Leila Humphrey, Year 11 Aryan Kakwani, Year 11 Sumaya Khanom, Year 11 Joshua Kim, Year 11 Keerthi Komati, Year 11 Anna Leitch, Year 11 Jennifer Lowrie, Year 11 Kush Mahawar, Year 11 Pari Mehlawat, Year 11 Lakshmanan Palaniappan, Year 11 Oliver Quinton, Year 11 Akshita Ramesh, Year 11 Catherine Richardson, Year 11 Iris Seery, Year 11 Aryan Sharma, Year 11 Evie Tate, Year 11 Jemima Thomas, Year 11 Isabella Thompson, Year 11 Katie Thompson, Year 11 Advika Uppal, Year 11 Olivia Van Delft, Year 11 Charlotte Waldron, Year 11 Rose Wilson, Year 11 Laura Wisse, Year 11 Isha Yadav, Year 11 Eve Yates, Year 11
Lila Assadian, Year 7 Alfie Davidson, Year 7 Emily Fitzpatrick, Year 7 Richa Kocherlakota, Year 7 Imogen Longstaff, Year 7 Louise Syers, Year 7 Tom Aldridge, Year 8 Jesdina Daniel, Year 8 Janice Kuang, Year 8 Aadesh Sahadevan, Year 8 Edward Scott, Year 8 Lucy Stables, Year 8 Will Kelly, Year 9 Rishi Matla, Year 9 Caleb Nicholls, Year 9 Gabriella Oliver, Year 9 Isla Townshend, Year 9 Seth Wylie, Year 9 Samantha Chakkoria, Year 10 Tara Gupta, Year 10 Isla Hutton–Stott, Year 10 Joe Prescott, Year 10 Pablo Shenton–Pareja, Year 10 Xuehan Zhang, Year 10 Harry Bowers, Year 11 Jarda Campbell, Year 11 Nicholas Johnston, Year 11 Zak Old, Year 11 Hannah Stobart, Year 11 Isha Yadav, Year 11 Bethany Dornan, Lower Sixth Carlo Fazlic, Lower Sixth Bobby Green, Lower Sixth Vishnu Kaura, Lower Sixth Lydia Matterson, Lower Sixth Saul McQueen, Lower Sixth Emma McWhinnie, Lower Sixth Aravind Myagerimath, Lower Sixth Alex Russell, Lower Sixth Theodore Wride, Lower Sixth Dami Aiyegbayo, Upper Sixth Drew Blackett, Upper Sixth Fran Clifford, Upper Sixth Maisie Dures Taylor, Upper Sixth Krish Gupta, Upper Sixth Matthew Hoyle, Upper Sixth Livia Kippax, Upper Sixth Poppy Latimer, Upper Sixth Tilly Souter, Upper Sixth Alexander Waldron, Upper Sixth
HARTWELL FOUNDATION PRIZES FOR ENTRY TO OXFORD OR CAMBRIDGE Ella Bannister Iona Boyer Megan Cottee Helen Edwards Ben Hewitson Millie Ireland–Carson Sebastian Malik Isaac Marchant Miriam Mitchell Lucy Thompson
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ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT
Tyesha Dutta, Year 7 Daniel Johnson, Year 7 Nicholas Ojomaikre, Year 7 Lara Savic, Year 7 Jessica Searby, Year 7 Indra Shah, Year 7 Tim Xie, Year 7 Isabel Yates, Year 7 Anna Hamilton, Year 8 Yichen Han, Year 8 Betty Hill, Year 8 Sarah Hu, Year 8 Felicity Mendelow, Year 8 Tanvi Narula, Year 8 Dana Addai, Year 9 Fern Angus, Year 9 Benjamin Gilroy, Year 9 Ahmad Ramzan, Year 9 Lewis Reilly, Year 9 Alexander Searro, Year 9 Zach Tyrrell–Thrower, Year 9 Alfred Yeadon, Year 9 Oisin Caffery, Year 10 Aliza Hassan, Year 10 Srilekka Ratneswaran, Year 10 Honor Stobart, Year 10 Imogen Stobart, Year 10 Alex Weir, Year 10 Christopher Deehan, Year 11 Taylor Hannant, Year 11 Sumaya Khanom, Year 11 Iris Klenka, Year 11 Melissa Mendelow, Year 11 Tom Mitchell, Year 11 Akshita Ramesh, Year 11 Grace Stobart, Year 11 Joshua Bulch, Lower Sixth Francesca Kurdi, Lower Sixth Lenny Massarella, Lower Sixth Marianne Murphy, Lower Sixth Thomas Smail, Lower Sixth Pinaki Trivedi, Lower Sixth Leo Vinogradov, Lower Sixth Molly Warne, Lower Sixth Sophia Frey, Upper Sixth Toby Green, Upper Sixth Theo Hoult, Upper Sixth Arran Kirk, Upper Sixth Gemma Lant, Upper Sixth Sebastian Malik, Upper Sixth Laura Naylor, Upper Sixth Molly Rudd, Upper Sixth Sam Whiteside, Upper Sixth Annie Zhu, Upper Sixth
Chinmayi Achutha Kumar, Year 7 Avantika Aradhyula, Year 7 Prachi Arora, Year 7 Oscar Dixon, Year 7 Adam Feenan, Year 7 Johan Haniffa, Year 7 Raphael Horsman–Elphick, Year 7 Josiah Mcqueen, Year 7 Georgia Nesbit, Year 7 Ann Olsen–Gallacher, Year 7 Adriana Calderon–Deevy, Year 8 Hannah Cutler, Year 8 Suyash Dhull, Year 8 Eleanor Irving, Year 8 Alissa Lietz, Year 8 Oliver Rajan, Year 8 Tarka Stanford, Year 8 Megha Thomas, Year 8 Emil Brunsnes, Year 9 Flo Elliot, Year 9 Lara Elliott, Year 9 Ava Humble, Year 9 Jasmine Mohammed, Year 9 William Rowe, Year 9 Saakshi Santosh, Year 9 Ania Snowden, Year 9 Lola Swinney, Year 9 Rachel Tsang, Year 9 Jacob Colbeck, Year 10 Anna Dorman, Year 10 Cassie Hill, Year 10 Seanan Kale, Year 10 Rohan Narayanan, Year 10 Duncan Seller, Year 10 Celia Talks, Year 10 Irvin Thanacoody, Year 10 Parul Tiwari, Year 10 Oliver Wall, Year 10 Adam Aslam, Year 11 Hannah Bansal, Year 11 Ciara Boaden, Year 11 Jennifer Lowrie, Year 11 May Maung, Year 11 Chi–Chi Ojigbani, Year 11 Laki Palaniappan, Year 11 Catherine Richardson, Year 11 Katie Thompson, Year 11 Olivia Van Delft, Year 11 Athena Chan, Lower Sixth Libby Chrisp, Lower Sixth Phillip Daniel, Lower Sixth Maarten Gunning, Lower Sixth Pia Gupta, Lower Sixth Ankit Kumar, Lower Sixth Anik Mitra, Lower Sixth Freddie Nickalls, Lower Sixth Tabish Pathan, Lower Sixth Teeda Prapunwong, Lower Sixth
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Thivani De Alwis, Upper Sixth Tatiana Dickinson, Upper Sixth Alexandra Doolan, Upper Sixth Jack Fletcher, Upper Sixth Max Lawlor, Upper Sixth Jakub Mis, Upper Sixth Marshall Osei–Bonsu, Upper Sixth Jessica Ridley, Upper Sixth Dev Sen, Upper Sixth Neil Shi, Upper Sixth
YEAR 7 PRIZES Max Beeton, English Roo Davies, Physics Twisha Devalia, Chemistry Bobbie Doe, Maths Rebecca Evans, Biology Alex Lienard, Geography Maggie Lu, Art Dingyi Ma, Latin Aayush Pandya, History Henry Rewcastle, Drama Sai Srikailash, Computer Science Amelie Tones, German Chloe Wang, Engineering, Design and Technology Jinghan Zeng, Music
YEAR 8 PRIZES David Baker, Latin Toyah Banerjee, Computer Science Charles Brown, Art Helen Chen, English Hana Dennison, History Basma Gharib, Spanish Isobel Hodgson, Engineering, Design and Technology Emmanuel Horsman–Elphick, German Tamsin Hutton–Stott, Chemistry Eva Jones, French Aditi Kamanahalli, Music Ray Li, Maths Nisna Malviya, Geography Nye Pritchard, Drama Maria Shenton–Pareja, Biology Hannah Zheng, Physics
YEAR 9 PRIZES
YEAR 11 PRIZES
UPPER SIXTH PRIZES
Sara Brizzi, Latin Holly Brooks, Geography Izzy Goldberg, English Hugo Green, Biology Esther Kim, Chemistry Aida Mohd Faez, German Esha Raja, Drama Daniel Rajiv, Physics Katie Robinson, History Nico Savic, Engineering, Design and Technology Rory Scott, Music Florence Stockdale, Ancient History Anushka Taribagil, French Peter Van Orsouw, Computer Science Alexia Ward, Spanish Abigail Wright, Art Jessica Yang, Greek and Maths
Daniel Bansal, Spanish Ella Rose Brannen, Drama Anna Clemmetsen, Art Isak Cornelissen, Physics Amy Davis, English Language Thiara De Alwis, Computer Science Wendy Deng, Music Daniel Edwards, Latin Sam Gerrard, History Marcus Laws, Geography Kush Mahawar, Maths Kunal Sen, Engineering, Design and Technology Sanjana Shanbhag, Ancient History Evie Tate, Trevor Fenwick Economics Prize Jemima Thomas, Biology Charlotte Waldron, French Joseph Warren, German Laura Wisse, Greek Joseph Wright, English Literature Eve Yates, Chemistry
Alexander Adamson, The Bill Gibson Prize for the Outstanding Mathematician in Upper Sixth and The Music Prize Lizzie Angus, Stanier Prize for Service (by award) Harry Baldwin, Music Ella Bannister, History and Dennison Prize for Outstanding Service (by award) Emma Busby, Joseph Petty Prize for an intending Law Student Kit Cawthorn, Philosophy Roddy Cummins, Stanier Prize for Service (by award) Lucy Davis Dennison Prize for Outstanding Service (by award) Matthew Deehan, Stanier Prize for Service (by award) Aaryan Dharmadhikari, Further Maths Finlay Dorman, Joseph Petty Prize for an intending Law Student Mark Dormer, Stanier Prize for Service (by award) Emily Dunstan, Trevor Fenwick Politics Prize Helen Edwards, German and Greek Prizes Eilidh Ferguson, Bewick Art Prize Raiyan Haq, Trevor Fenwick Economics Prize and Collingwood Prize for Service to the Community Ben Hewitson, English Literature Dominique Hewitson, Coates Head Prefects’ Prize Dominic Hodgson–Bajoria, Theatre Studies Millie Ireland–Carson, Dennison Prize for Outstanding Service (by award) George John, Chemistry Rahul Kamat, Maths Prize and Kishore Prize for an intending Medical Student Sree Kanakala, Stanier Prize for Service (by award) Oliver Longstaff, Latin Kush Makkapati, Computer Science Elizabeth O’Brien, Art Gabriel O’Brien, Ancient History Cara Powell, Psychology Daniel Prime, Biology Emily Scott–Bromly, Dennison Prize for Outstanding Service (by award) Louis Sergant, Geography Lucy Thompson, French Prize and Collingwood Prize for Service to the Community Luke Todd, Spanish Nuyara Udawatte, Film Studies Annabelle Van Delft, Dennison Prize for Outstanding Service (by award) Chris Van Der Merwe, Zaamin Hussain Prize for an intending Medical Student Megan Wardle, Sports Studies Rosa Whittingham, EPQ Alina Zhu, Physics
YEAR 10 PRIZES Sana Arif, Spanish Lucia Baker, Engineering, Design and Technology James Booth, Biology Bede Doe, Drama Gina Elliott, Physics Lola Fazlic, Music Sophie Feenan, Geography Shreya Gellia, Computer Science Kunjal Gopani, Economics Lucas Jessop, History Eloise Lamb, Art Gargi Mannikar, English Language James O’Connell Nash, English Literature Ben Osborne, Ancient History Tanisha Sharma, Chemistry Daniel Thompson, Greek Dhruv Varier, German Alex Wride, Latin Amy Zheng, Maths Felicia Zhou, French
LOWER SIXTH PRIZES Jake Bradbury, Theatre Studies Elise Brechin, History Thomas Campbell, Latin Rosanna Carrick Daly, Ancient History Gautam Chauhan, Physics Joe Ducker, Music Aidan Ewart, Computer Science Chiagozie Eze, Engineering, Design and Technology Elyse Feenan, French Alex Ford, English Literature Alice Geoghegan, Biology Jemima Hutchinson, Maths Imandi Kumarapeli, Sports Studies Layyah Madathil, Geography Oliver Marks, Further Maths Harsha Menon, Psychology Adam Mumtaz, Chemistry Scarlett Nixon, Greek Annie Page, Philosophy Kushi Rao, Economics Jess Slater, Art Abi Tang, Harvard Book Prize James Taylorv, German Nikhita Varma, Spanish Harry Wheatley, Politics Becky Wise, Film Studies
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COLOURS CCF Alex Waldron, Full Debating Elizabeth Angus, Full Helen Edwards, Full Music Alex Adamson, Full Harry Baldwin, Half Lucy Davis, Ensemble Drama Amelia Fenwick, Full Dominique Hewitson, Full Dominic Hodgson–Bajoria, Full Dillon Ingram, Full Cricket Calum Fletcher, Full Nathan Gough, Full Sree Kanakala, Full Hockey Jamie McLeod, Full Sarika Nadkarni, Full Ben Wardle, Full Alistair White, Full Natasha Berkley, Club Lucy Davis, Club Tatiana Dickinson, Club Sophia Frey, Club Alisha Lamb, Club Harry Morris, Club Jessica Ridley, Club Freddie Whitfield, Club
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Netball Gemma Lant, Full Megan Wardle, Full Lucy Davis, Half Millie Ireland–Carson, Half Lucy Thompson, Half Emma Busby, Club Megan Cottee, Club Sarika Nadkarni, Club Daisy Nicholson, Club Elizabeth O’Brien, Club Ella Reid, Club Rugby Mark Dormer, Full Calum Fletcher, Full Nathan Gough, Full Ben Cressey, Half Tom Dryden, Half Jack Fletcher, Half Harry Stephenson, Half Zac Welsh, Half Luke Fletcher, Club Theo Hoult, Club Harry Jopling, Club Oliver Longstaff, Club Gabriel O’Brien, Club James Robson, Club Vinnie Styles, Club
Football Max Kilburn, Full Morgan Lant, Full Joe Armstrong, Half James Barras, Half Chris Beale, Half Drew Blackett, Half Jake Bowyer, Half Jude McQueen, Half Ziyad Bholah, Club Andrew Dalton, Club Oli Franks, Club Jonny Hall, Club Jordan Harrison, Club Dominic Hodgson–Bajoria, Club Dillon Ingram, Club Dominic Mayall, Club Toby Moulds, Club Louis Sergant, Club Niall Slee, Club Riding Club Emily Scott–Bromly, Full Swimming Lola Davison, Full
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L E AV E R S ’ L I S T * Accurate as of October 14th 2021
2019 LEAVERS: SUPPLEMENTARY Isaac Marchant, Philosophy, Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, 2021 Kannan Sekar Annu Radha, Computer Science, UCL (University College London), 2021
2020 LEAVERS: SUPPLEMENTARY Matthew Bell, Natural Sciences, Durham University, 2021
Helena Rezaie, Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nottingham, 2021 Arun Summerfield, Medicine, University of Manchester, 2021 Ruchika Thapar, Medicine, University of Manchester, 2021 Lucy Thompson, Psychology with Education, University of Leeds, 2021
2021 LEAVERS
Benjamin Brown, Finance, University of Bristol, 2021
Alexander Adamson, Mathematics (3 years), Durham University, 2021
Kraig Coutinho, Medicine, University of Sunderland, 2021
Hana Ahmed, Psychology (Extended), University of Greenwich, 2021
Charlotte Craven, Ancient World with a Year Abroad, UCL (University College London), 2021
Sunaa Ahmed, English, University of St Andrews, 2021
Edward Howe, Economics and Finance, Northumbria University, Newcastle, 2021 Ruoqu Liu, Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics, Economics (MORSE), University of Warwick, 2021 Rachel McWhinnie, English Literature/ Scottish Literature, University of Glasgow, 2021 Ben Milne, Business Economics, University of Leeds, 2021 Miriam Mitchell, Classics (4 years), Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge, 2021 Sebastian Moroz–Butler, Modern Language and Business & Management (Spanish) (4 years), University of Manchester, 2021 Thomas Murphy, Psychology with Clinical Psychology, University of Lincoln, 2021 Aaron Naik, Business Management, University of Birmingham, 2021 Odera Okoli, Pharmacy (4 years), University of Nottingham, 2021 Anna Ord, Economics/Philosophy, University of Glasgow, 2021 Joseph Owers, Architecture, Queen’s University Belfast, 2021 Martin Paul, Economics, University of Liverpool, 2021
Oluwadamilola Aiyegbayo, Business and Marketing, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2021
Jake Bowyer, Economics, University of Leeds, 2021
Alexandra Doolan, Medicine, Hull York Medical School, 2021
Iona Boyer, English, Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge, 2021
Finlay Dorman, Law, Durham University, 2021
Murray Brown, General Engineering, Durham University, 2021
Mark Dormer, Economics, Durham University, 2021
Emma Busby, Law, University of Nottingham, 2021
Jackson Drummond, Physics, University of Bristol, 2021
Edward Cawthorn, Politics, Durham University, 2021
Thomas Dryden, Finance, Durham University, 2021
Frances Clifford, Gap Year, University Application 2022
Emily Dunstan, Economics, University of St Andrews, 2021
Lucy Conroy, Performing Arts application 2022, Theatre Royal
Olivia Dunstan, Fashion Art Direction, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2021
Laura Cookson, English Literature, Leeds Beckett University, 2021 Samuel Cooper, Theology and Religion, Durham University, 2021 Edward Corbett, Aeronautical Engineering, University of Glasgow, 2021 Aleksi Cornelissen, General Engineering, Durham University, 2021 Megan Cottee, Geography, Hertford College, University of Oxford, 2021
Maisie Dures Taylor, Gap Year, University Application 2022 Matthew Edington, Gap Year; Film Production, Arts University Bournemouth, 2022 Helen Edwards, Classics and German, Magdalen College, University of Oxford, 2021 Sophia Emmerson, Business and Marketing, Northumbria University, Newcastle, 2021
Elizabeth Angus, Modern Languages and Business, University of Leeds, 2021
William Craig, Law with Criminology, Sheffield Hallam University, 2021
Kristen Armes–Reardon, Economics, University of Nottingham, 2021
Benjamin Cressey, Gap Year, University Application 2022
Joseph Armstrong, General Engineering, Durham University, 2021
Alice Crossland, Gap Year; History, University of Sheffield, 2022
Harry Baldwin, Architecture, The University of Edinburgh, 2021
Nimrod Cummins, History, Newcastle University, 2021
Ella Bannister, History, Lincoln College, University of Oxford, 2021
Andrew Dalton, Sociology (SocSci), University of Glasgow, 2021
James Barras, Chemical Engineering with Industrial Experience, University of Sheffield, 2021
Lucy Davis, Medicine (Phase One), University of Sheffield, 2021
Eilidh Ferguson, Fine Art – Painting/ Printmaking, Glasgow School of Art, 2021
Lola Davison, University of Hawai’i, USA, 2022
Calum Fletcher, Gap Year; Politics, University of Leeds, 2022
Gabrielle Dawson, Law/MLaw, Northumbria University, Newcastle, 2021
Jack Fletcher, Gap Year, University Application 2022
Thivani de Alwis, Medicine, University of Glasgow, 2021
Luke Fletcher, Gap Year; Chemical Engineering, University of Strathclyde, 2022
Christopher Beale, Gap Year; Politics and International Relations, UCL (University College London), 2022 Eden Bell, Gap Year, University Application 2022 Natasha Berkley, Medicine and Surgery, Newcastle University, 2021
Daniel de Havilland, Gap Year, University Application 2022
Elspeth Emmerson Robinson, Gap Year; Fine Art, Loughborough University, 2022 Darcy Errington–Stevens, Chemical Engineering with Foundation Year, Sheffield Hallam University, 2021 Amelia Fenwick, Performance: Design and Practice, University of the Arts London, 2021
Matthew Deehan, Medicine, University of Liverpool, 2021
Henry Forster, Chemical Engineering with an Integrated Foundation Year, University of Manchester, 2021
Rohini Biswas, Physics, King’s College London, 2021
Aaryan Dharmadhikari, Computing, Imperial College London, 2021
Oliver Franks, Psychology of Sport, University of Salford, 2021
Oscar Black, Geography, Newcastle University, 2021
Tatiana Dickinson, Gap Year, University Application 2022
Sophia Frey, Gap Year; applying German Sports University, Cologne, 2022
Drew Blackett, Geography, Durham University, 2021
Olivia Ditchfield, Gap Year, University Application 2022
Mohammed Bholah, Finance, Accounting and Management, University of Nottingham, 2021
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Adam Fuery, Mechanical Engineering with a Foundation Year, University of Sheffield, 2021
Millicent Ireland–Carson, Economics, Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge, 2021
William Gerrard, English Literature, University of Leeds, 2021
Maria Jatin, Gap Year, University Application 2022
Feezan Ghafoor, Business Management with Marketing, University of Leeds, 2021
Molly Jobling, Geography, Newcastle University, 2021
Nathan Gough, Economics with Business, Nottingham Trent University, 2021
George John, Medicine, Imperial College London, 2021
Emma Gowling, Psychology, The University of Edinburgh, 2021
Gabriella Johnson, Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, 2021
Sebastian Malik, Law, Trinity College, University of Cambridge, 2021 Rose Maxwell Macdonald, Gap Year; Anthropology, University of Bristol, 2022 Oscar May, Gap Year, University Application 2022 Dominic Mayall, International Relations, University of Leeds, 2021 James McLeod, Medicine and Surgery, Newcastle University, 2021
William Jones, Deloitte, London, 2021
Jude Mcqueen, Physics (with placement year), Loughborough University, 2021
Toby Green, International Management and Modern Languages – German, University of Bath, 2021
Harry Jopling, Economics with a Year in Industry, University of Liverpool, 2021
Jakub Mis, Economics, The University of Edinburgh, 2021
Krish Gupta, Medicine, University of Leeds, 2021
Lucinda Jowett, Primary Education (3–7 and 7–11), Northumbria University, Newcastle, 2021
Matthew Moffat, Biochemistry, King’s College London, 2021
Jonathan Hall, Economics and Finance, University of Manchester, 2021
Rahul Kamat, Medicine and Surgery, Newcastle University, 2021
William Hampton, Gap Year; Mechanical Engineering with a Year in Industry, University of Sheffield, 2022
Sreeraag Kanakala, Medicine, Imperial College London, 2021
Raiyan Haq, Economics, University of Warwick, 2021
Georgina Kat, Editing & Post Production, Ravensbourne University London, 2021
Jordan Harrison, Mechanical Engineering, University of Liverpool, 2021 Patrick Hegarty, Gap Year, University Application 2022 Benjamin Hewitson, English, Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, 2021 Dominique Hewitson, Engineering, University of Glasgow, 2021 Liam Hide, Gap Year; Medicine, University of Liverpool, 2022 Dominic Hodgson–Bajoria, International Relations, The University of Edinburgh, 2021 Theodore Hoult, Gap Year, University Application 2022 Matthew Hoyle, Ancient History, King’s College London, 2021 Samuel Hoyle, Environmental Science, Newcastle University, 2021 Farris Hyder, Law/MLaw, Northumbria University, Newcastle, 2021 Leya Hyder, Medicine, Keele University, 2021 Dillon Ingram, Acting, Arts Ed, London, 2021
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Max Kilburn, Business Management with a Year in Industry, University of Liverpool, 2021 Olivia Kippax, Glaxo Smith Kline, Barnard Castle, 2021 Arran Kirk, Gap Year; Psychology and Business, The University of Edinburgh, 2022 Harshita Komati, Economics, University of Warwick, 2021 Alisha Lamb, History, University of Nottingham, 2021 Gemma Lant, Medicine, University of Leeds, 2021 Morgan Lant, Engineering (Mechanical), Durham University, 2021 Poppy Latimer, Gap Year, University Application 2022 Max Lawlor, Aeronautical Engineering, Imperial College London, 2021 Oliver Longstaff, Medicine, University of Leeds, 2021 Rebecca Mackin, Gap Year; Medical Sciences, University of Leeds, 2022 Kushagra Makkapati, Software Engineering with a Year in Industry, University of Sheffield, 2021
James Moreby, Goldman Sachs, London, 2021 William Morris, Economics and Politics, Durham University, 2021 Sebastian Moulds, Mathematics, University of Manchester, 2021 Tobias Moulds, Mathematics, University of Leeds, 2021 Sarika Nadkarni, Gap Year, University Application 2022 Laura Naylor, French and Spanish, The University of Edinburgh, 2021
James Robson, Gap Year; Humanities Foundation Year,, Northumbria University, Newcastle, 2022 Paris Robson–Holland, Gap Year, University Application 2022 Molly Rudd, Medicine (5 years), University of Birmingham, 2021 James Scott, Gap Year; Ancient History, University of Bristol, 2022 Emily Scott–Bromly, Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool, 2021 Avantika Sehgal, Gap Year; Business and Management, Durham University, 2022 Arjun Sen, Computer Science and Management, University of St Andrews, 2021 Louis Sergant, International Business, The University of Edinburgh, 2021 Elliot Sheriff, Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle, 2021 Neil Shi, Gap Year, University Application 2022 Niall Slee, Business Management and Marketing, Nottingham Trent University, 2021 Daniel Somerville Roberts, Physics, Imperial College London, 2021
Daisy Nicholson, Gap Year, University Application 2022
Mathilda Souter, Food and Human Nutrition with Placement, Newcastle University, 2021
Elizabeth O’Brien, Gap Year; Art, The University of Edinburgh, 2022
Annie Spragg, Communication and Media, University of Leeds, 2021
Gabriel O’Brien, Ancient History, UCL (University College London), 2021
William Squires, Gap Year; Business Economics/Politics (SocSci), University of Glasgow, 2022
Cayman Osei–Bonsu, Gap Year, University Application 2022 Sahil Pabary, Gap Year, University Application 2022 Zeynep Sena Polat, Data Science and Analytics, Bournemouth University, 2021 Cara Powell, Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, 2021 Daniel Prime, Medicine, University of Nottingham, 2021
Harry Stephenson, Criminology with Psychology, Leeds Beckett University, 2021 Jacquetta Stevens, Gap Year; Chemistry, Durham University, 2022 Evelyn Stonor, Law, University of Exeter, 2021 Vinnie Styles, English, University of Liverpool, 2021
Ella Reid, Gap Year, University Application 2022
Jasmine Taylor, Business Management and Marketing, Nottingham Trent University, 2021
Jessica Ridley, Architecture (with placement), University of Bath, 2021
Jemma Thew, Pharmacology, University of Strathclyde, 2021
Malika Riffert, German with Management Studies, UCL (University College London), 2021
Lucy Thompson, Modern and Medieval Languages, Jesus College, University of Cambridge, 2021
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
Luke Todd, Spanish, The University of Edinburgh, 2021 Amelie Trainor, Psychology, University of Exeter, 2021 Katie Trembath, Economics/Politics (SocSci), University of Glasgow, 2021 Nuyara Udawatte, Film and English, University of Bristol, 2021 Annabelle van Delft, Architecture, Cardiff University, 2021 Christopher Van Der Merwe, Medicine, The University of Edinburgh, 2021 Jake Vieira, Marine Technology with Offshore Engineering, Newcastle University, 2021 Alexander Waldron, General Engineering with a Year in Industry, University of Sheffield, 2021 Benjamin Wardle, History, UCL (University College London), 2021 Megan Jane Wardle, Sport and Exercise Science, University of Nottingham, 2021 Zachary Welsh, Gap Year, University Application 2022 Alistair White, Gap Year; Ancient History, University of Glasgow, 2022 Samuel Whiteside, Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, 2021 Frederick Whitfield, Chemical Engineering including an Industrial Year, University of Nottingham, 2021 Rosa Whittingham, Biology, University of York, 2021 Joseph Wilson, Chemical Engineering, University of Manchester, 2021 Farah Yossry, Economics, University of Nottingham, 2021 Feilian Zhang, Engineering (Mechanical), UCL (University College London), 2021 Wen Zheng, Computing, Imperial College London, 2021 Mingri Zhu, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London, 2021 Mingyue Zhu, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London, 2021
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S TA F F A N D G OV E R N O R S Senior School 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, Birkbeck College, London, MEd, Newcastle, PGCE
DEPUTY HEAD PASTORAL Miss S J Longville, BA, Newcastle, PGCE
HEAD OF SIXTH FORM Mrs N McGough, MSc, Imperial College, PGCE, MRes
DIRECTOR OF PARTNERSHIPS Mr J A Smith, BSc, Edinburgh, MEd, Newcastle, PGCE
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & OPERATIONS Mrs R Amey, MEng Nottingham, ACMA
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS Ms S Beck, MSc, Southbank, London, InstFCert
ART MR G P MASON, BA, Manchester Metropolitan, MA, Northumbria, PGCE Miss H C Bray, BA, MA, Northumbria, PGCE Mrs C Egan-Fowler, BEd, Notre Dame College, Liverpool University, MA, Northumbria Miss R Harvey, MFA, Newcastle, BA, Cumbria Mrs K Nowicki, (Head of Year 12) BA, London Metropolitan, PGCE
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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 Dr C J Murgatroyd, (Head of Year 7) BSc, Sunderland, DPhil, Newcastle, PGCE Mr L Shepherd, MA, Homerton College, Cambridge, PGCE Miss A Stickings, BSc, Greenwich, PGCE
CAREERS AND HIGHER EDUCATION MR M G DOWNIE, BA, Lancaster, PGCE Mrs R J L Laws, (Asst. Head) MA, Durham, PGCE Mr S M F A Belfield, (Oxbridge Coordinator) BA, MA, New College, Oxford, MA, Birkbeck College, London, 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 Miss B Milburn, (Careers Coordinator, medical), BSc, Imperial College London, MA, Northumbria, PGCE Mrs C Towns, (Careers Coordinator, non-medical), Staatsexamen, Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat Freiburg, GTP
CHEMISTRY 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 10) 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 Mrs M Wiggins, BSc, Imperial College, London, PGCE (Maternity cover)
Mr R W Wiggins, BSc, Imperial College, London, PGCE Mrs N Wright, (Head of EPQ) BSc, MEd, Newcastle, PGCE Miss S Best, BSc, Newcastle, PGCE
CLASSICS MRS V C MEE, BA, MA, Jesus College, Oxford, PGCE Mr S M F A Belfield, BA, 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, PGCE Mr M Moore, MEng, Newcastle, PGCE
DRAMA MISS S G DAVISON, BA, Warwick, PGCE Miss J Blacklock, BA Sunderland Mrs R A Shaw-Kew, BA, Bretton Hall College, University of Leeds
ECONOMICS MR J D NEIL, BA, Durham, Mphil, Hughes Hall, Cambridge, PGCE Mrs L E Davison, MA, BA, Newcastle, PGCE, QTS Mr R C M Loxley, (Deputy Head Academic) BSc, Birkbeck College, London, MEd, Newcastle, PGCE Mr S O’Dwyer, BA, Bangor, PGCE, Nottingham 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 Mr M Lowe, BA, Nottingham Trent Mrs C A Pipes, BA, Northumbria, PGCE Miss O Kenny, BA, Newcastle, MA, Sunderland, PHD, Sunderland, PGCE
ENGLISH DR S J BARKER, BA, St David’s University College, Lampeter, PHD, University of Wales Mrs H Chandy, BA, MA, St Andrews, 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
FOOD AND NUTRITION Mrs M Aitchison, BSc, Northumbria, PCGE
GEOGRAPHY 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, (Head of PSHE), 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 Mrs L Crowley, MA, MLitt, Glasgow, QTS Mr O L Edwards, MA, King’s College, Cambridge, PGCE Mr D C Greenhalgh, (Head of Year 8) 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
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, (Deputy Head), BSc, Bradford, MSc, Northumbria, PGCE Mr A Pearson, BSc, MEd, Newcastle, PGCE Mr H Rashid, BSc, MSc, Newcastle, PGCE Mr A Snedden, BSc, Newcastle, 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 Miss R M Watterson, BSc, Edinburgh, PGCE Miss Z Winn, MMath, Bath, PGCE
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 13) BA, Aberystwyth, PGCE Miss S Demoulin, University of Mont Saint Aignan, France Mrs C L Diaz-Crossley, BA, Jesus College, Cambridge, PGCE Mr T Harman, (Head of French) BA, Newcastle, PGCE Miss E L Hayes, BA, Newcastle, PGCE Senora B Membrado-Dolz, (Head of Spanish) Mr M Metcalf, (Head of Year 9) MA, MPhil, Trinity College, Cambridge, PGCE Mrs C Towns, (Careers Coordinator, non-medical), Staatsexamen, Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat Freiburg, GTP Mrs D Williams, (Head of German) BA, Durham, PGCE Dr Alessia Ronchetti, (Visiting Italian Teacher) Mrs Xing Wang, (Visiting Mandarin Teacher)
MFL ASSISTANTS Miss Prunelle Beguier, (French Assistant) Miss Ceri Morgan, (Spanish Assistant)
Annie Ball, (Piano) Dip ABRSM, BMus M.Mus Lada Khazanovych, (Piano) Nicholas Nowicki, (Piano) M.Mus (perf) RNCM, BA (Hons) MISM Andrew Soulsby, (Piano and Harpsicord) B/Mus (Hons) Dip ABRSM, PGCE Julia Jasinski, (Violin) L.T.C.L. (performers / teachers) A.R.A.M Michael Walton, (Violin) B.Mus (R.C.M.), M.Mus James Morgan, (Voice) Katrina Conaty, (LAMDA) BA(Hons), ALAM Timothy Burke, BA Oxford, ARCO Royal College of Organists, PGDip Guildhall School of Music and Drama
LEARNING SUPPORT Ms A E Lee, (Director of Progress, Learning and Support), MSc, Nottingham, BA, Newcastle, PGCE Mrs H J Hardy, (Learning Support Assistant), BA, Sheffield, MA, Open, PGCE Mrs N Kyle, (Learning Support Assistant), BA, Durham, MSc, Northumbria, PGCE Mrs S Huck, (Learning Support Assistant), BA, Reading, GCE Newcastle
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 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 Dave Hignett, (Brass) BA (Hons), LGSM, PGCE Peter Richardson, (Cello, Guitar and Bass) DRSMD (performance) Dov Goldberg, (Clarinet and Saxophone) GMus RNCM (hons), PPRNCM dist. John Ferguson, (Classical Guitar) Licentiate Trinity College London (LTCL) Stephen Wall, (Drums) Sarah Davie, (Flute) M.Mus (perf), BA, CPGS RSAMD Rebecca O’Donnell, (Oboe and Bassoon) M.Mus (perf), BMus (Hons) Mark Edwards, (Orchestral Percussion) M.Mus / PGDip
MRS A J PONTON, (DIRECTOR OF SPORT) BSC, Liverpool John Moores, 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 J A Wood, BA, Manchester Metropolitan, PGCE Sunderland
Mrs N McGough, (Head of Sixth Form) MSc, Imperial College, PGCE, MRes Mr S McMenzie, BSc, Manchester, PGCE Miss B Milburn, (Careers Coordinator, medical), BSc, Imperial College London, MA, Northumbria, PGCE Mr E T Rispin, (Head of Exams), BSc, Newcastle, PGCE Mr T Williams, (Physics Outreach Teacher) BSc, Durham, 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 Mrs S Oakley (cover), BSC, Birmingham, MA, Sheffield, MSc, Manchester, PHD, Newcastle, GCE, Leeds
Governors 20/21 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
Junior School HEADMASTER Mr J N Miller, BA, Northumbria
DEPUTY HEAD Dr A J Spencer, BSc, PhD, Birmingham, PGCE
ASSISTANT HEAD PASTORAL Mrs K Wall, BA, University College of Ripon & York St John, QTS
ASSISTANT HEAD ACADEMIC Mrs K Clappison, MA, Glasgow, PGCE
STAFF Mrs C Baker, BA, Northumbria Mrs E J Barlow, BSc, Ulster, PGCE Miss H Close, BSc, Lancaster, MA, Sunderland, PGCE Mr A Cragg, BA, Durham, QTS 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, MA, Northumbria, PGCE Mrs C O’Hanlon, BA, Newcastle, PGCE Miss R Scott, BA, Sheffield, PGCE Mrs L M Stairmand, BA, Leeds, MSc, Buckinghamshire, PGCE Mrs R S Towers, BA, Leeds, MEd, Newcastle Ms A J Whitney, BA, Southampton, PGCE Miss L R B Wood, BA, Newcastle, MA, Durham, QTS Mrs H Dean, BEd, Newcastle Polytechnic
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
PERSONAL CARE ASSISTANT Miss K Hobson, BA, Hull
PHYSICS DR R M HOUCHIN, MSCI, PHD, Durham QTS, DIPED Mr J L Camm, BSc, Manchester, PGCE
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Support Staff ADMINISTRATION Administrative and Exam Assistant: Mrs J Pringle Attendance Manager/ Staff Cover Manager: Mrs L J Wright, HND, Bedfordshire Head of Admissions: Mrs A Perry Head of Marketing and Communications: Miss L Foad, BA, Newcastle, PCGE, NCTJ External Affairs Administrator: Mrs J Lawrence Archivist: Miss L Piffero, BA, Sheffield, MA, Liverpool Performing Arts Manager: Mrs J M Graham Finance Officer: Mrs A Findlay, BA, Northumbria, FCCA Senior Finance Assistant: Mrs S A McGregor Finance Assistant: Mrs M Keeler Director of Finance & Operations Assistant: Mrs C Black, BSc Aston Secretary and Clerk to the Governors: Ms J Blott, MA Newcastle, PGCE Headmaster’s Secretary: Miss S Ellis
Administrators: Ms T Barden, BSc London, MSc Cranfield, Ms R McCabe Senior School Secretary: Mrs J M Glendon
CARETAKERS Caretakers: Mr G J Fuery BEM Mr D Broom Mr O Gooding
CATERING Catering Manager: Mr B T Bulch Head Chef: Mr W Halfpenny Assistant Chefs: Mr J Gray Miss C Lyon Mr C Scott Mr J Webb Catering Assistants: Mrs M Armstrong, Mrs N Campbell, Mrs A Crisp, Miss T Carr, Miss L Docherty, Mrs G Gott, Mrs D Graham, Mrs L Hodgson, Miss S Knight, Miss C Ludbrook, Miss J O’Dwyer, Miss C Stewart, Mrs L Storey, Mrs S Turnbull, Miss H Wilkins
COACHES Chess: Mr D Eggleston Climbing: Mr J Chamberlain Dance: Miss A Lisle
Head of HR: Mrs L Ledger, LLB, Leicester, LPC, College of Law, York
Fencing: Mr I Aberdeen
HR Advisor: Mrs S Forster, BA, Birmingham
Football: Mr S Harrison
Junior School Secretaries: Miss A Noble, Miss A Gravely, BA, Hull
Hockey: Mr A Craggs
Junior School Receptionist: Mrs E Evans
Rugby: Mr J Benson, Mr T Turnbull
Bursary Access Officer: Mrs J Browne, BA, Newcastle
Strength and Conditioning: Mrs T Hamilton, Miss D Peart, Miss L Cockburn, Mr C Lee
Receptionist: Mrs J Cross
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Yoga: Mrs D Hannant
COUNSELLOR
MEDICAL STAFF
Miss A E Jordon, BSc Newcastle, PGDip Psychotherapy
School Nurses: Mrs M Thorniley-Walker, RGN Mrs V Duns
DOMESTIC STAFF Domestic Manager: Mrs J Gallagher, ABICsc
School Medical Officer: Dr R Pedlow
OUTDOOR PURSUITS Domestic Supervisor: Ms J Tullis Domestics: Miss G Carter, Mrs S Charlton, Mr M Conroy, Mrs S Davison, Mr J Fothergill, Mr A Francis, Miss P Irving, Mrs S Redhead, Mr G Reid, Miss T Smith, Mrs S Spearman, Miss S Watkins, Mr J Murtha, Miss E Munro, Mrs C Fairlamb, Miss L Conlin, Mrs L Clark, Mrs T Day, Mrs L Hodgson, Mrs L Woodhead, Miss N Cushing
FACILITIES Facilities Manager: Mr S G Lymn, MA, Durham Porter/Security Officer: Mr L Johansen
Outdoor Pursuits Instructor: Mr R O’Hagan CCF Contingent Commander Mr P Barlow
SPORTS CENTRE Sports Centre Supervisor: Mr L Herbertson Sports Centre Assistant: Mr O Young Graduate Sports Assistant: Mr B Wollerton, BSc, Northumbria, PGCE Physiotherapist: Mr K Mortland
Groundsmen: Mr D Payne, Mr D Gibson, Mr J Rippon
Supervisory Assistants: Miss R McCabe Mrs A Bailey
IT
TECHNICAL STAFF
Director of IT Services: Mr P J Miller, BSc, MSc, Newcastle
Art Technician: Miss R M Gibson, BA York
Database Manager: Ms J Shutt, BSc, Leeds
Audio Visual Manager: Mr S Corrigall
Specialist in End User Computing: Mr D Baker, BSc, Derby
Performing Arts Centre Technical Manager: Mr M R Burton, BA, Northumbria
IT Support Technician: Mr J Mayer
LIBRARY Librarian: Mrs C J Richardson, BA, Newcastle
MAINTENANCE STAFF Mr M Graham Mr S Blanchflower
Assistant Technical Manager (Performing Arts Centre): Mr B Squire, BA, University of West London Senior Technician: Mr P L Emmerson, BA, Northumbria Technicians: Mr G Bowman, BSc, Northumbria, Miss J English Mr I Norris, BSc, MPhil, Newcastle, Mr C Robinson
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Royal Grammar School Eskdale Terrace Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4DX
Royal Grammar Junior School Lambton Road Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4RX
General Enquiries: hm@rgs.newcastle.sch.uk or communications@rgs.newcastle.sch.uk
Tel: 0191 281 5711
Tel: 0191 281 8955
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