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The Royal Grammar School Worcester (also known as RGS Worcester or RGSW) is an eleven-eighteen mixed, independent day school and sixth form in Worcester, Worcestershire, England. Founded before 1291, it is one of the oldest British independent day schools. In September 2007, the school merged with the neighbouring Alice Ottley School and was briefly known as RGS Worcester and the Alice Ottley School (RGSAO) before reverting to their original name. The school began accepting girls in 2003, prior to the merger. The school currently consists of the main high school and three preparatory campuses known as RGS Springfield (previously of Alice Ottley School)
RGS The Grange The Royal Grammar School Worcester (also known as RGS Worcester or RGSW) is an eleven-eighteen mixed, independent day school and sixth form in Worcester, Worcestershire, England. Founded before 1291, it is one of the oldest British independent ...
(opened 1996). and RGS Dodderhill. Until 1992 it accepted boarders. Boarding pupils would reside in Whiteladies House, a building that is rumoured to contain hidden treasure from Charles I from when he sought refuge there during the Civil War.Wheeler, A R. ''Royal Grammar School Worcester, 1950 to 1991 with retrospect to 1291'', Royal Grammar School Worcester, 1991. It is now a day school. Tracing its origins back to the 7th century, it is the sixth oldest school in the world.


History

The school was founded as a secular monastic school in Worcester in around 685 by Bishop Bosel. This makes it the 6th oldest school in the world. It was located outside the monastic precincts (as with the King's School, Canterbury) and catered for the relatives of monks and children intending to go into the monastery. The first written reference to the school appears in 1265 when the
Bishop of Worcester A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, Walter de Cantilupe, sent four chaplains into the city to teach.Follet, F. V. ''History of the Worcester Royal Grammar School'', Ebenezer Bayliss, Trinity Press, 1950. Conclusive evidence appears in 1291 when an argument was settled by Bishop Godfrey Giffard regarding who owned the wax from the candles used at the feast of St Swithun. It was decided that the scholars of the Worcester School owned it, and the Rector of Saint Nicholas Church had to rely on the generosity of the scholars in order to get candle wax. The headmaster is mentioned as Stephen of London. The letter dated December 1291 is in the County Records Office in Worcester. The next headmaster was appointed in 1312 as Hugh of Northampton as recorded in the Bishop's register for that year. He was appointed personally by the Bishop of Worcester,
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, Lord Chancellor Walter Reynolds. The school continued to exist under the control of the city guilds through the centuries with various records of headmasters being appointed, again listed in the registers of the bishops of Worcester. One in particular was 'Sir Richard (Chaplain)', who was dismissed by the bishop of Worcester, Philip Morgan, in 1422 for taking money from the scholars for his own use. He was replaced the same year by Sir John Bredel. Sir Richard Pynnington was appointed in 1485 and is known to have given money to the Archbishop of Canterbury's fund, showing the strong connection of the school with the church.


Royal charters

After a petition by some notable citizens of Worcester to endow the school permanently, the school was given a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth I in 1561 and a governing body known as the Six Masters was set up, which remains as the governing body of the new RGS Worcester school today. Amongst famous Six masters are John Wall, Earl Beauchamp, Charles William Dyson Perrins and Anthony Lechemere. The Six Masters acquired much land for the school including its current site bought in 1562, the Pitchcroft fields, now used as the city racecourse, and land in Herefordshire still owned by the school. The 1906 Charity Commission survey also recorded a number of Pubs in Worcester which still exist today. A second Royal Charter was granted in 1843 by Queen Victoria, and the title of 'Royal' was conferred in 1869.


Houses

The
house system The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth countries and the United States. The school is divided into subunits called "houses" and each student is allocated to o ...
was introduced in 1899 by the then headmaster Frederick Arthur Hillard. Initially six houses were established, and membership of houses was based on the place of residence of each boy. The original houses were: Boarders, Barbourne, City, St. John's, County A, and County B. In 1909 the house system was changed to reflect the increasing number of boys in the school, and the difficulty of allocating pupils on the basis of where they lived. The six houses created in 1909 were: School House, for boarders, (which, due to common usage, changed to Whiteladies, as this was the building in which the boarders lived); Temple (after Henry Temple, headmaster 1850s); Tudor (after Elizabeth I); Woolfe (after Richard Woolfe, benefactor 1877 ); Wylde (after Thomas Wylde, benefactor 1558); and Yewle (after Robert Yewle, Six Master 1561). In 1963 two additional houses were created by the then headmaster Godfrey Brown, namely Langley (after William Langley, Six Master 1561) and Moore (after John Moore, benefactor 1626). In 2013/ 2014, the house system changed from six houses (Flagge-red for Flagge Meadow, Butler-Yellow for the old Butler Library, Cobham- gold for Cobham Hall, Eld- Green for Eld Hall, Perrins- orange for Perrins Hall and Britannia-blue for Britannia house) to the current house system. The current houses are: The school holds a yearly house championship, decided by a range of events throughout the school year in which all six houses compete, with the winners of each event being awarded eight points, the second placed house seven, down to the losing house one point. The house championship was traditionally called the 'Cock House' (or Cock House Cup Competition) competition, its name deriving from that of the
Cock Cock or cocks most commonly refers to: * Cock (bird) or rooster, a male of any bird species * Cock (slang), a slang term for the penis Cock or cocks may also refer to: Names * Cock (surname) * Cocks (surname) Places * Cocks Glacier, Ross Dep ...
. The original cup that was competed for is one which was presented to the school in 1902 by the Old Elizabethans' Association; in modern times competition is for a cup which was introduced in 1978.


Affiliated schools


RGS The Grange

RGS The Grange The Royal Grammar School Worcester (also known as RGS Worcester or RGSW) is an eleven-eighteen mixed, independent day school and sixth form in Worcester, Worcestershire, England. Founded before 1291, it is one of the oldest British independent ...
(Royal Grammar School The Grange) is located in Claines, north of Worcester, United Kingdom. It is approximately north of the senior school, and is situated on a site. The headmaster of the school since 2009 has been Gareth Hughes. The school was founded in 1996, when RGS Worcester purchased a traditional English farmhouse in Claines named “The Grange”. It opened to just twenty pupils at the time, but soon other parts of the RGS prep school moved from the senior school site to the Grange. By early 2004, all of the prep school was located at the Grange. Facilities at the school were upgraded in the early 2000s with a £4.5 million development of the buildings. The build was completed ahead of schedule. The Grange has wide-ranging sporting facilities, set in 50 acres (200,000 m2) of maintained pitches and playing fields. It also has an astro-turf for hockey. The current headmaster, Mr Gareth Hughes, took the role in September 2009. The school has four houses: Cash (Green), Perowne (Yellow), Cornwall (Red), and Goodrich (Blue). During 2008 the school formed linkages with the community departments of Worcester Warriors Rugby Club and
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
Football Club.


RGS Springfield

RGS Springfield (Royal Grammar School Springfield) is located in Britannia Square in Worcester, United Kingdom. It is located 100 yards west of the Senior School. After the RGS/AO merger, RGS Springfield became
mixed-sex 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 t ...
. The headmistress of the school is Mrs Laura Brown. Prior to September 2009, the school was known as AO Springfield, as it was the AO's junior school prior to the RGS/AO merger. Today, the school houses 150 pupils. RGS Springfield is located in a large Georgian house surrounded by six acres of gardens and playing fields. The school has a forest area where the children can learn how to adapt outdoor life and learn about trees and outdoor life. Academic and music scholarships are offered at RGS Springfield.


Academic scholarships

These are offered to people entering year three and year five. There is no separate exam; pupils who perform very well in the entrance exam are offered scholarships.


= Music scholarships

= These are also offered to people entering year three and year five. As a guide, pupils taking a music scholarship exam in Year three are expected to hold Grade one on one musical instrument. Year five pupils taking the exam are expected to be playing two or more instruments and have achieved grade three in at least one of those. Singing will be considered an instrument.


RGS Dodderhill

RGS Dodderhill RGS Dodderhill is an independent school on the outskirts of Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, England. Girls & Boys are educated from 2–11 years of age - most boys continue their education at RGS Worcester, and the majority of the girls continue ...
(Royal Grammar School Dodderhill) is located in the town of Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, approximately six miles outside of Worcester. Previously Dodderhill Independent Girls School, the school merged with RGS Worcester family of schools in 2019 and became known as RGS Dodderhill. In September 2021, RGS Dodderhill Prep School became co-educational while the Senior School remains for girls only. The headmistress of the school is Mrs Sarah Atkinson who was appointed in 2019 following the retirement of Mrs Cate Mawston. RGS Dodderhill has a large indoor sports hall, outdoor netball and tennis courts, as well as purpose built drama and music studios.


Connections

The school is a member of the 'Monmouth Group', a collection of schools similar in aims and membership to that of the Eton Group. The school is also a member of the
HMC HMC may stand for: Education * Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, California, US * Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, UK organisation of independent fee-charging schools * Harvard Model Congress, congressional simulation conference * Harr ...
.


Land and buildings

Many of the current buildings were paid for Charles William Dyson Perrins, who was an Old Boy and a member of the school's governing body. Perrins Hall was named after his father James Dyson Perrins, owner of
Lea and Perrins Lea & Perrins (L&P) is a United Kingdom-based subsidiary of Kraft Heinz, originating in Worcester, England where it continues to operate. It is best known as the maker of Lea & Perrins brand of Worcestershire sauce, which was first sold in 183 ...
Worcestershire Sauce, who went to the school. The basement of Perrins Hall contains a rifle range, which was added in 1914. The back rooms of Perrins Hall used to be the sixth form common rooms and are now used for storage.


Flagge Meadow

Flagge Meadow is located nearby at the back of the school, next to the
Worcester and Birmingham Canal The Worcester and Birmingham Canal is a canal linking Birmingham and Worcester in England. It starts in Worcester, as an 'offshoot' of the River Severn (just after the river lock) and ends in Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. It is long. There ar ...
. Flagge Meadow (pronounced Flag) was first levelled and used for
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 striki ...
in 1886. The first recorded match to be held there was in 1939, when the school played
Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...
. The ground has also played host to several Second XI fixtures for the Worcestershire Second XI in the Second XI Championship and Second XI Trophy. In 2007, the ground held a single List-A match for Worcestershire when they played Sri Lanka A. Each year in the summer term cricket is played at Flagge Meadow.


Other land

St. Oswald's, the school's second playing field, is located further down the canal and is mainly used for athletics,
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 c ...
and rounders.


School's halls

The Old School buildings were built in 1868 on a site owned by the school since 1562. The Main Hall, Eld Hall and adjoining buildings were designed by A E Perkins in the Gothic style. It is three bays long with a central lantern. A life-size statue of Elizabeth I by R L Boulton stands above the central window.Pevsner, N. ''Buildings of England: Worcestershire'', Yale University Press, 2002. . The Perrins Hall was built in 1914 to the plans of Alfred Hill Parker (an Old Boy) in a Jacobethan style with an
Oriel Window An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, bracket (architecture), brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window is most commonly found pro ...
on the staircase end and balcony looking over the hall. The interior is panelled with fitted bookcases (which make up the Dowty Library) and a plastered ceiling. Two war memorials for the two World Wars are housed in the hall and a life-size portrait of Charles William Dyson Perrins hangs opposite the fireplace. Portraits of the 20th-century headmasters hang below. The school
organ Organ 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 ...
is in this building, and is played regularly at assemblies. The Clock Block is connected to the Perrins Hall and was built in 1927, and had extension work carried out in 1967 to link it to the Science Block. It has a bell tower and clock above the entrance. The clock is made of Cotswold Limestone, and is surmounted by the carved head of
Old Father Time Father Time is a personification of time. In recent centuries he is usually depicted as an elderly bearded man, sometimes with wings, dressed in a robe and carrying a scythe and an hourglass or other timekeeping device. As an image, "Father ...
. To commemorate the millennium a
stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
window was commissioned and installed over the main entrance to the Clock Block. In the Alice Ottley Building, formerly the main school building for the Alice Ottley School, there are two more halls: Cobham Hall and Main Hall. Main Hall is the school's dining hall, with views over a lawn and a stained glass window commemorating Miss Margaret Spurling, headmistress of the Alice Ottley School from 1912 to 1934.


Other buildings

The science buildings were built in 1922 and opened by the Duke and
Duchess of York Duchess of York is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title held by the wife of the duke of York. Three of the eleven dukes of York either did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, whilst two of ...
(later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth). The science buildings were subsequently refurbished in 1996 and thereafter re-opened by Michael Portillo. The science block features at one end of a long path which comes from the main quad of the school, which is the location of Perrins Hall and the Main block. This long path is known as Long Walk. Whiteladies House, built in the 17th century, was traditionally the Headmaster's house and stands opposite Clock Block across the gardens. This is currently where the school admin staff, nurse and school heads of departments are situated. The West wall was part of the Whiteladies Priory chapel built in 1255.Leach, A. F. ''Schools of Mediaeval England'', Methuen Young Books, 1969. . Its name derives from the white habit that is worn by
Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
nuns, who were based at a Nunnery, which was adjacent to Whiteladies. Other buildings include Priory House (17th Century), Pullinger House (1980s), Gordon House (after Adam Lindsay Gordon OE), Stephen Hall (1961, opened by
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...
on her second visit to the school) and the Design Centre comprising various engineering facilities. The most recent building work to a school building took place on the school's Performing Arts Centre. The Performing Arts Centre (formerly a gymasium), was extended to create three spaces: Studio 1 downstairs, Studio 2 upstairs, and the Godfrey Brown Theatre. An entrance was added to the back of the building and a car park was opened. This project cost the school £2.8 million. The school's library was refurbished in 2001, and was renamed the Philip Sawyer Library (after the former Chairman of the Governors). It was opened by the then Poet Laureate
Andrew Motion Sir Andrew Motion (born 26 October 1952) is an English poet, novelist, and biographer, who was Poet Laureate from 1999 to 2009. During the period of his laureateship, Motion founded the Poetry Archive, an online resource of poems and audio reco ...
. The library is situated above Eld Hall, and features a high vaulted roof structure.


Sport


Rowing

The school has a rowing club, the Royal Grammar School Worcester Boat Club, which is based on the River Severn. The club is affiliated to British Rowing (boat code WRG) and has produced British champion crews at the British Rowing Championships in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.


Other Sports

The school offers Rugby union and football to boys and hockey, netball and rounders to girls. The school stopped teaching lacrosse in 2010. Both boys and girls are taught tennis, athletics, swimming and, after a six-year campaign by a former pupil, cricket is now taught to girls as well as boys.


Notable patrons

* Bishop Godfrey Giffard (1240–1306) Bishop of Worcester and Lord Chancellor of England. * Bishop Walter Reynolds (d.1327) Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor of England. * Hugh Latimer (1470–1555) Bishop of Worcester and Protestant Martyr. *
C.W. Dyson Perrins CW may stand for: Science and technology * centiwatt (cW), one hundredth of a watt * Cω, a programming language * CW complex, a type of topological space * Carrier wave, in radio communications * CodeWarrior, an integrated development environme ...
Chairman Royal Worcester Porcelain and collector. * Queen Elizabeth I * Queen Victoria * Godfrey Brown Headmaster 1950–78, Olympic Gold Medallist.


Notable alumni

Famous Old Boys of the school or Worcester Old Elizabethans (more complete list here), include (in alphabetical order) * John Mark Ainsley (born 1963) Tenor * Sir Roy Allen (R.G.D. Allen) (1906–1983) Economist *
Jonny Arr Jonny Arr (born 29 November 1988) is an England, English rugby union player for Worcester Warriors in the Aviva Premiership. He plays as a Rugby union positions#9. Scrum-half, scrum-half. Arr was educated at the Royal Grammar School Worcester. A ...
(born 1988), rugby union player *
John Billingham Dr. John Billingham, BM BCh, (March 18, 1930 – August 4, 2013) was a British Physician and later director of the SETI Program Office and Director of the Life Sciences Division at the NASA Ames Research Center in the USA. After retiring from NA ...
(1930–2013) Former director of the SETI Program Office and Director of the Life Sciences Division at the NASA Ames Research Center *Dom
Augustine Bradshaw Dom Augustine Bradshaw (1575–1618) was a Benedictine monk. Born John Bradshaw near Worcester in 1575 to recusant Roman Catholic parents, he was sent to Royal Grammar School Worcester (a "free school", i.e. with no religious affiliation). He was ...
(1574–1618) Catholic missionary *
Sir Reginald Bray Sir Reginald Bray (c. 1440 – 5 August 1503) was an English administrator and statesman. He was the Chancellor of the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster under Henry VII, briefly Treasurer of the Exchequer, and one of the most influenti ...
KG (d.1503) Statesman and Architect *
Tim Curtis Timothy Stephen Curtis (born 15 January 1960, Chislehurst, Kent) is a former England cricketer, English teacher and Director of Sport at RGS Worcester. He retired from teaching in 2016. A right-handed batsman, Curtis was a prolific scorer for ...
(born 1960) Cricketer, former captain of Worcestershire. * Tom Dyckhoff (born 1971) Architecture critic and TV Presenter * John Francis Lane (1928–2018) Actor, journalist and critic * Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833–1870) National Poet of Australia * Dean Headley (born 1970) Former England International Cricketer * Imran Khan (born 1952), 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan, politician, cricketer and philanthropist * John McKenna (born 1964), Royal Society of British Sculptors * William Langland (1330–1387) * Benjamin Williams Leader RA (1831–1923) Artist *
Sir Thomas Littleton Sir Thomas de Littleton or de Lyttleton Order of the Bath, KB ( 140723 August 1481) was an English judge, undersheriff, Lord of Tixall Gatehouse, Tixall Manor, and legal writer from the Lyttelton family. He was also made a Order of the Bath, ...
(1407–1481) Lawyer *
Jurek Martin Jurek Martin OBE (born 1942) is a British-born journalist. Martin, a ''Financial Times'' columnist and former foreign editor and twice Washington, D.C. bureau chief was noted for his weekly "Letter to America" column before becoming a columnist ...
(born 1942) Financial Times Foreign Correspondent and former Foreign Editor *
Liam O'Driscoll William 'Liam' John Finian O'Driscoll (born 16 July 1987) is an English former first-class cricketer. O'Driscoll was born at Gloucester in July 1987. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School Worcester, before going up to Gonville and Caius ...
(born 1987), cricketer * Neil Pinner (born 1990), cricketer * Graham Robb (born 1958) Author *
T J Cobden Sanderson Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson (; 2 December 1840 – 7 September 1922) was an English artist and bookbinder associated with the Arts and Crafts movement. Life Sanderson was born in Alnwick, Northumberland. His father, James, was a Distric ...
(1840–1922) Arts and Crafts movement pioneer * Philip Serrell TV Auctioneer. *
Ollie Steele Oliver James Steele (born 15 October 1993) is an English former first-class cricketer. Steele was born at Worcester in October 1993. He was educated in Worcester at Royal Grammar School, before going up to Collingwood College, Durham. While st ...
(born 1993), cricketer *
John Trapp John Trapp (5 June 1601, in Croome D'Abitot – 16 October 1669, in Weston-on-Avon), was an English Anglican Bible commentator. His large five-volume commentary is still read today and is known for its pithy statements and quotable prose; ...
(born 1601) English Anglican Bible commentator *
Ben Warren Benjamin Warren (7 May 1879 – 15 January 1917) was an England international footballer who played as a half-back for Derby County and Chelsea. Born in Newhall, Derbyshire, Warren began his playing career with Derby County, whose secretary-ma ...
(born 1879) Footballer for England *
Professor Michael Wilding Michael Wilding (born 1942) is a British-born writer and academic who has spent most of his career at the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia. He is known for his work as a novelist, literary scholar, critic, and editor. Since 2002 he is Em ...
(born 1942) Australian Author *
Sir Edward Leader Williams Sir Edward Leader Williams (28 April 1828 – 1 January 1910) was an English civil engineer, chiefly remembered as the designer of the Manchester Ship Canal, but also heavily involved in other canal projects in north Cheshire. Early life ...
(1828–1910)
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
(
Manchester Ship Canal The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the river ...
)


See also

*
List of English and Welsh endowed schools (19th century) This is a list of some of the endowed schools in England and Wales existing in the early part of the 19th century. It is based on the antiquarian Nicholas Carlisle's survey of "Endowed Grammar Schools" published in 1818 with descriptions of 475 sc ...


References


External links

*
Good Schools Guide


at CricketArchive

at
Cricinfo ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a d ...

Organ recital series


{{authority control 685 establishments Educational institutions established in the 13th century Schools in Worcester, England 7th-century establishments in England Cricket grounds in Worcestershire Independent schools in Worcestershire Schools with a royal charter