Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe
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The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe, is a selective boys'
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 Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
situated in
High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...
,
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. As a state school, it does not charge fees for pupils to attend, but they must pass the 11 plus, an
exam An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered verba ...
that some
primary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
administer. In February 2011, the school became an
Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
. Established by
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 ...
in 1562 (originally established as a school in 1551), it is situated on Amersham Hill to the north of the town and has a capacity of about 1,370 boys aged between 11 and 19, open Monday to Friday from 8:00am to 3:30pm and later for co-curricular activities. The school has boarding facilities and was a DfES-designated Language College until 2010. From 2007-2010, it was also a Mathematics and ICT College.
OFSTED The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...
gave it a Good ranking in its 2019 inspection.


History

Originally established by the
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
and burgesses of the town in 1551, in the ecclesiastical premises previously acquired by Sir Edmund Peckham (c. 1495 – 1564) during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the school received its
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 ...
in 1562 (which still survives today at the school's current location). It was based in the buildings of the former Hospital of St John the Baptist in the town centre until 1883. After the old hospital was demolished, the school was moved to new buildings nearby for a short time, and was moved to its current location in 1915. The school expanded greatly under the headmastership of Edmund Tucker from 1933 to 1964, celebrating the 400th anniversary of its Royal Charter in 1962 with a visit from Queen
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
. To commemorate the visit, the school's main hall became ''Queen's Hall'' and bore an engraving to mark the occasion. In 1997 a new building was erected (the Language Block) entirely dedicated to the teaching of
language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...
s, which was opened by the
Duchess of Gloucester Duchess of Gloucester is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Gloucester. There have been five titles referring to Gloucester since the 14th century. The current duchess is Birgitt ...
. There are several Royal Grammar School sites in the UK, of which High Wycombe,
Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...
,
Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for to ...
and Lancaster have maintained their
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 Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
status, whilst
Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...
,
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and Worcester are now privately funded,
private schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...
. In 2006, tabloid accusations against then-headmaster Timothy Dingle led to an independent investigation. The school's governors concluded that he should be dismissed for "gross misconduct", but he had already resigned to take the position of head at a private school in Argentina. Dingle did not take up the position. In 2016, the school made headlines after a question set in a practice maths test by a volunteer (a retired teacher) was deemed homophobic after it stated "marriage is between one man and one woman, as God intended when he made humans male and female". The school immediately withdrew the practice test when informed of the question by students. Headmaster Philip Wayne apologised "on behalf of the whole school community of governors, staff and boys" and said the volunteer who set the question would not be returning.


Headmaster

The current headmaster is Philip Wayne, who was Headmaster of Chesham Grammar School for eight years before joining RGSHW. He succeeded Roy Page in September 2015. Previous notable headmasters include Rowland Brown OBE (1975 - 1993).


Entry

In order to gain entry to the school, pupils from
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
s in the local area are invited to do an entrance exam, the
eleven-plus exam The eleven-plus (11+) is a Test (assessment), standardised examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools ...
.A class apart: How does this state school get so many boys into Oxbridge?
Published 7 October 2007 in
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
, retrieved 28 November 2016
RGS admits 182 day boys each year and 10 boarding boys. Entry for boarding is somewhat different, with the school having extra requirements for applications such as interviews beyond the 11+ exam requirement. Prospective boys who did not take the 11+ (e.g. those who join in later years or those who come from different counties or countries not taking the 11+) also take the school's own entry tests, consisting of a test in both their Mathematics and English subject abilities.


Boarding

Though primarily a day school, some pupils have boarded at the school since the 1800s. For most of the 20th century, boarders were lodged in one of three boarding houses: School House, a purpose-built residence on the school premises, and Uplyme and Tyler's Wood, two converted private houses located near the school. In September 1999 the entire boarding facility was consolidated into the newly built ''Fraser Youens Boarding House''. It incorporates en-suite bedrooms, communication technology, three resident Housemasters and a committee of House Tutors. It has room for 70 resident boys, who stay throughout the week and return home for weekends. The house is named after
alumni Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...
Ian Edward Fraser and Frederick Youens, who were awarded the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
respectively.


Sixth form

RGS has a sixth form. Boys from other schools can join the sixth form but need to have achieved eight GCSEs at grades 5–9 with a grade 6 or above in seven of those (including mathematics and English).


Available subjects

The following subjects are available for A Levels: * Ancient History * Art and Design * Biology * Business Studies * Chemistry * Computer Science * Design and Technology * Economics * English Literature * French * Geography * German * History * Latin * Mathematics * Further Mathematics (may only be taken with Mathematics) * Music * Physics * Politics * Psychology * Spanish * Sport BTEC


Facilities

A music centre was opened in late 2004, so that the school can offer
A Level 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 ...
Music Technology. There is an on-site Combined Cadet Force. Other activities include the
Public Speaking Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...
Society, music and
orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
s,
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
,
social service Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...
,
fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...
and other
sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...
. The school has two playing fields. The RGS also has its own .22 25 yard indoor range which is used by the shooting team of the school. In 2013, planning permission for an All Weather Pitch was granted, and in 2014, work began raising £1m to fund the creation of this 3G floodlit pitch, a new grass pitch, which was completed in April 2016, and to renovate the 100-year-old Main Block classrooms.


Activities


Stage Lighting and Sound Team

In 2019 the Stage Lighting and Sound Team (SLST) could be joined by some boys at or after, Academic Year 9.


Combined Cadet Force

The Combined Cadet Force has Navy, Army and RAF sections open for boys in KS4 & 5 (Years 10 and above) where they learn skills such as field-craft, map and compass, drill, leadership and first aid, while also taking part in activities such as weapon handling, sailing and flying.


Music

Senior groups have featured at the National Festival of Music for Youth having been the National Youth Choir of the Year in 2014.


Gilbert and Sullivan operas

In 1947 Bernarr Rainbow directed the first of the
Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...
Savoy operas to be performed at the school. These continued until at least 1976.


Sport

Its alumni founded the town's local rugby club High Wycombe RFC, originally known as Old Wycombiensians FC. Sporting alumni include golfer
Luke Donald Luke Campbell Donald Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 7 December 1977) is an English professional golfer and former List of World Number One male golfers, world number one. He plays mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour but is also a member of ...
,
2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...
winner Matt Dawson, 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens winner Nick Beal.,
400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Summer Olympics, Olympic Sport of athletics, athletics programme since 1900 Summer Olympics, 1900 for men and since 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 for women. On a ...
athlete Martin Gillingham, England Hockey Captain Jon Wyatt, and the cricketers Phil Newport and Saif Zaib.


Rowing

The school has an active rowing club called the Royal Grammar School High Wycombe Boat Club which is based on the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
at the Longridge Activity Centre, Quarry Wood Road. The club is affiliated to British Rowing (Boat code HWG) and produced two junior national champion crews at the
2014 British Rowing Junior Championships The 2014 British Rowing Junior Championships were the 43rd edition of the National Junior Championships, held from 19–20 July 2014 at the National Water Sports Centre in Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham. They were organised and sanctioned by ...
.


Notable alumni and teachers

Alumni of the RGS are known as Old Wycombiensians, or OWs, and include Chris Grayling, former UK
Secretary of State for Transport The secretary of state for transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Departm ...
, the singers
Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was an English singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame in the late 1970s, during the punk rock, punk and new wave music, new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Kilburn ...
and Howard Jones, the comedian Jimmy Carr and the philosopher
Roger Scruton Sir Roger Vernon Scruton, (; 27 February 194412 January 2020) was an English philosopher, writer, and social critic who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of Conservatism in the United Kingdom, c ...
. The Old Wycombiensians' Committee hosts an annual reunion dinner for Old Wycombiensians at the RGS. Notable sporting alumni include former England rugby union player Matt Dawson, Ryder-Cup winning captain golfer
Luke Donald Luke Campbell Donald Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 7 December 1977) is an English professional golfer and former List of World Number One male golfers, world number one. He plays mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour but is also a member of ...
and sprinter Martin Gillingham. T. S. Eliot taught for a term at the school in the autumn of 1915.


Popular culture

*In 2001, the school was used as one of the sets in the 2001
thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...
'' The Hole'', as a county prison. Various scenes were also filmed inside the school's old boarding house. *In 2003, the school served as the location for two seasons of the television series '' That'll Teach 'em'' for
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
. The school was re-branded as "King's Grammar School" and took thirty sixteen-year-olds for a summer of 1950s style
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
education. This first series was nominated for a
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
. The second series in 2004 saw thirty sixteen-year-olds of lesser academic achievement experience 1960s style
Secondary Modern School A secondary modern school () is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Secondary modern schools accommodated the majority (70–75%) of pupil ...
education; in this case the school was re-branded "Hope Green Secondary Modern". However, different parts of the school were used in each series, giving the impression that the school used in the second series was not that used in the first. *On 1 May 2009 BBC TV show Top Gear recorded at the school. They filmed in the Quadrangle (teacher's car park) against the old main building and clock tower for a segment where
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...
,
Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, and author. He co-hosted the BBC Two motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James Ma ...
and
James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, of the motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' fr ...
were undertaking the challenge, Finding the perfect car for 17-year-olds. Clarkson used a Volvo estate, Hammond a Hyundai S-Coupe and May a Volkswagen Golf. The episode was aired in June 2009. *In 2011 the corridors of the same building appeared in the opening and closing scenes of the BBC Documentary series, ''Our War'', in which former history teacher and CCF leader Bjorn Rose talks about the tragic loss of comrade Chris Gray during his service for the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
.


See also

* List of English and Welsh endowed schools (19th century)


References


External links


RGS Website
{{Authority control 1550 establishments in England Educational institutions established in the 1550s Grammar schools in Buckinghamshire Boarding schools in Buckinghamshire Schools in High Wycombe Academies in Buckinghamshire Schools with a royal charter