The Royal Grammar School (RGS), Newcastle upon Tyne, is a

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 ...

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 ...

for pupils aged between 7 and 18 years. Founded in 1525 by Thomas Horsley, the Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne, 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. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

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, Tyne and Wear, England, situated north of the city centre and to the east of the Town Moor. Jesmond is considered to be one of the most affluent suburbs of Newcastle upon Tyne, with higher aver ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, in

North East England North East England, commonly referred to simply as the North East within England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of County DurhamNorthumberland, , Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and part of northern North Yorkshire. ...

, and is a member of the

Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), formerly known as the Headmasters' Conference and now branded HMC (The Heads' Conference), is an association of the head teachers of 351 private fee-charging schools (both boarding schools ...

. 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 nearly 500 years as an all boys' school. Former students are known as ''Old Novocastrians'' or ''Old Novos'' ("Novocastrian" is macaronic Latin 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, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Officially, it is a gr ...

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 ...

and

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

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 King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

, on reading one of

Admiral Collingwood Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood (26 September 1748 – 7 March 1810) was an admiral of the Royal Navy. Collingwood was born in Newcastle upon Tyne and later lived in Morpeth, Northumberland. He entered the Royal Navy at ...

's despatches after

Trafalgar Trafalgar most often refers to: * The Battle of Trafalgar (1805), fought near Cape Trafalgar, Spain * Trafalgar Square, a public space and tourist attraction in London, England Trafalgar may also refer to: Places * Cape Trafalgar, a headland in ...

, 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 (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 ...

the school was evacuated en masse to

Penrith, Cumbria Penrith (, ) is a market town and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. It is less than outside the Lake District, Lake District National Park and about south of Carlisle. It is between the Rivers River Pet ...

, 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 operated throughout the Second World War, winning fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The ...

. 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 ...

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.

Student life

Organisation

Throughout the school (years 3–13) are four houses, named Collingwood (gold), Eldon (green), Horsley (blue) and Stowell (red), although the Junior School previously had separate houses, named after colours (red, white, and blue). 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 headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, 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. Role While s ...

James Miller. There are also approximately 68 members of maintenance staff and 14 private music tutors.

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, sub divided into Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to ...

(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 The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (often referred to as, "The Fusiliers") is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Currently, the regiment has two battalions: the 1st Battalion, part of the Regular Army, is an ...

, and the Navy Section is affiliated to HMS ''Calliope'', a

stone frigate A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land. 'Stone frigate' is an informal term which has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy (RN), after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the First French ...

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 school's debating 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 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 unive ...

and

Cambridge Union The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a historic debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. The society was founded in 1815 making it the oldest ...

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,

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

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 ...

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 ...

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

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 ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

, 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), competitio ...

. In 2025, the

VEX Robotics VEX Robotics is a robotics program for elementary through university students and a subset of Innovation First International. The VEX Robotics competitions and programs are managed by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (RECF). In Apri ...

team qualified for the VEX Robotics World Championships in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

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.

Buildings and grounds

The RGS is located opposite the Newcastle Prep School, and close to Newcastle High School for Girls, a single-sex girls' school formed through the merger of the Central High and Church High girls' schools. The RGS's main buildings are in a complex located on Eskdale Terrace,

, Newcastle upon Tyne. The school hall houses an

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 ...

donated by Sir Arthur Sutherland to commemorate the 138 former pupils who were killed during the First World War. 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 1997, Professor

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist, zoologist, science communicator and author. He is an Oxford fellow, emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was Simonyi Professor for the Publ ...

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

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...

and Design & Technology

laboratories A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which science, scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratories are found in a variety of settings such as s ...

downstairs, and

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

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 2005, the

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

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 theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoriums can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and t ...

, 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 a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

, 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 football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

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

2015 Rugby World Cup The IRB 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 ...

. 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.

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

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 branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, 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 external party. In ...

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 e ...

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

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

scholar and

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

* Henry Bourne (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 species; as well as the ...

18th century

* John Horsley (c. 1685–1732),

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

* Anthony Askew (''

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for '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 indic ...

'' 1699–1774),

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

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 f ...

(1721–1770), 18th century English

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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

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 ...

, and Chief Justice of

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

Charles Hutton Charles Hutton FRS FRSE LLD (14 August 1737 – 27 January 1823) was an English 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 th ...

(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, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

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

* William Scott, 1st Baron Stowell (1745–1836), English

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

and

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

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. Collingwood was born in Newcastle upon Tyne and later lived in Morpeth, Northumberland. He entered the Royal Navy at ...

(1750–1810), Admiral Lord Collingwood of

fame *

John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon, (4 June 1751 – 13 January 1838) was a British barrister and politician. He served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain between 1801 and 1806 and again between 1807 and 1827. Early life Background Eldon ...

(1751–1838),

Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain 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 ...

* George Hall, Bishop of Dromore (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 An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic sit ...

and Portuguese 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 Addison (April 179529 June 1860) was an English physician and medical researcher. He is traditionally regarded as one of the "great men" of Guy's Hospital in London. Thomas Addison began his career at Guy's Hospital in 1817, eventually ...

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

19th century

Albany Hancock Albany Hancock (24 December 1806 – 1873), English naturalist, biologist and supporter of Charles Darwin from Newcastle upon Tyne. He is best known for establishing a museum along with his brother John and for his works on marine animals and c ...

(1806–1873), zoologist *

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot of the American Revolution. He was the longest-serving Presi ...

(1808–1890), father of modern

taxidermy Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by 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 proces ...

* 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 A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

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

Uruk Uruk, the archeological site known today as Warka, was an ancient city in the Near East, located east of the current bed of the Euphrates River, on an ancient, now-dried channel of the river in Muthanna Governorate, Iraq. The site lies 93 kilo ...

* 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 Aus ...

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

and bryologist * George Swinburne (1861–1928)

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and public man * Robert Burns Dick (1868–1954), architect, city planner and artist * Sir Arthur Sutherland (1878–1883), industrialist and politician * Tod Slaughter (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, when an explosion and underground fire killed 261 men. Gresford is one of Britain's worst coal mining disasters: a controversial inquiry into the disaster ...

inquiry * Ronald Hall (1895–1975),

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop

20th century

* Samuel Segal, Baron Segal, (1902–1985),

Physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

, Labour Party politician and Deputy Speaker of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

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. Early life Costa was born in Toulon, France, the son of Brazilian parents. His ...

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

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

* Sir Douglas Macfadyen, KCB CBE (1902–1968) Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Home Command * Sir Harry Livermore(1908- 1989) Lawyer and

Lord Mayor of Liverpool The Lord Mayor of Liverpool is a largely ceremonial civic office of Liverpool City Council. The Lord Mayor is the ‘first citizen’ of Liverpool representing the city and acting as a focal point of community events and is also the Chair (off ...

* Arthur Blenkinsop (1911–1979), British Labour Party politician * Sir Richard Southern (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 love ...

(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 and Wales, Lord Chief Justice of England from 1992 until 1996. Family Taylor came from a Yiddish-speaking Jewish parents of ...

(1930–1997),

Lord Chief Justice The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English a ...

(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 8 March 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 ...

(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 of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister on ethical standard ...

* Jeremy Beecham, Baron Beecham (b. 1944), PoliticianMembers of the Balance of Funding Review Steering Group
local.odpm.gov.uk * Timothy Kirkhope (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 ...

(born 1946),

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

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

(born 1946), rock journalist * Paul Torday (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 (born 1956),

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

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

* John Ashton (born 1956),

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

* 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 ...

(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 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 Paul Walter Franks is the Robert F. and Patricia Ross Weis Professor of Philosophy and Judaic Studies at Yale University. He graduated with his PhD from Harvard University in 1993. Franks' dissertation, entitled "Kant and Hegel on the Esotericism o ...

(born 1964), Professor of Philosophy and Judaic Studies, Yale University * Paul W. S. Anderson (born 1965), Film Director * Nick Brownlee (born 1967), crime thriller writer * Simon Johnson (born 1970), cricketer *

Rhodri Talfan Davies Rhodri Talfan Davies (born 9 February 1971) is a Welsh media executive. He is Director of Nations at the BBC and was the director of BBC Cymru Wales from 2011-2020. He is a former journalist and communications executive. Personal life and educati ...

(born 1971), Director of BBC Cymru * Alastair Leithead (born 1972), 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 A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and television presenter on Poker Night Live * Nicky Peng (born 1982), English cricketer * Matthew Thompson (born 1982), English & Newcastle Falcons RFU player * Mark Wallace (born 1984), political journalist *

Fraser Forster Fraser Gerard Forster (born 17 March 1988) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur. He will becom ...

(born 1988), professional footballer (goalkeeper) with

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

* 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 * Tom Machell (born 1990) Actor and Writer * Joel Hodgson (born 1992), professional rugby union player with

* Abigail Thorn (born 1993), YouTuber, actress and playwright *

Tom Penny Tom Penny (born 13 April 1977) is a professional skateboarder from Abingdon, United Kingdom (UK). As of January 2013, Penny is sponsored by the Flip skateboard deck brand and his Cheech & Chong signature deck is one of the brand's highest- ...

(born 1994), professional rugby union player with

* Will Nicholls (born 1995), wildlife cameraman * Kate Waugh (born 1999), British Triathlete * Phil Brantingham (born 2001), professional rugby union player with

Notable staff

* James Jurin, Head Master 1709–1715 * Richard Dawes, Head Master 1738–1749 * Hugh Moises, Head Master 1749–1806 * George Ferris Whidborne Mortimer, Head Master 1828–1833 * Max Black, Head of Mathematics 1931–1936 * Michael Roberts, Mathematics 1931–1941; published poet * John Elders, Sports Master 1957–1982 and 1992–1996; England Rugby Head Coach * William Feaver, History and Art 1965–1971; author and published art historian * 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 Private schools in Newcastle upon Tyne Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference