Royal Grammar School Worcester
The Royal Grammar School Worcester is an 11-18 co-educational, private day school and sixth form in Worcester, Worcestershire, England. Founded before 1291, and possibly as early as 685, 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 before reverting to the original name. The school began accepting girls in 2003, prior to the merger. The school currently consists of the main secondary school and three preparatory campuses known as RGS Springfield, RGS The Grange, 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. It is now a day school and in 2024 was named the top co-ed independent school in the West Midlands.
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 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, Walter de Cantilupe, sent four chaplains into the city to teach.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, 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 ', 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 Pennington 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 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, ; Temple ; Tudor ; Woolfe ; Wylde ; and Yewle. In 1963 two additional houses were created by the then headmaster Godfrey Brown, namely Langley and Moore.In 2013/ 2014, the house system changed from six houses to the current house system.
The current houses are:
| House | Colour |
| Whiteladies | |
| Elgar | |
| Ottley | |
| Wylde |
The school holds a yearly house championship, decided by a range of events throughout the school year in which all four houses compete, with the winners of each event being awarded four points, the second-placed house three, down to the losing house one point. The house championship was traditionally called the 'Cock House' competition, its name deriving from that of the Cock. 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 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 of maintained pitches and playing fields. It also has an astroturf pitch for hockey.
The school has four houses: Cash, Perowne, Cornwall, and Goodrich.
During 2008 the school formed linkages with the community departments of Worcester Warriors Rugby Club and Aston Villa Football Club.
RGS Springfield
RGS 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.
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 about nature.
Academic and music scholarships are offered at RGS Springfield.
Academic scholarships
These are offered to people entering year five and year six. 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 their grades.RGS Dodderhill
RGS 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.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 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.Flagge Meadow was first levelled and used for cricket in 1886. The first recorded match to be held there was in 1939, when the school played Merton College, Oxford. 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 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.The Perrins Hall was built in 1914 to the plans of Alfred Hill Parker in a Jacobethan style with an Oriel Window on the staircase end and balcony looking over the hall. The interior is panelled with fitted bookcases 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 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. To commemorate the millennium a stained glass 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.