72 minute read
SENIOR SCHOOL
from The Review 2020-21
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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.
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.”
SOPHIE BALMER
OLD NOVOS RUN HALF MARATHON IN MEMORY OF CLASSMATE’S FATHER
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.
RECYCLE–A–READ
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.
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.
RGS STUDENTS MAKE THEIR MARK
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.”
ABI TANG
RGS COMMUNITY ‘WAKES UP’ TO MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS
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.
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.
SPORTS DEPARTMENT GET A CLEAN SHAVE FOR MOVEMBER
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.
RUGBY 1ST XV RUN TO TWICKENHAM 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 WITH GOVERNOR OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND
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.
The students were able to participate in a fascinating discussion on the global, national and regional economic changes currently taking place.
COVID–19 Vaccine Virtual Talk
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.
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.
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.
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.
Chris Lubbe Inspires the
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.
TOP MATHS STUDENTS JOIN NATIONAL MENTORING 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.
“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’.
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.
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.”
GEOFFREY STANFORD
HEAD OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY & COMPUTER SCIENCE, CHRIS WILDE
YEAR 8 COMPUTER MAKE SEMI–FINALS OF CYBERFIRST GIRLS COMPETITION
Four of our computer studies students made it to the semi–final of this year’s CyberFirst Girls competition.
Toyah Banerjee, Basma Gharib, Janice Kuang and Chalida Prapunwong represented the RGS on Friday 19th March, where they battled against teams from across the region for a place in the Grand Final.
The Year 8 girls were one of 1,625 teams who entered the national competition, working remotely over 10 days to solve challenges in Cryptography, Networking, Programming and Logic.
Each challenge was scored based on how correct answers were, with different levels of difficulty and varying numbers of points available. The teams could also see their percentage completion for the competition as a whole and for each section. “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 Lynn to organise initiatives such as Cyber First Girls, First Lego League and the Perse Coding Challenge is helping us to develop our young ladies’ confidence in their cyber skills.”
Run by the National Cyber Security Centre, content for each category of the competition is consistent with subjects within the Computer Science syllabus from both the National Curriculum and Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence. However, the competition also contains some advanced cyber topics that are not covered in traditional education but seek to stretch the lateral thinking and additional cyber knowledge of the teams.
OXBRIDGE SUCCESS FOR LANGUAGE STUDENTS
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!
LINGUISTS LEARN WHAT IT’S LIKE TO STUDY ABROAD
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.
2020 BIOLOGY OLYMPIAD 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)
Bronze – Matthew Deehan,
Ollie Longstaff
Highly commended – Gemma Lant (Upper Sixth)
Commended – Natasha Berkley, Gabrielle Dawson, Megan Cottee (all Upper Sixth)
SIXTH FORM CHEMISTS ENJOY OLYMPIAD SUCCESS
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
ARKWRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS SUCCESS FOR LOWER SIXTH STUDENTS
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.
“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.”
STUDENTS ACHIEVE GOLD STANDARD IN BEBRAS CHALLENGE
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.
Arkwright Scholarships:
Faizah Ashraf – sponsored by the Reece Foundation Jess Slater – sponsored by Ward and Burke
Phillip Daniel – sponsored by the Reece Foundation
Pranav Gajawada – sponsored by the Reece Foundation Thomas Smail – sponsored by the Reece Foundation
Theo Wride – sponsored by the Reece Foundation
Anik Mitra – sponsored by the Reece Foundation
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 ACHIEVES 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.
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.”
RENOWNED CLASSICS PROFESSOR HOSTS LIVE TALK
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.
MUSICIANS ACHIEVE 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
CHEMISTS TURN HOMES INTO 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.
WW1 RECORDS BRING YEAR 9 HISTORY LESSON TO LIFE
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.
UPPER SIXTH DRAMA STUDENTS RETURN TO THE
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.
A team of five Year 7 Computer Science students made it to the finals of a national competition.
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.
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!”
MOTHER TONGUE, OTHER TONGUE
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.
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
Prachi Arora – Y7 – Hindi
Sara Brizzi – Y9 – Italian
Ilayda Kucukmetin – Y9 – Turkish
Jasmine Mohammed – Y9 – Arabic
Anushka Taribagil – Y9 – Hindi
Alexia Ward – Y9 – Polish
Ayesha Bajwa – L6 – Urdu Other Tongue
Zuhair Abdullah – Y9 – French
Izzy Goldberg – Y9 – French
Lara Elliott – Y9 – French
Ayesha Bajwa – L6 – Ancient Greek
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!
OLD NOVO SHARES 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.
HEX RACE INTO
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
Rob Gold – Y10 Tom Smail – Y12
Theo Wride – Y12
Jacob Colbeck – Y10
Aidan Lord – Y10 Fraser Davies – Y12
Naveen Naru – Y12
Will Kelly – Y9 Phillip Daniel – Y12
Alexandra Quinton – Y12 Alexandra Quinton – Y12
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.”
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.
1st
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.
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.
“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
Year 13 North North North
Overall Points North South
17 16
LAURA CALLED 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.”
LAURA COTTEE
DANIEL R SAILS INTO 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.”
RIDERS JUMP THEIR WAY INTO NATIONAL 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.
LOLA EXCITED TO MAKE A SPLASH IN HAWAII
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.
TENNIS ACE BEN BECOMES JUNIOR INTERNATIONAL 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.” 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.”
BEN BEARD
MATTHEW CALLED UP TO REGIONAL 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 NEWCASTLE CRICKET FESTIVAL 2021
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.
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.
HEAD OF CRICKET, MICHAEL SMALLEY
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!
REMEMBRANCE SERVICE
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.
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.
AUTUMN RECITAL
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.
LEAVERS’ CONCERT
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. 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.
SPRING CONCERT
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.
CHRISTMAS CAROL SERVICE
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.
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.
RGS STUDENTS DEBATE THEIR WAY TO NATIONAL 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.” 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. This 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.
DR SCOTT MATTHEWS, HEAD OF DEBATING
TOBY PRODUCES GERMAN PODCAST
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.
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.
TOBY GREEN
CLIMATE CLUB EDUCATE THE SCHOOL ON EARTH 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.
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.
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.
BEACH DAYS FOR YEAR 9 AND 10 STUDENTS
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.
KATY’S AWARD–WINNING PHOTOGRAPHY KEEPS SNAPPING UP PRIZES
Talented photographer Katy Read (Lower Sixth) saw a number of her photos win accolades over the last year.
They include:
• Featured Photographer in the Natural History of Northumbria’s magazine, with Rooftop Sparrow.
• Winner, Glaslyn Osprey Centre competition, U18, with
Gannet Stare.
• Winner, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust competition, U17, with
Spotlit Robin.
• Winner (second year running), GWCT Julian Gardner Memorial competition, U17, with Winter Robin.
• Category Winner (second year running), Audubon CNC competition U18 (New York, USA) with Gannets Galore.
• Front 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.
YOUNG ENTERPRISE TEAM TAKES SECOND PLACE IN REGIONALS
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
ENGINEERS RE–BUILD SOCIETY
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.
Senior Prefect Lydia, who is also the Head of Outreach and Charities, said: “We’re really excited about rebuilding the society. One of the main aspects will be the opportunity to speak to current engineers to understand the career path and journey to how they got there, so that come September when we apply to university, we’re in a much better position to make an informed decision about what it is we want to do in the future.”
Fran added: “We’re hoping that we can get some people from the industry to come in to talk to the society members, as it will be a really valuable experience to hear from practicing engineers talking about specific disciplines. “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 and therefore help them to make an informed decision when it comes to A Level choices. It might also help encourage them to stay on at the RGS in Sixth Form.”
The society is keen to welcome any students who share a passion for engineering, regardless of their future career path.
Tom, who is the F1 Team Manager, said: “I have no plans to study engineering at university but I am interested in certain aspects of it so the RGS Engineering Society is perfect for me.”
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!
HENRY LEE
HENRY’S WOODWORK GOES GLOBAL
Year 10 student, Henry Lee, became a self–taught woodwork entrepreneur whose products have been bought worldwide.
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.
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.
JESDINA’S ARTWORK 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.
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.
YEAR 7 AND 8 RACE TO THE LINE DURING PROJECT WEEK
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.
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.
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. 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.
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.
MILLER CUP
Year 7 Results
Girls – Mille Moat
Boys – Alex Lienard
Girls Team Event – Stowell
Boys Team Event – Horsley
Year 8 Results
Girls – Alice Warneford
Boys – Sam Allison
Girls Team Event – Collingwood
Boys Team Event – Stowell Year 9 Results
Girls – Emma Ashman
Boys – Jake Moir
Girls Team Event – Horsley
Boys Team Event – Stowell
Year 10 Results
Girls – Anna Dorman
Boys – James O’Connell Nash
Girls Team Event – Eldon
Boys Team Event – Horsley
SWIMMING
Year 7 Results
Winners – Horsley
2nd – Eldon
Year 8 Results
Winners – Collingwood
2nd – Eldon
Year 9 Results
Winners – Collingwood
2nd – Stowell and Eldon
Year 12 Results
Boys – Freddie Nickalls
Girls – Kate Salthouse
Team Event – Collingwood
