Probably the only other comparable upheaval in living memory was in World War II when pupils and staff were evacuated to Penrith and the school became the North East's regional war room. Although even on that occasion face to face teaching continued for everyone in what was, in effect, a home from home.
The Coronavirus pandemic in its early stages put paid to the regular school day at the RGS but things more or less continued as normal as possible for the pupils thanks to an immediate shift to online technology and, in the case of children whose parents were key workers, socially distanced learning at the school premises opposite Jesmond Metro station.
It’s also wonderful that many members of the RGS community rallied round to help raise funds for those families who, for no fault of their own, suddenly found themselves struggling financially. Several charity and fund raising initiatives were launched by the staff, parents and students. Many parents have businesses and were happy to help out with produce and services. For example one parent was upset at the thought of any bursary families going hungry, so worked closely with the school to provide food vouchers to families in the greatest need. Another RGS parent donated a van and a driver to distribute foodparcels. Individual pupils also raised money from their own events, with the Junior School Sports’ Challenge raising £5,000 for emergency food supplies and the Year 9 runners raising almost £3,000 for Cancer Research UK. The school extended its counselling service. Sessions were delivered face to face, albeit socially distanced, while others were done online. The service was made freely available to pupils, staff, and also to parents. Information was also provided via the RGS website to help parents with any concerns about their children returning to school once restrictions were eased. The information helped identify the appropriate member of staff parents should contact to ensure their child, and themselves, got the correct support in the quickest time. Without doubt this shows an aspect of life at the RGS which may be overlooked. Yes, there is an outstanding quality in terms of teaching, sport and the arts evidenced through the school’s outstanding public exam results which saw RGS awarded the North East Independent School of the Decade. But the school puts equal focus on pastoral care with a holistic approach to education to support happy, healthy students who contribute to society. There is a genuine sense of community within the school. Some pupils for example put together a playlist of joyful lockdown music to be used on a Friday at the end of the school week. Staff weren’t forgotten and they enjoyed quizzes and virtual competitions. And of course, house rivalry was never far away from social media! RGS’s global network of Old Novocastrians regularly became involved. Thankfully, in amongst all of the turmoil, the achievements of many pupils has continued to amaze. Laura in Year 10 has been called up to the England U16 Girls Hockey Team. Lola, in the Upper Sixth, is on her way to the University of Hawaii. She’s a talented swimmer and was due to take part in trials for the Tokyo Olympics but they were cancelled due to the pandemic. eight year old Harry is a talented football who’s joined the Sunderland AFC academy. 16 year old RGS student Theo Wride from Sunderland was the youngest person named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. His British Empire Medal (BEM) was awarded “for services to the community and keyworkers in Sunderland during Covid-19.” He designed and created protective face coverings for his parents, both medical professionals, and their colleagues as well as care home staff up and down the country. He used the 3D printer he had at home to produce the face coverings. A team of five Year 7 Computer Science students have made it to the finals of a national competition. Sophie, has been selected as a Youth Campaigner of a national charity. Two Sixth Form students, Dami and Abi, represented the school at this year’s regional finals of the Goldsmiths’ Company Award for Community Engagement. They faced a judging panel – virtually – to answer questions about their environmental art project entitled Where Did All The Animals Go? Sixteen of RGS’s Lower Sixth Maths students became mentors as part of a national scheme. They’ve joined an online tutoring programme, designed to provide students across the UK with free 1:1 academic support via an app. Thanks to support from the Reece Foundation, the school has also appointed Tom Williams, an experienced Physics teacher, who’ll work in the Partnerships Department. His outreach role will help to grow and retain STEM talent in the North East, by highlighting the incredible opportunities available in the region to young people. In other words, while it’s been a year at the Newcastle Royal Grammar School like no other, it’s great to see that some things have continued as normal…namely educational excellence and sporting achievement as well as regular recitals, concerts and talks put together by the arts and music departments. The standard of these performances is stunning; videos are available on the RGS website. The year has also highlighted how keen the RGS is to be involved in the local community. It’s heart-warming to see how parent, students and the school itself have rallied around to provide help and reassurance. It will only have increased the sense of community within the school too.