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Royal Grammar School

Thomas Horsley, the original settlor of the Royal Grammar School Newcastle (RGS) pledged his legacy to the School in 1525. Almost 500 years later, RGS continues to flourish as the premier independent school in the North East of England and as one of the country’s leading schools. In 2023 RGS was named overall ‘Independent School of the Year’ in The Telegraph Group’s national awards. RGS also consistently tops the region’s academic league tables and in 2024 RGS was awarded the Sunday Times’ North East’s Top Independent Secondary School, both the overall winner and for Academic Performance. While we pride ourselves on academic excellence, we are as well known for our high level of pastoral support, involvement in a wide range of sports and other co-curricular activities, and our commitment to bursaries and partnerships.

Today RGS is fully co-educational with over 1,300 students aged 7-18 years (Years 3 to 13) and our academically selective places are highly coveted. We have more than 250 students in the Junior School, which shares the same outstanding site as the Senior School. Our Sixth Form is one of the largest in the independent sector with more than 340 students.

The school is based in the heart of the City, immediately opposite Jesmond Metro station. The school occupies over 30 acres of land and has state-of-the-art facilities, including five brand new art studios, a new library, a new Sixth Form Centre, a 25m swimming pool, two Sports Halls, a Performing Arts Centre, outdoor football/rugby pitches at Mooracres, an artificial turf pitch for hockey and the former County Cricket Ground.

RGS is a special place, known and respected throughout the whole country as well as the North East. It’s a place where aspirations are high, results are outstanding, and opportunities are endless. Our students go on to study highly selective courses at the most sought-after universities, but also leave the school realising that life outside the classroom has been equally beneficial.

Academically, the school is highly selective. Students are assessed for entry at the key entry points (Y3, Y5, Y7, and a handful at Y9, plus Sixth Form). The biggest entry points are Y3 (60 students), Y7 (c.75 students) and Y12 (c.45 students). Beyond the academics, in Junior School (Y3-6) entry is assessed through activity days whilst at Y7 students are assessed through online tests and an interaction day. Sixth Form entry is through interview only.

Students sit baseline tests in Y7, Y10, and Y12 – the average GLA CAT score for both the current Y7 and Y12 is 117. We have several students who have the assistance of our dedicated Learning Support Team, which works across Junior and Senior School.

Academic selection and excellent teaching mean that the school’s results are exceptional. The published figures for 2024 are on the school’s website. For A-Level, 37.1% of A-Level grades were at A*; 71% A*- A; and 91.1% A* – B. For GCSE, the proportion of grade 9s was 44.7%; 9 – 8 was 70.1%; and 9 – 7 was 85.6%. In 2023, our results placed the RGS 51st nationally in The Sunday Times Parent Power league tables, up from 73rd place in 2022. Additionally, Top School Guide ranked the RGS 16^th nationally for co-educational schools; and overall, 37^th for A-Levels and 48^th for GCSEs. Furthermore, School Sports Magazine recently ranked the RGS as the 27^th best sports school (independent and state) in the UK.