The Royal Grammar School Worcester (also known as RGS Worcester and RGSW) is an 11-18
co-educational
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
,
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...
day school
A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...
and
sixth form
In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...
in
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engl ...
,
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
, England. Founded before 1291, it is one of the oldest British independent day schools.
In September 2007, the school merged with the neighbouring
Alice Ottley School
The Alice Ottley School was an independent all-girls' school in Worcester that existed under this name – referencing its first headmistress – between 1883 and 2007 before it merged with the Worcester Royal Grammar School. She had already r ...
and was briefly known as RGS Worcester and The Alice Ottley School (RGSAO) before reverting to the original name. The school began accepting girls in 2003, prior to the merger. The school currently consists of the main secondary school and three preparatory campuses known as
RGS Springfield
The Royal Grammar School Worcester (also known as RGS Worcester and RGSW) is an 11-18 Mixed-sex education, co-educational, Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school and sixth form in Worcester, England, Worcester, Worcestershir ...
(previously a boarding house of the Alice Ottley School),
RGS The Grange (opened 1996), and RGS Dodderhill.
Until 1992 it accepted
boarders. Boarding pupils would reside in Whiteladies House, a building that is rumoured to contain hidden treasure from
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
from when he sought refuge there during the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
.
[Wheeler, A R. ''Royal Grammar School Worcester, 1950 to 1991 with retrospect to 1291'', Royal Grammar School Worcester, 1991. ] It is now a day school and in 2024 was named the top co-ed independent school in the
West Midlands.
Tracing its origins back to the 7th century, it is the sixth
oldest school in the world.
History
The school was founded as a secular
monastic
Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...
school in
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engl ...
in around 685 by
Bishop Bosel. This makes it the 6th
oldest school in the world. It was located outside the monastic precincts (as with
the King's School, Canterbury
The King's School is a public school in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's oldest public school and is considered to be the oldest continuously op ...
) and catered for the relatives of monks and children intending to go into the monastery. The first written reference to the school appears in 1265 when the
Bishop of Worcester
The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary (officer), head of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Worcester, Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title can be traced back to the foundation of the diocese in the ...
,
Walter de Cantilupe
Walter de Cantilupe (died 1266) was an English clergyman who was Bishop of Worcester from 1236 to 1266.
Early life and career
Cantilupe came from a family that had risen by devoted service to the crown. His father, William I de Cantilupe, , sent four chaplains into the city to teach.
[Follet, F. V. ''History of the Worcester Royal Grammar School'', Ebenezer Bayliss, Trinity Press, 1950.]
Conclusive evidence appears in 1291 when an argument was settled by Bishop
Godfrey Giffard
Godfrey Giffard ( 12351302) was Chancellor of the Exchequer of England, Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Worcester.
Early life
Giffard was a son of Hugh Giffard of Boyton in Wiltshire,[Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...]
,
Lord Chancellor
The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
Walter Reynolds
Walter Reynolds (died 1327) was Bishop of Worcester and then Archbishop of Canterbury (1313–1327) as well as Lord High Treasurer and Lord Chancellor.
Early career
Reynolds was the son of a baker from Windsor, Berkshire, and became a clerk, ...
. The school continued to exist under the control of the city guilds through the centuries with various records of headmasters being appointed, again listed in the registers of the bishops of Worcester. One in particular was 'Sir Richard (Chaplain)', who was dismissed by the bishop of Worcester, Philip Morgan, in 1422 for taking money from the scholars for his own use. He was replaced the same year by Sir John Bredel. Sir Richard Pennington was appointed in 1485 and is known to have given money to the Archbishop of Canterbury's fund, showing the strong connection of the school with the church.
Royal charters
After a petition by some notable citizens of Worcester to endow the school permanently, the school was given a
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
by
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...
in 1561 and a governing body known as the Six Masters was set up, which remains as the governing body of the new
RGS Worcester
The Royal Grammar School Worcester (also known as RGS Worcester and RGSW) is an 11-18 co-educational, private day school and sixth form in Worcester, Worcestershire, England. Founded before 1291, it is one of the oldest British independent day ...
school today. Amongst famous Six masters are
John Wall,
Earl Beauchamp
Earl Beauchamp () was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
The peerage was created in 1815 for William Lygon, 1st Baron Beauchamp, along with the subsidiary title Viscount Elmley, in the County of Worcester. He had already been crea ...
,
Charles William Dyson Perrins and Anthony Lechemere.
The Six Masters acquired much land for the school including its current site bought in 1562, the Pitchcroft fields, now used as the city racecourse, and land in Herefordshire still owned by the school. The 1906 Charity Commission survey also recorded a number of pubs in Worcester which still exist today.
A second Royal Charter was granted in 1843 by
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
, and the title of 'Royal' was conferred in 1869.
Houses
The
house system
The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. The school is divided into units called "houses" and each student is allocated to on ...
was introduced in 1899 by the then headmaster Frederick Arthur Hillard. Initially six houses were established, and membership of houses was based on the place of residence of each boy. The original houses were: Boarders, Barbourne, City, St. John's, County A, and County B. In 1909 the house system was changed to reflect the increasing number of boys in the school, and the difficulty of allocating pupils on the basis of where they lived. The six houses created in 1909 were: School House, for boarders, (which, due to common usage, changed to Whiteladies, as this was the building in which the boarders lived); Temple (after Henry Temple, headmaster 1850s); Tudor (after
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
); Woolfe (after Richard Woolfe, benefactor 1877 ); Wylde (after
Thomas Wylde, benefactor 1558); and Yewle (after Robert Yewle, Six Master 1561). In 1963 two additional houses were created by the then headmaster Godfrey Brown, namely Langley (after William Langley, Six Master 1561) and Moore (after John Moore, benefactor 1626).
[
In 2013/ 2014, the house system changed from six houses (Flagge-red for Flagge Meadow, Butler-yellow for the old Butler Library, Cobham-gold for Cobham Hall, Eld-green for Eld Hall, Perrins-orange for Perrins Hall and Britannia-blue for Britannia house) to the current house system.
The current houses are:
The school holds a yearly house championship, decided by a range of events throughout the school year in which all four houses compete, with the winners of each event being awarded four points, the second-placed house three, down to the losing house one point. The house championship was traditionally called the 'Cock House' (or Cock House Cup Competition][) competition, its name deriving from that of the Cock. The original cup that was competed for is one which was presented to the school in 1902 by the Old Elizabethans' Association; in modern times competition is for a cup which was introduced in 1978.][
]
Affiliated schools
RGS The Grange
RGS The Grange (Royal Grammar School The Grange) is located in Claines
Claines is a village to the north of Worcester in the county of Worcestershire, England. It is located on the east bank of the River Severn. Claines is situated in the heart of Worcestershire on the A449 between Worcester and Kidderminster. It ...
, north of Worcester, United Kingdom. It is approximately north of the senior school, and is situated on a site.
The headmaster of the school since 2009 has been Gareth Hughes.
The school was founded in 1996, when RGS Worcester purchased a traditional English farmhouse in Claines named “The Grange”. It opened to just twenty pupils at the time, but soon other parts of the RGS prep school moved from the senior school site to the Grange. By early 2004, all of the prep school was located at the Grange.
Facilities at the school were upgraded in the early 2000s with a £4.5 million development of the buildings. The build was completed ahead of schedule.
The Grange has wide-ranging sporting facilities, set in 50 acres (200,000 m2) of maintained pitches and playing fields. It also has an astroturf pitch for hockey.
The school has four houses: Cash (green), Perowne (yellow), Cornwall (red), and Goodrich (blue).
During 2008 the school formed linkages with the community departments of Worcester Warriors
Worcester Warriors are a professional rugby union club based in Worcester, England. They most recently played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby union, before being suspended by the Rugby Football Union, RFU in September 2 ...
Rugby Club and Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
Football Club.
RGS Springfield
RGS Springfield
The Royal Grammar School Worcester (also known as RGS Worcester and RGSW) is an 11-18 Mixed-sex education, co-educational, Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school and sixth form in Worcester, England, Worcester, Worcestershir ...
(Royal Grammar School Springfield) is located in Britannia Square in Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engl ...
, United Kingdom. It is located 100 yards west of the Senior School.
After the RGS/AO merger, RGS Springfield became mixed-sex.
The headmistress of the school is Mrs Laura Brown.
Prior to September 2009, the school was known as AO Springfield, as it was the AO's junior school prior to the RGS/AO merger. Today, the school houses 150 pupils.
RGS Springfield is located in a large Georgian house surrounded by six acres of gardens and playing fields. The school has a forest area where the children can learn about nature.
Academic and music scholarships are offered at RGS Springfield.
Academic scholarships
These are offered to people entering year five and year six. There is no separate exam; pupils who perform very well in the entrance exam are offered scholarships.
=Music scholarships
=
These are also offered to people entering year three and year five. As a guide, pupils taking a music scholarship exam in Year three are expected to hold Grade one on one musical instrument. Year five pupils taking the exam are expected to be playing two or more instruments and have achieved grade three in at least one of their grades.
RGS Dodderhill
RGS Dodderhill (Royal Grammar School Dodderhill) is located in the town of Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, approximately six miles outside of Worcester.
Previously Dodderhill Independent Girls School, the school merged with RGS Worcester family of schools in 2019 and became known as RGS Dodderhill.
In September 2021, RGS Dodderhill Prep School became co-educational while the Senior School remains for girls only.
The headmistress of the school is Mrs Sarah Atkinson who was appointed in 2019 following the retirement of Mrs Cate Mawston.
RGS Dodderhill has a large indoor sports hall, outdoor netball and tennis courts, as well as purpose-built drama and music studios.
Connections
The school is a member of the 'Monmouth Group', a collection of schools similar in aims and membership to that of the Eton Group. The school is also a member of the HMC.
Land and buildings
Many of the current buildings were paid for Charles William Dyson Perrins, who was an Old Boy and a member of the school's governing body. Perrins Hall was named after his father James Dyson Perrins, owner of Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, who went to the school.
The basement of Perrins Hall contains a rifle range, which was added in 1914. The back rooms of Perrins Hall used to be the sixth-form common rooms and are now used for storage.
Flagge Meadow
Flagge Meadow is located nearby at the back of the school, next to the Worcester and Birmingham Canal
The Worcester and Birmingham Canal is a canal linking Birmingham and Worcester in England. It starts in Worcester, as an 'offshoot' of the River Severn (just after the river lock) and ends in Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. It is long.
There ...
.
Flagge Meadow (pronounced Flag) was first levelled and used for cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
in 1886.[ The first recorded match to be held there was in 1939, when the school played ]Merton College, Oxford
Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...
. The ground has also played host to several Second XI fixtures for the Worcestershire Second XI in the Second XI Championship
The Second XI Championship is a season-long cricket competition in England that is competed for by the reserve teams of those county cricket clubs that have first-class status. The competition started in 1959 and has been contested annually eve ...
and Second XI Trophy. In 2007, the ground held a single List-A
List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numb ...
match for Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
when they played Sri Lanka A. Each year in the summer term cricket is played at Flagge Meadow.
Other land
St. Oswald's, the school's second playing field, is located further down the canal and is mainly used for athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...
, football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
and rounders
Rounders is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a wooden, plastic, or metal bat that has a cylindrical end. The players score b ...
.
School's halls
The Old School buildings were built in 1868 on a site owned by the school since 1562.[ The Main Hall, Eld Hall and adjoining buildings were designed by A E Perkins in the Gothic style. It is three bays long with a central lantern. A life-size statue of Elizabeth I by R L Boulton stands above the central window.][Pevsner, N. ''Buildings of England: Worcestershire'', Yale University Press, 2002. .]
The Perrins Hall was built in 1914 to the plans of Alfred Hill Parker (an Old Boy) in a Jacobethan style with an Oriel Window
An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, bracket (architecture), brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window generally projects from an ...
on the staircase end and balcony looking over the hall. The interior is panelled with fitted bookcases (which make up the Dowty Library[) and a plastered ceiling. Two war memorials for the two World Wars are housed in the hall and a life-size portrait of Charles William Dyson Perrins hangs opposite the fireplace. Portraits of the 20th-century headmasters hang below. The school ]organ
Organ and organs may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function
* Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body.
Musical instruments
...
is in this building, and is played regularly at assemblies.
The Clock Block is connected to the Perrins Hall and was built in 1927, and had extension work carried out in 1967 to link it to the Science Block. It has a bell tower and clock above the entrance. The clock (which was installed by J. B. Joyce & Co) is made of Cotswold Limestone, and is surmounted by the carved head of Old Father Time
Father Time is a personification of time, in particular the progression of history and the approach of death. In recent centuries, he is usually depicted as an elderly bearded man, sometimes with wings, dressed in a robe and carrying a scythe ...
.[ To commemorate the millennium a ]stained glass
Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
window was commissioned and installed over the main entrance to the Clock Block.
In the Alice Ottley Building, formerly the main school building for the Alice Ottley School, there are two more halls: Cobham Hall and Main Hall. Main Hall is the school's dining hall, with views over a lawn and a stained glass window commemorating Miss Margaret Spurling, headmistress of the Alice Ottley School from 1912 to 1934.
Other buildings
The science buildings were built in 1922 and opened by the Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
and Duchess of York
Duchess of York is the principal courtesy title held by the wife of the Duke of York. Three of the eleven Dukes of York either did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, while two of the Dukes married twice; therefore, th ...
(later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth).[ The science buildings were subsequently refurbished in 1996 and thereafter re-opened by ]Michael Portillo
Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo ( ; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as ''Great British Railway Jou ...
. The science block features at one end of a long path which comes from the main quad of the school, which is the location of Perrins Hall and the Main block. This long path is known as Long Walk.
Whiteladies House, built in the 17th century, was traditionally the Headmaster's house and stands opposite Clock Block across the gardens. This is currently where the school admin staff, nurse, and school heads of departments are situated. The West wall was part of the Whiteladies Priory Chapel built in 1255.[Leach, A. F. ''Schools of Mediaeval England'', Methuen Young Books, 1969. .] Its name derives from the white habit that is worn by Cistercian
The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
nuns, who were based at a Nunnery, which was adjacent to Whiteladies.[
]
Other buildings include Priory House (17th Century), Pullinger House (1980s), Gordon House (after Adam Lindsay Gordon OE), Stephen Hall (1961, opened by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...
on her second visit to the school) and the Design Centre comprising various engineering facilities.[
The most recent building work to a school building took place on the school's Performing Arts Centre. The Performing Arts Centre (formerly a gymnasium), was extended to create three spaces: Studio 1 downstairs, Studio 2 upstairs, and the Godfrey Brown Theatre. An entrance was added to the back of the building and a car park was opened. This project cost the school £2.8 million.
The school's library was refurbished in 2001, and was renamed the Philip Sawyer Library (after the former chairman of the governors). It was opened by the then Poet Laureate ]Andrew Motion
Sir Andrew Peter Motion (born 26 October 1952) is an English poet, novelist, and biographer, who was Poet Laureate from 1999 to 2009. During the period of his laureateship, Motion founded the Poetry Archive, an online resource of poems and a ...
. The library is situated above Eld Hall, and features a high vaulted roof structure.
Sport
Rowing
The school has a rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...
club, the Royal Grammar School Worcester Boat Club, which is based on the River Severn
The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...
. The club is affiliated to British Rowing
British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), is the national governing body for the sport of rowing (both indoor and on-water rowing). It is responsible for the training and selection of individual rowers and crews represent ...
(boat code WRG) and has produced British champion crews at the British Rowing Championships
The British Rowing Championships usually take place every year and are normally held at the National Water Sports Centre, Holme Pierrepont (Nottingham), with occasional championships held at the Strathclyde Country Park
Strathclyde Coun ...
in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.
Other Sports
The school offers Rugby union and football to boys and hockey and netball to girls. The school stopped teaching lacrosse in 2010.
Both boys and girls are taught tennis, athletics, swimming and, after a six-year campaign by a former pupil, cricket is now taught to girls as well as boys.
Notable patrons
* Bishop Godfrey Giffard
Godfrey Giffard ( 12351302) was Chancellor of the Exchequer of England, Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Worcester.
Early life
Giffard was a son of Hugh Giffard of Boyton in Wiltshire,[Walter Reynolds
Walter Reynolds (died 1327) was Bishop of Worcester and then Archbishop of Canterbury (1313–1327) as well as Lord High Treasurer and Lord Chancellor.
Early career
Reynolds was the son of a baker from Windsor, Berkshire, and became a clerk, ...]
(d.1327) Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor of England.
* Hugh Latimer
Hugh Latimer ( – 16 October 1555) was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and Bishop of Worcester during the Reformation, and later Church of England chaplain to King Edward VI. In 1555 under the Catholic Queen Mary I he was burned at the ...
(1470–1555) Bishop of Worcester and Protestant Martyr.
* C.W. Dyson Perrins Chairman Royal Worcester
Royal Worcester is a porcelain brand based in Worcester, England. It was established in 1751 and is believed to be the oldest or second oldest remaining English porcelain brand still in existence today, although this is disputed by Royal Crown ...
Porcelain and collector.
* Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...
* Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
* Godfrey Brown Headmaster 1950–78, Olympic Gold Medallist.
Notable alumni
Famous Old Boys of the school or Worcester Old Elizabethans (more complete list here
Here may refer to:
Music
* ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994
* ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016
* ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979
* ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012
* ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004
* ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...
), include (in alphabetical order)
*John Mark Ainsley
John Mark Ainsley (born 9 July 1963) is an English lyric tenor. Known for his supple voice, Ainsley is particularly admired for his interpretations of baroque music and the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In the course of his career, he has ...
(born 1963) Tenor
* Sir Roy Allen (R.G.D. Allen) (1906–1983) Economist
*Jonny Arr
Jonny Arr (born 29 November 1988) is an England, English rugby union player for Worcester Warriors in the Aviva Premiership.
He plays as a Rugby union positions#9. Scrum-half, scrum-half.
Arr was educated at the Royal Grammar School Worcester.
...
(born 1988), rugby union player
* John Billingham (1930–2013) former director of the SETI
Seti or SETI may refer to:
Astrobiology
* SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
** SETI Institute, an astronomical research organization
*** SETIcon, a former convention organized by the SETI Institute
** Berkeley SETI Research Cent ...
Program Office and director of the Life Sciences Division at the NASA Ames Research Center
The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laborat ...
* E. J. Bowen FRS (1898–1980) Physical chemist and geologist
*Dom Augustine Bradshaw
Dom Augustine Bradshaw (1575–1618) was a Benedictine monk. Born John Bradshaw near Worcester in 1575 to recusant Roman Catholic parents, he was sent to Royal Grammar School Worcester (a "free school", i.e. with no religious affiliation). He w ...
(1574–1618) Catholic missionary
* Sir Reginald Bray KG (d.1503) Statesman and Architect
* Tim Curtis (born 1960) Cricketer, former captain of Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
.
* Sir George Dowty – aeronautical engineer, industrialist and philanthropist.
*Tom Dyckhoff
Tom Dyckhoff is a British writer, broadcaster and historian on architecture, design and cities. He has worked in television, radio, exhibitions, print and online media.
He is best known for being a BBC TV presenter of '' The Great Interior Des ...
(born 1971) Architecture critic and TV Presenter
* John Francis Lane (1928–2018) Actor, journalist and critic
* Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833–1870) National Poet
A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, to be distinguished ...
of Australia
*Dean Headley
Dean Warren Headley (born 27 January 1970) is a former English professional cricketer who played as a right-arm fast bowler for the England cricket team. Domestically he played for Middlesex and Kent County Cricket Clubs. Headley is now an ECB ...
(born 1970) former England international cricketer
*Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...
(born 1952), 22nd prime minister of Pakistan, politician, cricketer and philanthropist
*John McKenna
John McKenna (; 3 January 1855 – 22 March 1936) was an Irish businessman, professional rugby player, and the first manager of the Liverpool Football Club which has since gone on to become the most successful football club in England.
Ear ...
(born 1964), Royal Society of British Sculptors
*William Langland
William Langland (; ; ) is the presumed author of a work of Middle English alliterative verse generally known as ''Piers Plowman'', an allegory with a complex variety of religious themes. The poem translated the language and concepts of the cl ...
(1330–1387)
*Benjamin Williams Leader
Benjamin Williams Leader (12 March 1831 – 22 March 1923) was a British landscape painter.
Life and work
Early years and training
Leader was born in Worcester, England, Worcester as Benjamin Leader Williams, the son, and third child of e ...
RA (1831–1923) Artist
* William Laslett (1799-1884) Member of Parliament
* Sir Thomas Littleton (1407–1481) Lawyer
* Jurek Martin (born 1942) Financial Times Foreign Correspondent and former Foreign Editor
* Liam O'Driscoll (born 1987), cricketer
* Neil Pinner (born 1990), cricketer
*Graham Robb
Graham Macdonald Robb FRSL (born 2 June 1958, in Manchester) is a British author and critic specialising in French literature.
Biography
Born at Manchester, Robb attended the Royal Grammar School, Worcester, before going up to Exeter College ...
(born 1958) Author
* T J Cobden Sanderson (1840–1922) Arts and Crafts movement pioneer
* Philip Serrell TV Auctioneer.
* Ollie Steele (born 1993), cricketer
* John Trapp (born 1601) English Anglican Bible commentator
*Ben Warren
Benjamin Warren (7 May 1879 – 15 January 1917) was an England national football team, England international association football, footballer who played as a half-back for Derby County F.C., Derby County and Chelsea F.C., Chelsea.
Born in New ...
(born 1879) footballer for England
* Professor Michael Wilding (born 1942) Australian author
* Sir Edward Leader Williams (1828–1910) civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...
(Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West England, North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary at Eastham, Merseyside, Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it ...
)
Notable teachers
Teachers who have served 25 years at the school are celebrated on the name board, installed during the 1980s, in the Philip Sawyer Library.
See also
*List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom
This list of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom contains extant schools in the United Kingdom established prior to 1800. The dates refer to the foundation or the earliest documented contemporary reference to the school. In many cases the date ...
*List of English and Welsh endowed schools (19th century)
This is a list of some of the endowed schools in England and Wales existing in the early part of the 19th century. It is based on the antiquarian Nicholas Carlisle's survey of "Endowed Grammar Schools" published in 1818 with descriptions of 475 sc ...
References
External links
*
Good Schools Guide
at CricketArchive
at Cricinfo
ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...
Worcester Royal Grammar School – Roll of Honour World War 1 & 2
{{authority control
685 establishments
Educational institutions established in the 13th century
Schools in Worcester, England
7th-century establishments in England
Cricket grounds in Worcestershire
Private schools in Worcestershire
Schools with a royal charter