Like so many institutions, the RGS has been flying our flag at half-mast following the recent death of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and our thoughts have very much been with the Queen at such a difficult time.
While many institutions will have been marking his loss in this way, as the Royal Grammar School our royal connections go back many years to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I when she gave us a Royal charter in 1600. Visitors to our new school library will also find carefully restored stained-glass panels depicting Henry VIII who was reigning when the school was first founded and Queen Victoria, who was on the throne when school site on Rye Hill was built prior to us moving to Jesmond in 1906. The Duke of Edinburgh will perhaps be most remembered by many young people for setting up the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme back in 1956. This programme was inspired by the ideas of Prince Philip’s own headmaster from school and encompasses physical activity, learning a skill, community service and (perhaps most memorably for many) training for and completing a camping expedition. Those candidates working towards the gold award are also expected to complete a residential week. For some, this may be their first time away from home and serves as useful experience prior to studying away from home at University or starting a job elsewhere. Since its inception, millions of young people around the world have taken part and felt the sense of achievement that comes with completing any of the levels of the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. Like many schools the RGS provides the opportunity for pupils to take part in the DofE award scheme and we were recently congratulated for having the highest completion rate of independent schools in the North East. This is perhaps more a tribute to the determination of our pupils than anything to do with the school as any level of the Duke of Edinburgh award requires initiative and commitment from each individual over a sustained period of time. Not least, the expedition itself is expected to be planned by the participants and it is the children themselves who have to use their initiative and be sufficiently self-motivated to finish it. Not everybody completes the Duke of Edinburgh award as it takes considerable effort to do so and having achieved the Gold Award always looks particularly impressive on a CV. Whether someone takes part in the Duke of Edinburgh award or not, I would hope that all our pupils can look back at their time at the RGS and recognise that they have benefited from a similar range of opportunities. Indeed, while we are known for our academic performance, the holistic education we provide is so much broader than just what is taught in the classroom. All our pupils engage in physical activity as a core part of our education, with the wide range of sports available on games afternoons, before and after school, and on Saturdays representing a significant part of this. Our co-curricular programme allows pupils to learn a wide variety of skills from playing a musical instrument in an ensemble or taking part in a drama performance through to computer coding challenges and engineering projects like F1 in schools. These activities outside the classroom help children develop confidence in themselves and learn life skills about how to work alongside others. There are also plenty of opportunities for pupils to go on a range of both outdoor and educational trips built into a pupil’s time with us and my aspiration is that every child going through the RGS engages in meaningful charity and service activity. This is important not merely for the impact in the community that pupils can have through these activities but also in developing pupils’ understanding their responsibility to contribute to society and teaching them how to engage with people from all walks of life. There has been much written in recent months about the need for pupils to catch up following their experience of lockdowns and remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. A significant element of any catch up programme must involve providing young people with the opportunity to engage in physical activity away from computer screens, to enjoy learning skills outside the classroom alongside their contemporaries, to take part in meaningful community service activities and to get outdoors. I have no doubt that the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme will continue to provide the structure to help young people achieve for many years to come and, in doing so, will serve as a lasting legacy of the life of Prince Philip.