(By Learning, You Will Lead) , established = , closed = , type =

Grammar School A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compa ...

, religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Geoffrey Stanford , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = , chair = , founder = Thomas Horsley , specialist = , address = Eskdale Terrace , city =

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, country =

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, postcode = NE2 4DX , local_authority = , urn = 108549 , ofsted = , staff = 91 , enrolment = 1,247 , gender =

Coeducational 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 ...

, lower_age = , upper_age = , houses = Collingwood, Eldon, Horsley, Stowell , colours = , publication = , free_label_1 = Former pupils , free_1 = Old Novocastrians , free_label_2 = , free_2 = , free_label_3 = , free_3 = , website
www.rgs.newcastle.sch.uk
The Royal Grammar School (RGS), Newcastle upon Tyne is a selective British

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

for pupils aged between 7 and 18 years. Founded in 1525 by Thomas Horsley, the

Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne This is a list of mayors and the later lord mayors of the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the United Kingdom. Newcastle had elected a mayor annually since 1216. The city was awarded the dignity of a lord mayoralty by letters patent dated 27 ...

, it received royal foundation 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. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

and is the city's oldest institution of learning. It is one of seven schools in the United Kingdom to bear the name "Royal Grammar School", of which two others are part of the independent sector. The School is located in

Jesmond Jesmond is a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, situated to the east of the Town Moor. Jesmond is considered to be one of the most affluent suburbs of Newcastle upon Tyne, with higher average house prices than most other areas of the city. H ...

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary author ...

, and is a member of the

Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) is an association of the head teachers of 361 independent schools (both boarding schools and day schools), some traditionally described as public schools. 298 Members are based in the Un ...

. In 2008, RGS became fully

co-education 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 ...

al after 450 years as an all boys' school. It has a current enrolment of more than 1,300 pupils. Former students are known as ''Old Novocastrians'' or ''Old Novos'' ("Novocastrian" is

macaronic Latin Dog Latin or cod Latin is a phrase or jargon that imitates Latin, often by "translating" English words (or those of other languages) into Latin by conjugating or declining them as if they were Latin words. Dog Latin is usually a humorous d ...

for "citizen of Newcastle"). In 2012 and again in 2015, the Sunday Times Schools Guide named RGS the top performing school in the

North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

based on academic results from

A-levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational a ...

and

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

History

The RGS was founded in 1525 by Thomas Horsley, within the grounds of St Nicholas' Church, Newcastle. Planning is believed to have begun as early as 1477. The site has moved five times since then, most recently to

in 1906. The new school building, designed by Sir Edward Cooper, was officially opened on 17 January 1907 by the 7th Duke of Northumberland. An 1868 description reads:

There are many public schools, the principal one being the Royal Free Grammar school founded in 1525 by Thomas Horsley, Mayor of Newcastle, and made a royal foundation by Queen Elizabeth. It is held in the old hall of St. Mary's Hospital, built in the reign of James I., and has an income from endowment of about £500, besides a share in Bishop Crew's 12 exhibitions at Lincoln College, Oxford, lately abolished, and several exhibitions to Cambridge. The number of scholars is about 140. Hugh Moises, and Dawes, author of "Miscellanea Critica," were once head-masters, and many celebrated men have ranked among its pupils, including W. Elstob, Bishop Ridley, Mark Akenside, the poet, Chief Justice Chambers, Brand, the antiquary and town historian, Horsley, the antiquary, and Lords Eldon, Stowell, and Collingwood.

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, on reading one of Admiral Collingwood's despatches after Trafalgar, asked how the seaman had learned to write such splendid English, but he answered himself, recalling that, along with Eldon and Stowell, he had been a pupil of Hugh Moises: "I forgot. He was one of Moises' boys." For the duration of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

the school was evacuated en masse to

Penrith, Cumbria Penrith (, , ) is a market town and civil parish in the county of Cumbria, England, about south of Carlisle. It is less than outside the Lake District National Park, in between the Rivers Petteril and Eamont and just north of the River ...

, where a special train carrying staff and around 800 pupils arrived on 1 September 1939. Meanwhile, the main school building was transformed into the Regional War Room, which undertook the vital strategic role of collating details of air raids across the region and passing these on to

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Brita ...

. Several rudimentary

air raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but man ...

s were built above ground for military personnel, which although substantial enough to survive as store rooms until the end of the century would have offered little protection, even from an indirect hit. The school was one of several places in Newcastle upon Tyne where a small supply of ammunition to be used in the event of a German invasion was stored.

Description

School grounds

The RGS is located opposite the Newcastle Prep School, and close to

Newcastle High School for Girls Newcastle High School for Girls is an independent day school for girls aged 3–18 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The Junior School is at Sandyford Park and the Senior School is located in the neighbouring suburb of Jesmond. The school was f ...

, a single-sex girls' school formed through the merger of the Central High and Church High girls' schools. The school has its own swimming pool, climbing wall and gym.

Organisation

Throughout the school (years 3–13) are four houses, named Collingwood (yellow), Eldon (green), Horsley (blue) and Stowell (red), although the Junior School previously had separate houses, named after colours (red, white, and blue). The Senior School is located on Eskdale Terrace. The Junior School was housed on the adjoining Lambton Road, but a new Junior School on the main school site has been in use since September 2006. Geoffrey Stanford is Headmaster as of February 2020, replacing John Fern. There are 91 members of teaching staff in the Senior School. In the Junior School there are 16 members of teaching staff including the

Headmaster A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

James Miller. There are also approximately 68 members of maintenance staff and 14 private music tutors. The RGS school uniform was updated for all new pupils as of September 2006, and was then updated further in 2012–2013.

Clubs and societies

The RGS has

Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, and normally includes Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to "provide a ...

(CCF) Army, Navy and RAF contingents, open to both boys and girls. Cadets have weekly training sessions after school, and opportunities to go on extended training and adventure trips during the holidays. The Army section of NRGS CCF is affiliated to the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, and the Navy Section are affiliated to HMS ''Calliope'', a

stone frigate A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land. "Stone frigate" is an informal term that has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the French in 1803–04. ...

which is situated on the Tyne next to the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

Art Gallery. CCF information is in a section part-way down the page. In 2004 the school hosted the first Northern Junior Debating Championship, which has now become an annual competition. The society also regularly enters teams for other competitions, and has reached the finals' day of both the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

and

Cambridge Union The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debati ...

schools' competitions in recent years, winning the Cambridge Union competition in 2010. At a junior level, RGS won the Northern Junior Debating Competition in 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2014. The primary sports that are played at RGS are

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

, and

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), competi ...

Magazines

The school magazine, ''Novo'', comes out annually. A student-run newspaper, ''the Issue'', came into being in the late 1990s; after a period of inactivity, it was relaunched as ''the re-Issue'' in September 2003. It ran roughly twice per term until its demise in summer 2005, but was replaced in early 2006 by ''The Grammar''. At the end of the 2009–2010 academic year, ''The Grammar'' folded. In 2011 a new magazine called ''Vox'' was set up but is currently out of print. In 2017, an online group ''RGmemeS'' came into being. It is currently inactive.

Other

From 1965, the school held a "Prizegiving" ceremony each November, to recognise academic achievement and bring the school together. Due to declining interest by parents, students, and teachers, the school replaced this in 2007 with a series of smaller gatherings and a public festival. However, in 2009, Headmaster Bernard Trafford announced that a new Prizegiving ceremony, "RGS Day", would be hosted on the Saturday of the penultimate week of the school year. The former Head of Drama, Jeremy Thomas, who had taught at the school for 28 years prior to leaving due to ill health, died December 2006. Thomas had campaigned for years for a new Performing Arts Centre, but died before being able to see the finished product.

Buildings and grounds

The RGS's main buildings are in a complex located on Eskdale Terrace,

, Newcastle upon Tyne. The school hall houses an

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

donated by Sir Arthur Sutherland to commemorate the 138 former pupils who were killed during the First World War. There have since been a number of large-scale building operations to provide the school with better facilities and to accommodate for the expansion of the school as it prepared to admit girls at all major entrance points from September 2006. In 1997, Professor

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ...

opened the new Science and Technology Centre (STC), with

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

and Design & Technology

laboratories A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physi ...

downstairs, and

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

and

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

upstairs. In 2003 the STC was renamed ''The Neil Goldie Centre'' in memory of Neil Goldie, who died earlier that year. At the time he was the school's Head of Science and Technology. In 1996, a new Sports' Hall containing basketball courts and updated gymnastics facilities was opened. The building also provides facilities for table tennis, fencing, and weight-training, plus a gymnasium and climbing wall. In 2005, the

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

block was demolished. A new Performing Arts Centre and Modern Languages department was completed in September 2006. It includes a 300-seat

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, communit ...

, named the "Miller Theater" in memory of former headmaster James Miller, for school concerts and productions, a musical recital hall, a drama/dance

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

, recording facilities, a band room, a percussion room, and a number of classrooms. A floodlit all-weather surface has been in use since January 2006, on land that once was part of the school field. Aside from the school field, which is primarily used for

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

, the school also owns land in nearby Jesmond for sports use. This was given to the school in recompense for the land it lost when the flyover was created at the top of the school – eating into some of the land owned by the school. The school is also the landlords of Sutherland Park in Benton. Sutherland Park is named after

Arthur Sutherland Sir Arthur Munro Sutherland, 1st Baronet, KBE (2 October 1867 – 29 March 1953), of Hethpool House, Kirknewton, Northumberland, was an English shipowner and philanthropist. Sutherland was the son of Benjamin John Sutherland, a shipping m ...

(1878–1883), who bought the grounds of Benton Lodge in 1925 for Novocastrians Rugby Football Club. The ground and clubhouse was sold to the school at a later date. The club was set up by former pupils of the school in 1899; many Old Novos still represent and play for the club to this day. The school has also recently agreed a 50-year lease of the County Cricket Ground on

Osborne Avenue Osborne Avenue is a cricket ground in Jesmond, Tyne and Wear. It was originally known as the Constabulary Ground. It is currently the home ground of Newcastle Cricket Club, Royal Grammar School Newcastle and Northumberland County Cricket Club. ...

, Jesmond. In October 2015, the school was the team base for the Scottish national rugby union team during the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was on ...

. In October 2019 a new library, art facilities and pastoral care centre, was opened. In addition, the school also redeveloped the sixth form area, which opened in January 2020.

School motto

The school has the motto, ''Discendo duces'' (By learning you will lead).

Notable alumni

Former pupils are known as Old Novocastrians, which is also a demonym for a person from

16th century

* Nicholas Ridley (died 16 October 1555),

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

Source doesn't specifically mention Newcastle RGS. It says, "After attending school at Newcastle upon Tyne, about 1518, in his middle to late teens..." * Thomas Brandling (1512–1590), founder of the Brandling land and coal owning dynasty

17th century

* Brian Walton (1600–1661), English divine and scholar * Colonel Robert Lilburne (1613–1665),

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

John Lilburne John Lilburne (c. 161429 August 1657), also known as Freeborn John, was an English political Leveller before, during and after the English Civil Wars 1642–1650. He coined the term "'' freeborn rights''", defining them as rights with which eve ...

(1614–1657), "Freeborn John" * William Elstob (1674?–1715),

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

scholar and

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

Henry Bourne Henry Bourne (c.1694 – 16 February 1733) was an English historian, who is remembered for his ''Antiquitates Vulgares'' (1725), a pioneering work in the field of folklore studies, and for his substantial history of his home town of Newcastle upo ...

(1694–1733),

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

18th century

* John Horsley (c. 1685–1732),

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

Anthony Askew Anthony Askew (1722–1774) was an English physician and is best known for having been a book collector. His collection was purchased by the British Museum and books purchased by George III of Great Britain were added to the King's Library. Lif ...

(''

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

'' 1699–1774),

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

book collector Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. The love of books is '' bibliophilia'', and some ...

Mark Akenside Mark Akenside (9 November 1721 – 23 June 1770) was an English poet and physician. Biography Akenside was born at Newcastle upon Tyne, England, the son of a butcher. He was slightly lame all his life from a wound he received as a child ...

(1721–1770), 18th century

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

and

* Sir Robert Chambers (1737–1803), jurist,

Vinerian Professor of English Law The Vinerian Professorship of English Law, formerly Vinerian Professorship of Common Law, was established by Charles Viner who by his will, dated 29 December 1755, left about £12,000 to the Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of O ...

, and Chief Justice of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

Charles Hutton Charles Hutton FRS FRSE LLD (14 August 1737 – 27 January 1823) was a British mathematician and surveyor. He was professor of mathematics at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich from 1773 to 1807. He is remembered for his calculation of the ...

(1737–1823),

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

* John Brand (1744–1806), 18th century

William Scott, 1st Baron Stowell William Scott, 1st Baron Stowell (17 October 174528 January 1836) was an English judge and jurist. He served as Judge of the High Court of Admiralty from 1798 to 1828. Background and education Scott was born at Heworth, a village about four m ...

(1745–1836),

judge and jurist *

Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood (26 September 1748 – 7 March 1810) was an admiral of the Royal Navy, notable as a partner with Lord Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars, and frequently as ...

(1750–1810), Admiral Lord Collingwood of Trafalgar fame * John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon (1751–1838),

Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

* George Hall,

Bishop of Dromore The Bishop of Dromore is an episcopal title which takes its name after the original monastery of Dromore in County Down, Northern Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church the title still continues as a separate bishopric, but in the Church of Irel ...

(1753–1811)Newbottle – Newcastle-upon-Tyne, British History Online
British-history.ac.uk (22 June 2003). Retrieved on 2012-05-26. * John Adamson (1787–1855), antiquary and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

scholar *

John Bigge John Thomas Bigge (8 March 1780 – 22 December 1843) was an English judge and royal commissioner. He is mostly known for his inquiry into the British colony of New South Wales published in the early 1820s. His reports favoured a return to the ...

(1780–1843), English judge and royal commissioner *

Thomas Addison Thomas J Addison (April 179329 June 1860) was an English physician, chef, and scientist. He is traditionally regarded as one of the "great men" of Guy's Hospital in London. Among other pathologies, he discovered Addison's disease (a degenerati ...

(1793–1860), renowned 19th-century English physician and scientist

19th century

Albany Hancock Albany Hancock (24 December 1806 – 1873), English naturalist, biologist and supporter of Charles Darwin, was born on Christmas Eve in Newcastle upon Tyne. He is best known for his works on marine animals and coal-measure fossils. Albany Hanco ...

(1806–1873), zoologist *

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of t ...

(1808–1890), father of modern

taxidermy Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proc ...

* Sir William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, (1810–1900), industrialist * John Forster (1812–1876),

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

, critic and lunacy commissioner * William Loftus (1820–1858), discoverer of

Uruk Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...

* Richard Austin Bastow (1839–1920),

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

naturalist and bryologist *

George Swinburne George Swinburne (3 February 1861 – 4 September 1928) was an Australian engineer, politician and philanthropist. He founded the institution which later became Swinburne University of Technology. Alison Patrick,Swinburne, George (1861–1928), ...

(1861–1928)

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and public man *

Robert Burns Dick Robert Burns Dick (1868–1954) was a British architect, city planner and artist. Mainly working in the Newcastle upon Tyne area, he designed municipal buildings, churches and over one hundred houses and housing schemes in the North East of Engl ...

(1868–1954), architect, city planner and artist * Sir

(1878–1883), industrialist and politician *

Tod Slaughter Norman Carter Slaughter (19 March 1885 – 19 February 1956), also known as Tod Slaughter, was an English actor, best known for playing over-the-top maniacs in macabre film adaptations of Victorian melodramas. Early life Slaughter was born o ...

(1885–1956), actor * Edward Clark (1888–1962), conductor and BBC music producer * John Brass (colliery manager) (1879–?), President of the Institution of Mining Engineers, assessor at the

Gresford disaster The Gresford disaster occurred on 22 September 1934 at Gresford Colliery, near Wrexham, Denbighshire, when an explosion and underground fire killed 266 men. Gresford is one of Britain's worst coal mining disasters: a controversial inquiry into ...

inquiry *

Ronald Hall Ronald Owen Hall (; Cantonese: ''Ho Ming Wah''; 22 July 1895 in Newcastle upon Tyne – 22 April 1975 in Lewknor, Oxfordshire) was an Anglican missionary bishop in Hong Kong and China in the mid 20th century. As an emergency measure during th ...

(1895–1975), Anglican bishop

20th century

Samuel Segal, Baron Segal Samuel Segal, Baron Segal, MRCS, LRCP, (2 April 1902 – 4 June 1985) was a British doctor and Labour Party politician who became Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords. Early life Samuel Segal was the son of Moshe Zvi Segal and the elder br ...

, (1902–1985),

Physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, Labour Party politician and Deputy

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

Lúcio Costa Lúcio Marçal Ferreira Ribeiro Lima Costa (27 February 1902 – 13 June 1998) was a Brazilian architect and urban planner, best known for his plan for Brasília. Career Costa was born in Toulon, France, the son of Brazilian parents. His fath ...

(1902–1998), Brazilian architect, designer of the Pilot Plan of

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

* Sir Douglas Macfadyen, KCB CBE (1902–1968) Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at

RAF Home Command RAF Home Command was the Royal Air Force command that was responsible for the maintenance and training of reserve organisationsJohn D. Rawlings, 'The History of the Royal Air Force,' Temple Press Aerospace, Feltham, Middlesex, 1984, p.180 from fo ...

* Sir Harry Livermore(1908- 1989) Lawyer and Lord Mayor of Liverpool *

Arthur Blenkinsop Arthur Blenkinsop (30 June 1911 – 23 September 1979) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician. Blenkinsop was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle, and the College of Commerce, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and became a ch ...

(1911–1979), British Labour Party politician *

Sir Richard Southern Sir Richard William Southern (8 February 1912 – 6 February 2001), who published under the name R. W. Southern, was a noted English medieval historian based at the University of Oxford. Biography Southern was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne ...

(1912–2001), historian *

Denys Hay Denys Hay (29 August 1915 – 14 June 1994) was a British historian specialising in medieval and Renaissance Europe, and notable for demonstrating the influence of Italy on events in the rest of the continent. Life He was born in Newcastle-upo ...

(1915–1994), historian * Eric Saint (1918–1989), physician and professor of medicine * George Gale (1927–1990), political journalist *

Brian Redhead Brian Leonard Redhead (28 December 1929 – 23 January 1994) was a British author, journalist and broadcaster. He was a co-presenter of the ''Today'' programme on BBC Radio 4 from 1975 until 1993, shortly before his death. He was a great lover ...

(1929–1994), presenter of BBC Radio 4's ''Today'' (1975–1993) *

Peter Taylor, Baron Taylor of Gosforth Peter Murray Taylor, Baron Taylor of Gosforth, (1 May 1930 – 28 April 1997) was the Lord Chief Justice of England from 1992 until 1996. Family Taylor came from a Yiddish-speaking Jewish family who had emigrated to England from Marijampol� ...

(1930–1997),

Lord Chief Justice Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

(1992–96) * Sir Geoffrey Bindman (b. 1933), lawyer * Professor Sir George Alberti (b. 1937), President of the Royal College of Physicians (1997–2002) *

Steven Lukes Steven Michael Lukes (born 1941) is a British political and social theorist. Currently he is a professor of politics and sociology at New York University. He was formerly a professor at the University of Siena, the European University Institute ...

(born 1941), Social and political theorist * Sir Alistair Graham (b. 1942), Chairman of the

Committee on Standards in Public Life The Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) is an advisory non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom Government, established by John Major in 1994 to advise the Prime Minister on ethical standards of public life. It promotes a code o ...

Jeremy Beecham, Baron Beecham Jeremy Hugh Beecham, Baron Beecham (born 14 November 1944) is a British Labour politician and a senior figure in English local government. He was leader of Newcastle City Council and the first Chairman of the Local Government Association. He ...

(b. 1944), PoliticianMembers of the Balance of Funding Review Steering Group
local.odpm.gov.uk *

Timothy Kirkhope Timothy John Robert Kirkhope, Baron Kirkhope of Harrogate (born 29 April 1945) is a British lawyer and politician who previously served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber for the Conservative Party. After ...

(born 1945), Baron Kirkhope of Harrogate 2016, Former MEP 1999-2016, and MP 1987–97. Lawyer. *

Peter Kellner Peter Jon Kellner (born 2 October 1946) is an English journalist, former BBC ''Newsnight'' reporter, political commentator, and former president of the YouGov opinion polling organisation in the United Kingdom. He is known for his appearances on ...

(born 1946),

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

Nik Cohn Nik Cohn, also written Nick Cohn (born 1946), is a British writer. Life and career Cohn was born in London, England and brought up in Derry in Northern Ireland, the son of historian Norman Cohn and Russian writer Vera Broido. An incomer to th ...

(born 1946), rock journalist *

Paul Torday Paul Torday (; 1 August 1946 – 18 December 2013) was a British writer and the author of the comic novel ''Salmon Fishing in the Yemen''. The book was the winner of the 2007 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for comic writing and was seria ...

(1946–2013), author * Professor Sir Ian Gilmore (b. 1947), President of the Royal College of Physicians (2006–2011) * Sir Derek Wanless (1947–2012), banker, government adviser, author of reports on health and social care * Sir Greg Winter CBE FMedSci FRS (b. 1951), Nobel Prize laureate and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge * Gareth A. Morris (born 1954), chemist *

John Harle John Harle (born 20 September 1956) is an English saxophonist, composer, educator and record producer. He is an Ivor Novello Award winner and has been the recipient of two Royal Television Society awards. Biography Harle was born in Newcastl ...

(born 1956),

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ...

and composer *

John Ashton John Ashton may refer to: Entertainment * John Ashton (composer) (1830–1896), Welsh musician * Will Ashton (John William Ashton, 1881–1963), British-Australian artist and art director * John Rowland Ashton (1917–2008), English author * John ...

(born 1956), diplomat * Jim Pollock (born 1958) Scottish International, Barbarian FC and Novocastrians Captain *

Ian Lucas Ian Colin Lucas (born 18 September 1960) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wrexham, Wales from 2001 to 2019. He was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Business and Regulatory Reform in the ...

(born 1960), MP * Andrew Parker (born 1962), Director-General of the British Security Service (MI5) * Peter Coles (born 1963), theoretical cosmologist * Jonathan Webb (born 1963), England rugby International *

Max Hill Max Benjamin Rowland Hill, (born 1964) is the Director of Public Prosecutions (England and Wales), Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales, succeeding Alison Saunders as from 1 November 2018. Previously, he was the Independent Revi ...

QC (born 1964), Director of Public Prosecutions, Crown Prosecution Service *

Bharat Nalluri Bharat Nalluri (born 1965) is a British–Indian film and television director. Personal life Nalluri was born in India. He moved to England at a young age with his family and grew up in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he attended the Royal Grammar ...

(born 1964), Television Director * Paul W. Franks (born 1964), Professor of Philosophy and Judaic Studies, Yale University *

Paul W. S. Anderson Paul William Scott Anderson (born 4 March 1965) is an English filmmaker who regularly works in science fiction films and video game adaptations. Anderson made his feature film debut with the British independent film '' Shopping'' (1994), a ...

(born 1965), Film Director *

Nick Brownlee Nick Brownlee is a British journalist and crime thriller writer. His critically acclaimed debut novel, ''Bait'', published in December 2008 by Piatkus, was the first in a series featuring Kenyan crimebusting duo Jake Moore and Detective Inspecto ...

(born 1967), crime thriller writer * Simon Johnson (born 1970), cricketer *

Rhodri Talfan Davies Rhodri Talfan Davies (born 9 February 1971) is a Welsh television executive. He is Director of Nations at the BBC and is the director of BBC Cymru Wales. He is a former journalist and communications executive. Personal life and education Davies ...

(born 1971), Director of BBC Cymru * Alastair Leithead (born 1971), BBC Journalist(RGS) Royal Grammar School, Newcastle – Education of the highest quality for boys and girls
. Rgs.newcastle.sch.uk. Retrieved on 26 May 2012. * Caspar Berry (born 1974), professional poker player, screenwriter,

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and television presenter on Poker Night Live * Nicky Peng (born 1982), English cricketer * Matthew Thompson (born 1982), English & Newcastle Falcons RFU player *

Mark Wallace Mark David Wallace (born December 31, 1967) is an American businessman, former diplomat and lawyer who has served in a variety of government, political and private sector posts. He served in several positions during the administration of Presi ...

(born 1984), political journalist * Fraser Forster (born 1988), Professional Footballer (goalkeeper) with

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

* Will Welch (born 1990), Professional rugby player with

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

* Daniel Young (born 1990), cricketer *

Joel Hodgson Joel Hodgson (born February 20, 1960) is an American writer, comedian and television actor. He is best known for creating '' Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K'') and starring in it as the character Joel Robinson. In 2007, ''MST3K'' was list ...

(born 1992), Professional rugby player with

Abigail Thorn Abigail Thorn (born 24 April 1993) is a British YouTuber, actress, and playwright, best known for producing the YouTube channel Philosophy Tube. Philosophy Tube began in 2013, when Thorn sought to provide free lessons in philosophy in the wak ...

(born 1993), Philosophy YouTuber * Will Nicholls (born 1995), wildlife cameraman

Notable staff

James Jurin James Jurin FRS FRCP (baptised 15 December 168429 March 1750) was an English scientist and physician, particularly remembered for his early work in capillary action and in the epidemiology of smallpox vaccination. He was a staunch proponent o ...

, Head Master 1709–1715 * Richard Dawes, Head Master 1738–1749 *

Hugh Moises Hugo or Hugh Moises (9 April 1722 – 5 July 1806) was a notable English schoolmaster. Life The son of Edward Moises, M.A., vicar of Wymeswold, Leicestershire, he was born there on 9 April 1722. Educated first at Wrexham School in Denbighshire, ...

, Head Master 1749–1806 *

George Ferris Whidborne Mortimer George Ferris Whidborne Mortimer (22 July 1805 – 7 September 1871) was an English schoolmaster and divine. Biography Mortimer was born on 22 July 1805 at Bishopsteignton in Devonshire, was the eldest son of William Mortimer, a country gentlema ...

, Head Master 1828–1833 *

Max Black Max Black (24 February 1909 – 27 August 1988) was an Azerbaijani-born British-American philosopher who was a leading figure in analytic philosophy in the years after World War II. He made contributions to the philosophy of language, the philo ...

, Head of Mathematics 1931–1936 * Michael Roberts, Mathematics 1931–1941 *

John Elders John Elders (18 December 1930 – 3 May 2015) was an English rugby union player and coach. He played with Leicester Tigers between 1953–1958, scoring the third most tries in the 1950s for his club (38). Elders was also club captain for a numb ...

, Sports Master 1957–1982 and 1992–1996; England Rugby Head Coach *

William Feaver William Feaver (born 1 December 1942) is a British art critic, curator, artist and lecturer. From 1975–1998 he was the chief art critic of the Observer, and from 1994 a visiting professor at Nottingham Trent University. His book ''The Pitmen P ...

, History and Art 1965–1971 * Jim Pollock, Sports Master (Rugby) 2002-2019; Scotland Rugby International

Notes

References

External links

Early History of the School

RGS website

Old Novocastrians Association website
{{authority control 1525 establishments in England Educational institutions established in the 1520s Educational institutions established in the 1540s Independent schools in Newcastle upon Tyne Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference