Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe
Encyclopedia
See Royal Grammar School
for the other schools with the name RGS.
The Royal Grammar School High Wycombe (RGS or RGSHW for short) is a selective grammar school
situated in High Wycombe
, Buckinghamshire
, England
. As a state school it does not charge fee
s for student
s to attend, but they must pass an entrance exam (The 11+). It bears many traditions; the headmaster and deputy heads often wear gowns. In February 2011 the school became an Academy.
Established by Royal Charter
in 1562 (though originally established as a school in 1550), it is situated on Amersham Hill to the north of the town and has a capacity of about 1450 boys aged between 11 and 19. The school has boarding
facilities and is a DfES-designated Language College
. In 2007 it was also awarded the privilege of becoming a Mathematics and ICT College
due to its outstandingly high performance in these areas which led to Ofsted recommendation. It is highly regarded by bodies such as OFSTED
, which gave it a Grade 1 ranking in every area of its 2006 inspection, and it regularly achieves high rankings on a country-wide scale for GCSE and A-level results.
The current Headmaster is Mr. Roy Page (long term teacher at the school, former Senior Deputy Headmaster, then former Acting Headmaster), who has held the post since Easter 2006, succeeding Timothy Dingle.
The school has over 120 classrooms, two sports gyms, a large multi-purpose hall (named "the Queen's Hall"), several ICT
rooms with computers for student use, several art workshops and technology labs, an interactive library
, two large sports fields, an indoor swimming pool, sports hall, a canteen, modern language block and a three floor science block.
As a Language College, it is compulsory for students to study French
until GCSE. Other modern language subjects include Spanish
and German
as the main choices. In addition, students have the opportunity to study Japanese
, Russian
, Swedish
, Chinese-Mandarin, Italian
, Latin
and Ancient Greek
.
A music centre was opened in late 2004, improving the school's music facilities, including the ability to now offer A Level students the subject Music Technology.
RGS High Wycombe is also recognised as a top sporting school. Amongst the many extracurricular activities, boys can participate in the on-site Combined Cadet Force
, the Public Speaking
Society, music and orchestra
s, drama
, social service, fencing, and a very large variety of sports. The school has two very large playing fields for its sporting use. The RGS also has its own .22 25 yard indoor range which is used by the shooting team of the school.
In Winter 2010, building work started on Phase I of the Shaping Our Destiny campaign, a large-scale plan produced by the school's senior staff and board of governours to expand and renovate existing facilities. Phase I was completed in June 2011, and the new Sixth Form Mezzanine will open for use in the 2011/12 school year.
The whole campaign aims to add Extra Maths classrooms, improve Sixth Form study facilities and school changing rooms, add more toilets and expand the Fitness/gym suite.
KS3= Years 7,8,9
KS4= Years 10,11
KS5= Years 12,13
Note: Form period is 8.45am-9.15am on Thursday.
and burgesses of the town in 1550 the school received Royal charter
in 1562. 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. T. S. Eliot
taught at the school during this time.
The school expanded greatly under the headmastership of ER ("Boss") Tucker
(head from 1933 to 1964) and celebrated the 400th anniversary of its Royal Charter in 1962 with a visit from the Queen. 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
s, which was opened by the Duchess of Gloucester.
In 2001, a past Headmaster Tim Dingle began an "Education Excellence" campaign to raise money for the school, as it would otherwise suffer serious cutbacks in its teaching quality. He aimed to raise £1 million, and this goal has since been passed, with a significant portion of the money being donated by various benefactors and alumni, as well as parents; the remainder from the installation of soft drink and snack vending machines and the sale of advertising space on corridor walls inside the school.
There are several Royal Grammar School
sites in the UK, of which High Wycombe, Colchester
, Clitheroe
and Lancaster
have maintained their grammar school
status, whilst Guildford
, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
and Worcester
are now privately-funded, independent schools.
. Entry to a grammar school usually requires a score of 121/141, though pupils who gain scores of 117 and above are invited to appeal their case. RGS admits 192 day students each year and 10 boarding students. Entry for boarding is somewhat different, with the school creating its own entry test. Prospective students 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 test.
, Japan
, Kenya
and Singapore
reside in Fraser Youens. The house is named after alumni Edward Fraser
and Frederick Youens
, both of whom are war heroes and winners of the Victoria Cross
.
Although there is no fee to attend the main school, boarding students pay a termly fee, which is about £3400 (£3800 for full boarding) as of September 2008. In some cases, students may be awarded scholarship
s if they cannot afford this fee but nevertheless wish to attend the school and are too far away.
, as a county prison. Various scenes were also filmed inside the school's old boarding house.
Later, in 2003, the school was thrown back into history when it served as the location for two seasons of the television series That'll Teach 'em
for Channel 4
. The school was re-branded as "King's Grammar School" and took thirty sixteen year olds for a summer of 50's style boarding school
education. This first series was nominated for a BAFTA. The second series saw thirty sixteen year olds of lesser academic achievement experience 60's style Secondary Modern School 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 Quad" (teacher's car park) against the old main building and clock tower for a segment where Jeremy Clarkson
, Richard Hammond
and James May
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.
Two years later, the corridors of the same building appeared in the opening and closing scenes of the BBC Documentary series, Our War, in which current history teacher and CCF leader Bjorn Rose talks about the tragic loss of comrade Chris Grey during his service for the British Army
in Afghanistan.
and former emeritus professor of Physics at UNM, had been working as a school teacher for the maximum time allowed without having Qualified Teacher Status
(QTS), one requirement of which was a grade C or higher in GCSE mathematics, or an equivalent qualification. Wolfe refused to take the GCSE, saying that at 65 he was "too old for that sort of thing", even though in his opinion he could easily pass it. The problems began when, despite an official stance of "flexibility" by the Department for Education and Skills with regards to equivalent qualifications, correspondence sent to the school was more bureaucratic
. However, after much media attention (during which time the DfES announced that the mathematics GCSE was not in fact a concrete requirement) Wolfe was told that he could obtain QTS by submitting to a short teaching assessment, and he continued to teach at the school until 2006.
In February 2006, Timothy Dingle (then Headmaster) appeared in a double-page Daily Mail
article, alleging he led "a fantasy life fuelled by sex and drugs". Dingle, already scheduled to leave in April 2006, was claimed to have had various extramarital
affairs and false identities. It was also alleged that he had been a user of cocaine
and cannabis
, the latter confiscated from pupils at his school where Dingle had been a hard-line anti-drugs advocate, vociferously opposing the government's at the time proposed declassification of cannabis, and regularly speaking on Christian
morality
at his school. A report on the drug claims was published by independent investigation team in March 2006 and was passed to the governors of the Royal Grammar School for scrutiny. Dingle was forced to resign from his post at St. George's School, Buenos Aires
, which he was due to take up after Easter 2006. He was later sacked from his post at the Royal Grammar School by the school governors, for "gross misconduct". The governors did state that there was no evidence to support the claim that he had used cannabis confiscated from pupils.
In February 2008 Timothy Dingle was told at a hearing in Birmingham
by the General Teaching Council
that he was banned from teaching for two years after being found guilty
of unacceptable professional conduct
.
The RGS SLST (Stage Lighting and Sound Team) run School assemblies, plays and functions, and may be joined by boys at or after, Academic Year 9. Kit purchases are primarily funded by the RGS PA. The team can be dated back to 1994, and maintains its own website.
The CCF (Combined Cadet Force
) has Navy, Army and RAF sections open for boys in KS4 & 5 (Years 10 and above) where they learn new 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. It forms a part of a larger range of options (called TAA - or Thursday Afternoon Activities) that these year groups can choose to do during time-tabled-in free time on Thursday Afternoons, including sports, clubs, internal and external projects.
directed the first of the Gilbert and Sullivan
operettas to be performed at the school and these continue to this day under current head of music Tim Venvell.
Royal Grammar School
Royal Grammar School may refer to:* Clitheroe Royal Grammar School* Colchester Royal Grammar School* Lancaster Royal Grammar School* Royal Grammar School, Guildford* Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe* Royal Grammar School, Newcastle...
for the other schools with the name RGS.
The Royal Grammar School High Wycombe (RGS or RGSHW for short) is a selective grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
situated in High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. As a state school it does not charge fee
Fee
A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup.Traditionally, professionals in Great Britain received a fee in contradistinction to a payment, salary, or wage, and would often use guineas rather than pounds as units of account...
s for student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s to attend, but they must pass an entrance exam (The 11+). It bears many traditions; the headmaster and deputy heads often wear gowns. In February 2011 the school became an Academy.
Established by Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
in 1562 (though originally established as a school in 1550), it is situated on Amersham Hill to the north of the town and has a capacity of about 1450 boys aged between 11 and 19. The school has boarding
Boarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
facilities and is a DfES-designated Language College
Language College
Language Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, modern foreign languages...
. In 2007 it was also awarded the privilege of becoming a Mathematics and ICT College
Mathematics and Computing College
Mathematics and Computing Colleges were introduced in England in 2002 as part of the Government's Specialist Schools Programme which was designed to raise standards in secondary education. Specialist schools focus specifically on their chosen specialism but must also meet the requirements of the...
due to its outstandingly high performance in these areas which led to Ofsted recommendation. It is highly regarded by bodies such as OFSTED
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
, which gave it a Grade 1 ranking in every area of its 2006 inspection, and it regularly achieves high rankings on a country-wide scale for GCSE and A-level results.
The current Headmaster is Mr. Roy Page (long term teacher at the school, former Senior Deputy Headmaster, then former Acting Headmaster), who has held the post since Easter 2006, succeeding Timothy Dingle.
Facilities
ICT (education)
Information and communication technologies in education deal with the use of information and communication technologies within educational technology.-Purpose:...
rooms with computers for student use, several art workshops and technology labs, an interactive library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, two large sports fields, an indoor swimming pool, sports hall, a canteen, modern language block and a three floor science block.
As a Language College, it is compulsory for students to study French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
until GCSE. Other modern language subjects include Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
as the main choices. In addition, students have the opportunity to study Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, Chinese-Mandarin, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
.
A music centre was opened in late 2004, improving the school's music facilities, including the ability to now offer A Level students the subject Music Technology.
RGS High Wycombe is also recognised as a top sporting school. Amongst the many extracurricular activities, boys can participate in the on-site Combined Cadet Force
Combined Cadet Force
The Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance,...
, the Public Speaking
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
Society, music and orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
s, drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, social service, fencing, and a very large variety of sports. The school has two very large playing fields for its sporting use. The RGS also has its own .22 25 yard indoor range which is used by the shooting team of the school.
In Winter 2010, building work started on Phase I of the Shaping Our Destiny campaign, a large-scale plan produced by the school's senior staff and board of governours to expand and renovate existing facilities. Phase I was completed in June 2011, and the new Sixth Form Mezzanine will open for use in the 2011/12 school year.
The whole campaign aims to add Extra Maths classrooms, improve Sixth Form study facilities and school changing rooms, add more toilets and expand the Fitness/gym suite.
Timetable
The timetable is based on eight periods a day, with two breaks. Periods 1, 3, 5 and 7 all last 35 minutes whilst periods 2, 4, 6 and 8 last 40 minutes. Therefore all double periods have a duration of 75 minutes (1¼ hours). The two breaks last 30 minutes and 50 minutes respectively. The school day officially begins at 8.45am (although students are encouraged to arrive before 8.40am) and ends at 3.40pm. Each day therefore contains 5 hours of teaching, 80 minutes of break and 35 minutes of administrative formalities (registration and assembly).| Period | From | To |
| Assembly (KS3) Form Period (KS4 & 5) |
8.45am | 9.00am |
| Form Period (KS3) Assembly (KS4 & 5) |
9.00am | 9.15am |
| 1 | 9.15am | 9.50am |
| 2 | 9.50am | 10.30am |
| 3 | 10.30am | 11.05am |
| 4 | 11.05am | 11.45am |
| BREAK | 11.45am | 12.15pm |
| 5 | 12.15pm | 12.50pm |
| 6 | 12.50pm | 1.30pm |
| LUNCH | 1.30pm | 2.20pm |
| Form Period (KS3 & 4) | 2.20pm | 2.25pm |
| 7 | 2.25pm | 3.00pm |
| 8 | 3.00pm | 3.40pm |
KS3= Years 7,8,9
KS4= Years 10,11
KS5= Years 12,13
Note: Form period is 8.45am-9.15am on Thursday.
History
Originally established by the mayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
and burgesses of the town in 1550 the school received Royal charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
in 1562. It was based in the buildings of the former Hospital of St John the Baptist
Hospital of St John the Baptist, High Wycombe
The Hospital of St John the Baptist was a hospital in High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England between 1180 and 1548. It was situated on the main road that ran from Oxford to London east of the town centre.-The Hospital:...
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. T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
taught at the school during this time.
The school expanded greatly under the headmastership of ER ("Boss") Tucker
Edmund Tucker
Edmund Ronald Tucker was the headmaster of Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe from 1933 to his death in 1964.Born and educated in Wales, he was a scholar of Jesus College, Oxford, where he read Classics, and he later took at external degree at London University...
(head from 1933 to 1964) and celebrated the 400th anniversary of its Royal Charter in 1962 with a visit from the Queen. 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
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
s, which was opened by the Duchess of Gloucester.
In 2001, a past Headmaster Tim Dingle began an "Education Excellence" campaign to raise money for the school, as it would otherwise suffer serious cutbacks in its teaching quality. He aimed to raise £1 million, and this goal has since been passed, with a significant portion of the money being donated by various benefactors and alumni, as well as parents; the remainder from the installation of soft drink and snack vending machines and the sale of advertising space on corridor walls inside the school.
There are several Royal Grammar School
Royal Grammar School
Royal Grammar School may refer to:* Clitheroe Royal Grammar School* Colchester Royal Grammar School* Lancaster Royal Grammar School* Royal Grammar School, Guildford* Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe* Royal Grammar School, Newcastle...
sites in the UK, of which High Wycombe, Colchester
Colchester Royal Grammar School
Colchester Royal Grammar School is a grammar school in Colchester, Essex, founded in AD 1206 and granted two Royal Charters by Henry VIII and by Elizabeth I .-Admissions:...
, Clitheroe
Clitheroe Royal Grammar School
See Royal Grammar School for the other schools with the name RGS.Clitheroe Royal Grammar School is a co-educational secondary school in Clitheroe, Lancashire that used to be an all boys school...
and Lancaster
Lancaster Royal Grammar School
Lancaster Royal Grammar School is a voluntary aided, selective grammar school for boys in Lancaster, England. The school has been awarded specialist Technology College and Language College status. Old boys belong to The Old Lancastrians...
have maintained their grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
status, whilst Guildford
Royal Grammar School, Guildford
The Royal Grammar School is a selective English independent day school for boys in Guildford, Surrey. The school dates its founding to the death of Robert Beckingham in 1509 who left provision in his will to 'make a free scole at the Towne of Guldford'; in 1512 a governing body was set up to form...
, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Royal Grammar School, Newcastle
Royal Grammar School Newcastle upon Tyne, known locally and often abbreviated as RGS, is a long-established co-educational, independent school in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It gained its Royal Charter under Queen Elizabeth I...
and Worcester
Royal Grammar School Worcester
The Royal Grammar School Worcester is an independent coeducational school in Worcester, United Kingdom. Founded before 1291, it is one of the oldest British independent schools....
are now privately-funded, independent schools.
Entry
In order to gain entry to the school, pupils from primary schools in the local area are invited to do an entrance exam, the 11+Eleven plus
In the United Kingdom, the 11-plus or Eleven plus is an examination administered to some students in their last year of primary education, governing admission to various types of secondary school. The name derives from the age group for secondary entry: 11–12 years...
. Entry to a grammar school usually requires a score of 121/141, though pupils who gain scores of 117 and above are invited to appeal their case. RGS admits 192 day students each year and 10 boarding students. Entry for boarding is somewhat different, with the school creating its own entry test. Prospective students 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 test.
Boarding
Fraser Youens Boarding House opened in September 1999. It incorporates en-suite bedrooms, cutting-edge 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 (it is possible to stay weekends as well, if desired). This facility enables students to attend RGS, who would otherwise be unable to: students from Malaysia, Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
reside in Fraser Youens. The house is named after alumni Edward Fraser
Ian Edward Fraser
Ian Edward Fraser, VC, DSC, RD and Bar, JP , was an English diving pioneer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Fraser was born in Ealing, London and went to school...
and Frederick Youens
Frederick Youens
Frederick Youens VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
, both of whom are war heroes and winners of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
.
Although there is no fee to attend the main school, boarding students pay a termly fee, which is about £3400 (£3800 for full boarding) as of September 2008. In some cases, students may be awarded scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
s if they cannot afford this fee but nevertheless wish to attend the school and are too far away.
Television
In 2001, the school was used as one of the sets in the 2001 thriller film The HoleThe Hole (2001 film)
The Hole is a 2001 psychological thriller film directed by Nick Hamm, based on the novel After the Hole by Guy Burt.The film starred Thora Birch, whose headlining credit and highly-publicized seven-figure salary was attributed to her appearance in American Beauty...
, as a county prison. Various scenes were also filmed inside the school's old boarding house.
Later, in 2003, the school was thrown back into history when it served as the location for two seasons of the television series That'll Teach 'em
That'll Teach 'Em
That'll Teach 'Em is a British reality television documentary series produced by Twenty Twenty Television for the Channel 4 network in the UK....
for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
. The school was re-branded as "King's Grammar School" and took thirty sixteen year olds for a summer of 50's style boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
education. This first series was nominated for a BAFTA. The second series saw thirty sixteen year olds of lesser academic achievement experience 60's style Secondary Modern School 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 Quad" (teacher's car park) against the old main building and clock tower for a segment where Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
, Richard Hammond
Richard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...
and James May
James May
James Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....
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.
Two years later, the corridors of the same building appeared in the opening and closing scenes of the BBC Documentary series, Our War, in which current history teacher and CCF leader Bjorn Rose talks about the tragic loss of comrade Chris Grey during his service for the British Army
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
in Afghanistan.
Controversies
In 2004 the school was at the centre of a debate based around the qualifications required to teach. Dr David Wolfe, a physics teacher with a PhDPHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
and former emeritus professor of Physics at UNM, had been working as a school teacher for the maximum time allowed without having Qualified Teacher Status
Qualified Teacher Status
Qualified Teacher Status is required in England and Wales to become, and continue being, a teacher of children in the state and special education sectors...
(QTS), one requirement of which was a grade C or higher in GCSE mathematics, or an equivalent qualification. Wolfe refused to take the GCSE, saying that at 65 he was "too old for that sort of thing", even though in his opinion he could easily pass it. The problems began when, despite an official stance of "flexibility" by the Department for Education and Skills with regards to equivalent qualifications, correspondence sent to the school was more bureaucratic
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
. However, after much media attention (during which time the DfES announced that the mathematics GCSE was not in fact a concrete requirement) Wolfe was told that he could obtain QTS by submitting to a short teaching assessment, and he continued to teach at the school until 2006.
In February 2006, Timothy Dingle (then Headmaster) appeared in a double-page Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
article, alleging he led "a fantasy life fuelled by sex and drugs". Dingle, already scheduled to leave in April 2006, was claimed to have had various extramarital
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
affairs and false identities. It was also alleged that he had been a user of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and cannabis
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
, the latter confiscated from pupils at his school where Dingle had been a hard-line anti-drugs advocate, vociferously opposing the government's at the time proposed declassification of cannabis, and regularly speaking on Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
at his school. A report on the drug claims was published by independent investigation team in March 2006 and was passed to the governors of the Royal Grammar School for scrutiny. Dingle was forced to resign from his post at St. George's School, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, which he was due to take up after Easter 2006. He was later sacked from his post at the Royal Grammar School by the school governors, for "gross misconduct". The governors did state that there was no evidence to support the claim that he had used cannabis confiscated from pupils.
In February 2008 Timothy Dingle was told at a hearing in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
by the General Teaching Council
General Teaching Council
There are 4 General Teaching Councils within the United Kingdom:* General Teaching Council for England* General Teaching Council for Scotland* *...
that he was banned from teaching for two years after being found guilty
Guilty
Guilty commonly refers to the feeling of guilt, an experience that occurs when a person believes that they have violated a moral standard.Guilty or The Guilty may also refer to:-Law:*Guilty plea, a formal admission of legal culpability...
of unacceptable professional conduct
Conduct
Conduct may refer to:*Behavior**a personal behavior, a way of acting and showing one's behaviour**using hand gestures to direct*Action , in relation to moral or ethical precepts*Conducting a musical ensemble...
.
Activities
A full list of RGS activities can be found on the school's website. Below are a few of the most notableThe RGS SLST (Stage Lighting and Sound Team) run School assemblies, plays and functions, and may be joined by boys at or after, Academic Year 9. Kit purchases are primarily funded by the RGS PA. The team can be dated back to 1994, and maintains its own website.
The CCF (Combined Cadet Force
Combined Cadet Force
The Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance,...
) has Navy, Army and RAF sections open for boys in KS4 & 5 (Years 10 and above) where they learn new 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. It forms a part of a larger range of options (called TAA - or Thursday Afternoon Activities) that these year groups can choose to do during time-tabled-in free time on Thursday Afternoons, including sports, clubs, internal and external projects.
Notable alumni
Alumni of the RGS are known as Old Wycombiensians, or OWs. The Old Wycombiensians' Committee hosts an annual reunion dinner for OWs at the RGS.Photographic time line
- School Photos from the years 1947 to 1956 - includes identifications of boys and masters in the group photos. Also covered are scans from Grey Books, Programmes for the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta performances 1948 - 1963, Prospectae, Sporting photographs, The CCF, contributions from Old Boys and other miscellanea.
- School Photos from 1958 to 1967 - includes identifications of boys and masters in the following group photos: 1958 Senior, 1958 Junior, 1960 Senior, 1962 Senior, 1962 Junior, 1964 Senior, 1964 Senior, 1964 Middle, 1964 Junior, 1967 Senior. Plus photos of rugby teams, scans of 1960s Grey Books, etc.
The Gilbert and Sullivan operettas
In 1947 Bernarr RainbowBernarr Rainbow
Bernarr Joseph George Rainbow was a historian of music education, organist, and choir master from the United Kingdom.-Biography:...
directed the first of the Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
operettas to be performed at the school and these continue to this day under current head of music Tim Venvell.