RGS named North East’s Top Independent School

The Royal Grammar School (RGS), Newcastle has been named The Sunday Times North East’s Top Independent School by Parent Power, The Sunday Times Schools Guide. 

Published online today, Friday 3rd December, and in The Sunday Times this Sunday 5th December, Parent Power is widely acknowledged as the most authoritative survey of the country’s best schools. The 29th edition of Parent Power has ranked 1,700 schools according to exam results from 2017-19. 

RGS has been ranked first for academic results in the North East and 56th nationally - which is almost 100 places ahead of the second-placed independent school in the region - while the RGS Junior School has been ranked 9th best prep school in the country.  

Geoffrey Stanford, Headmaster of RGS Newcastle, said:  "To be recognised by The Sunday Times as the Top Independent School in the North East is a remarkable honour. We are rightly proud of our consistently outstanding public examination results, the product of our students’ hard work and determination plus the expertise and encouragement of our staff. 

"The fact that this award comes after we received our rating of ‘excellent’ in the recent ISI inspection rounds off what has been an incredibly proud few months for everyone involved with the school."

Alastair McCall, editor of Parent Power, said: "The need for clarity about school examination performance has never been greater after two years of centre- and teacher-assessed grades, during which - for completely understandable reasons - the numbers of top grades increased dramatically. 

"We felt it was important to go back to the last sets of moderated public examination outcomes from 2019, 2018 and 2017 to get the most accurate and current view of school academic achievement. By taking a three-year average, we mitigated against relatively poor performance in a one-off year. 

"At a time when some schools are making hard to substantiate claims of academic prowess based on outcomes from 2021 and 2020, we believe these rankings – and all the additional information on offer in Parent Power – provide parents with a more reliable guide to academic achievement in schools today."