Illustration of the interior of Newcastle Cathedral, published in Eneas Mackenzie, History of Newcastle Vol I, 1818. [RGS Archives, ref: C13/23]
RGS Curriculum
RGS began as a traditional 'free grammar school' offering a classical education. Our 16th century school aimed to equip boys for a university education (then, Oxford or Cambridge). But what did this classical education look like day-to-day? And how did the subjects on offer change over time?
16th Century School
Curriculum
The curriculum at that time would have included Latin grammar, Composition and Verse-making, reading of Classics, prayers and liturgical studies. There was no Mathematics or Modern Languages, which would be taught by external tutors. A separate writing school was available for teaching basic English and Arithmetic.
The master would teach from a classical work standing at the front of the class. Students would sit quarterly exams, where they would recite verses or orations in Latin or Greek.
16th century reading list:
|
Johannes Sturm's collection of Cicero's Epistles |
By the Sixth Form: |
In the earliest years of our school, students started their day at 6am. They would also be expected to attend until 2pm on a Saturday!
On Thursdays, they had a half-day holiday for games, which would have been held in the Forth. This would have included such sports as archery – in 1541, King Henry VIII passed an ordinance that children aged 7-17 should be taught to use a long bow. Sundays were the day of worship, and attendance at the Church of St Nicholas was compulsory.
| School Timings: | |
|---|---|
| 6-9 am | Lessons |
| 9 am | Break Time |
| 9:15 - 11:00 am | Lessons |
| 11:00 am - 12:45 pm | Dinner Break |
| 12:45 - 3:00 pm | Lessons |
| 3:00 pm | Break Time |
| 3:15 - 5:00 pm | Lessons |
Cicero, Opera Omina. Paris (1566) [RGS Archives, ref: C3/27]
Late 18th Century – Early 19th Century
By the end of the 18th century, the school had to adapt to changing times.
We can see more of the 'commercial' subjects included, as additions to the traditional classical curriculum.
Commercial subjects were essentially those to prepare students for a 'mercantile' career, such as in trade or commerce. This was a popular approach for a town like Newcastle, which was effectively run by the merchant class – coal-mining industries and trade using the Tyne created a lot of wealth in the town.
Commercial subjects included: Mathematics, Accounting, Geography or 'use of the globes', English and Modern Languages, including French and German.
Portrait of Edward Moises (1763-1845), at the Lit & Phil, Newcastle.
| School Timings (1823): | |
|---|---|
| Summer Hours: | |
| 9:00 am - 12:00 pm | Lessons |
| 12:00 - 2:00 pm | Break |
| 2:00 - 5:00 pm | Lessons |
| Winter Hours: | |
| 9:00 am - 12:00 pm | Lessons |
| 12:00 - 2:00 pm | Break |
| 2:00 - 4:00 pm | Lessons |
In 1793, Headmaster Edward Moises published his Outlines of the Plan of Education adopted in the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne. In Moises’ curriculum, we can see that a classical education was still central, but it had to be adapted to a changing world.
Classes were arranged by boys’ age and attainment:
- Class 1-3 – taught by the third master
- Class 4-6 – taught by the second master
- Class 7-8 & Head Class – taught by the headmaster
Attending additional lectures in such subjects as algebra, geometry and mechanics was required from the 4th class onwards.
Headmaster James Snape (1847-71) introduced subject masters, rather than form masters. RGS would now have teaching posts including a mathematical master, a writing master, a German master and a French master.
RGS fees bill sent to student named Thornburn, signed by headmaster James Snape, Christmas 1860. RGS Archives
Rye Hill School
Once the school had moved to Rye Hill, we can see evidence of RGS offering a wider range of subjects.
An advertisement from the period of Headmaster Brian Christopherson (1873-83) had the following on offer:
- Mathematics
- General Studies
- Classics
- French
- Writing & Commercial
- Subjects
- Modern Languages
- Drawing
- Drilling (an early version of Physical Education)
Advertising poster for RGS at Rye Hill, c. 1873-83 [RGS Archives, ref: 215]
20th Century
Photograph of scene from an RGS classroom, c.1950s. RGS Archives
Photograph of the RGS science classroom, c.1910s. RGS Archives
The majority of our modern-day school subjects were in place in some form by the early 1930s. In his Headmaster’s Report for 1931, ER Thomas (1922-48) summarised:
"Advanced work in Latin and Greek is still done at the school, but to the study of these subjects must be added French, German, Spanish, Modern History, Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Applied Mechanics, Mechanical Drawing, Botany and Zoology, Drawing, Painting, Music, and Woodwork."
Developments for many subjects over the course of the 20th century bring us up to today.
Our latest Sixth Form subject offer in the 2024-25 RGS Prospectus can be found on our Admissions webpage.