Leave of absence/holidays must be requested by email or letter in advance of the anticipated date, but please note that holidays during term time do not qualify for leave of absence.  It is the school policy that requests for term time holidays should not normally be accepted. Requests are given reasonable consideration by Mr Stanford.

The charts below will help you identify the appropriate member of staff that you need to contact to ensure your child, and yourself, get the correct support in the quickest time.  If in doubt, please email communications@rgs.newcastle.sch.uk and we will help direct your query.

RGS's full staff list is available here.  The current Senior School pastoral teams are all listed here.

To support our staff and students' wellbeing, we ask staff not to communicate before 7am and after 7pm; any emails received out of these hours will be handled as soon as possible.

Co-curricular activities are a very important part of RGS life and we pride ourselves on the range of activities on offer.  We believe that, in addition to play time, they help to enrich the lives of the children, help to foster links between children in other classes and also enable them to develop social skills and emotional qualities. Many of the activities involve children of different ages and exposure to children from other year groups is valuable for both younger and older children. Some activities take place before school, some during lunchbreak and some after school. Some are seasonal. It is important that they join activities and parents should discuss what is on offer with their children. Where places are limited, we operate a rota to ensure everyone who wants to, has an opportunity to try the activity.

Our co-curricular timetables are all available here, and change each term.

• 4 HB pencils                       
• a rubber
• a 30cm ruler                                                            
• a glue stick
• a set of coloured pencils      
• a set of felt-tip pens           
• a document wallet to carry work to and from school
• scissors
• a pencil sharpener                                         
• a non-disposable blue ink (rollerball, fountain or biro pen) which must not be an eraser pen (Year 4, Year 5 & Year 6 only)

• a Collins pocket thesaurus (ISBN: 978-0008141806)
• a Collins pocket dictionary (ISBN: 978-0008141820)
• a protractor
• a pair of compasses (for use at home with homework only)

Uniform and sports footwear is all listed in the uniform list.  A (named) pair of outdoor trainers is also needed for playtime.  In Years 3 and 4, a named ‘ shoe bag’ to keep them in should be ordered on-line at Schoolblazer with the rest of your child’s uniform. Years 5 and 6 have shoe racks outside each classroom, therefore shoe bags are not needed.

A backpack for transporting school equipment is also needed. Kitlocker stock an optional RGS-branded backpack but any backpack is absolutely fine.

Your child will need a bag for their sports' kit, again Kitlocker stock an optional RGS-branded holdall but any bag for sports kit is fine. 

You will also need a bag for swimming, we suggest a waterproof one.

Year 3 children have historically used a bookbag but this is no longer necessary.

All bags should be clearly marked with your child's name or a keyring etc that will make it distinguishable to your child.

Children are welcome to bring a healthy snack from home, perhaps some fruit.  This can be especially beneficial if they have a long journey to school from home, or if they are staying for a club or late room. Children are also asked to bring in a named water bottle, which they can top up at the water cooler.

Please do not send anything containing nuts, sweets, crisps, chocolate or fizzy drinks; we discourage their regular consumption in the health element of our personal social and health education (PSHE).

Some children in the Junior School do tend to lose things! Our system for returning items is fairly good: there are lost property containers in the Junior School. Items left in the Senior School take a little longer to return, but usually do eventually turn up if named.

Named items are easier to return to you!

The use of smartphones (those which can run apps) is not permitted in Junior School. We do allow the use of feature phones (phones simply with text and call functionality), particularly for those children who use public transport and or travel longer distances.

Students who bring a mobile phone to Junior School will be asked to sign a mobile phone contract which includes various rules including that phones must be handed in on arrival at school, and can be returned after school or when the child finishes any after-school clubs.  There are also various rules in place about the use of the phone once it is returned to the child.

In the Senior School at RGS, we strive for excellence in academic study and achievement. Our students are supported in this by a curriculum that promotes both breadth of study in the early years to develop the subject knowledge, and development of the key skills that students will need to allow them to access learning at a suitably high level for success at GCSE and beyond. For each subject and each year group, we have Programmes of Study which are available on the RGS parent portal.  The programmes are comprehensive and show what content children will be covering, however we do have flexibility to respond to opportunities and the children's interests.  

KEY STAGE 3

In Years 7-9, all students study the same wide core of subjects that embrace and develop numeracy, literacy, scientific knowledge and understanding, development of language, appreciation of the humanities, artistic and creative learning, dramatic performance, sporting and physical development and social and emotional well-being.

Students study all subjects in mixed groups with the exception of Maths, where the groups are setted according to ability and attainment. Students therefore develop good social interaction skills within these groupings.

In Year 9, the curriculum allows a degree of choice to give students the opportunity to broaden their knowledge into new areas and to deepen their understanding of others. The broad core remains common to all. The arrangements for Maths continues as in Years 7/8.

KEY STAGE 4

At GCSE, students are given greater freedom of choice of academic subjects but within the constraints of what we consider a good RGS education should provide; namely a solid grounding in Maths, English and Science. New subjects are introduced in Year 10 that give opportunities for further knowledge and understanding to be developed.

Throughout these formative years students are encouraged to think carefully about their emotional, social and physical well-being through our PSHE programme together with a combined Philosophy and Religion course that allows them to explore spiritual and ethical ideas. This encompasses not only timetabled lessons but also time off-timetable to explore ideas in greater depth.

All students take 10 GCSE exams at the end of Year 11, with some taking an extra GCSE in Further Maths. Many of our subjects offer the IGCSE exam as opposed to the mainstream GCSE. These are directly equivalent in terms of university applications but we think they provide better courses more suited to our students and certainly a better preparation for A Level.

For a list of our exam boards and specifications, please click here.

KEY STAGE 5

In the Sixth Form, students have complete freedom of choice to choose the subjects they wish to study. We expect all students to study three or four subjects to A Level. Full details can be found in the Sixth Form Guide and here. 

For a list of our exam boards and specifications, please click here.

Details of any other homework will be written by each child in their planner.

Parents are asked to monitor homework and sign the planner each day. Please add useful comments if relevant e.g. too hard, too easy, too short, too long, spent hours, didn’t understand, please help!

As a general guideline, each piece of homework should not take longer than 20-30 minutes. Teachers, sometimes, allow more than one evening to complete work. It might include additional subjects.

The following table indicates when different year groups receive their reports and when Parents’ Conferences take place.

You are welcome to come into school at any time to discuss your child’s progress.  Formal parents’ conferences are held according to the timetable above and you will receive an invitation near to the date when you will be asked to select a time when it is convenient for you to attend.

Birthdays are an exciting time for children and staff are happy to help celebrate.  

For a few good reasons, not least keeping a tight control on allergens coming into school, we are putting an end to bringing in cakes and sweets to mark a birthday.  However, we are still very keen to party so in addition to a rousing rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ pupils (and staff) are welcome to abandon uniform and  wear home clothes on their special day. This is, of course, not compulsory!

If a birthday falls in the holidays or at a weekend or on a games day (when students wear sports kit all day), pupils can wear their home clothes on a day close to their birthday. You don’t need to ask permission, you can just go for it!

A reminder that any snacks brought into school simply must be nut and sesame free please, and remember, no chocolate or sweets!

There are nurses on site every day, and the school doctor visits regularly. Students who are involved in accidents or taken ill are quickly seen by the school nurses or by a first aid trained member of staff. Where treatment or the nature of injury warrant contact with home, we will do so via telephone or note, but we will not trouble you with information about everyday ‘bumps and scrapes’.

Any medication that you would like us to administer to your child during the day should be prescribed, clearly named and handed to either reception where you will be asked to complete a form.

Please keep us informed of any medical requirements or conditions concerning your child. Confidentiality is respected.

All children have three periods of games, a double PE lesson and swimming lesson every week. This is beyond the level of provision for physical education in the National Curriculum, but we believe it to be appropriate as it helps to develop physical fitness, skill levels and team spirit. There are inter -school competitive fixtures in all years and we tr y to ensure that everybody is selected to compete on at least one occasion every year.

Children are not allowed to play in rugby or hockey lessons unless they are wearing a mouth guard. This can be purchased from a sports shop or your dentist.

Music at the RGS enjoys an outstandingly illustrious tradition. Children in both the Junior and Senior Schools are taught by music specialists and over 20 visiting instrumental tutors. A comprehensive programme of class music over flows into an extensive range of activities which take place before school, in lunch breaks and after school.

At the Junior School, all children are encouraged to become involved in musical activities, even if they have had no previous experience. All groups meet regularly and per form in concerts throughout the school year.

Instrumental tuition and Speech and Drama (LAMDA) lessons are also available, further information will be sent home accordingly.

As of September 2020, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) was made compulsory in all schools.  RSE in the Junior School includes ‘Families and people who care for me’, ‘Caring friendships’, ‘Respectful relationships’, ‘Online relationships’, ‘Being safe’.  There is more information here about the school's approach to RSE, and how this develops from the Junior School into the Senior School.

Entry into Senior School isn’t automatic but is expected on a consequence of progress and effort during time in the Junior School and respect for our values.

It is only rarely that we find we cannot recommend pupils for a place at the Senior School. Consequently, in the spring of the year in which your child is in Year 6, you should receive a letter from the Senior School Headmaster confirming your child’s place in the Senior School.