Photograph of the whole school, 1918 [RGS Archives, RGS/PHO/1/4] Photographer: Panora Ltd, London
School Photographs
Anyone who has attended a UK school in the last 50 years remembers having their photograph taken, usually in the first few weeks of term. These become a treasured family possession and are often kept safe for generations. RGS is no exception.
Read on to discover how formal photographs of our students have long been a cherished part of our annual school routine.
Photographs of our teams, clubs and prefects are probably the most well-known of these. The earliest sports team photograph that has survived is of the 1st XV rugby team 1897-98. Over the years, team and club photography has expanded significantly in response to the growth of co-curricular opportunities. Examples include the Karate Club, Bridge Club, and Stage Crew. The earliest photograph of Prefects in our collection dates back to 1931.
There was also a short period of time when ‘Sixth Form Medicals’ photographs were taken, of the groups of students each year who were going on to study medicine at university.
Whole school photograph of RGS staff and students, outside of Charlotte Square, c.1866-67. [RGS Archives, ref: RGS/PHO/1/1]
We are taking a special '500' photograph of our whole school this Spring to mark the quincentenary - watch this space!
RGS has periodically taken photographs of the whole school population since the mid 19th century.
The earliest is from 1866, with a photograph of staff and students taken outside of No. 6 Charlotte Square, our home between 1848 and 1870. This is the earliest photograph of any staff or students that we know of. Two later whole school photographs survive from Rye Hill, taken in the 1890s.
Eighteen whole school photographs have been taken at our current home of Eskdale Terrace since 1918. Although there was a significant gap between 1930 and 1960, we have since taken a photograph approximately every five years. The thousands of Old Novocastrians featured in these photographs have all gone on to make their own indelible impressions on the world.
It is striking how much our school community has changed since that first image from Charlotte Square!