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Lancaster Royal Grammar School
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See Royal Grammar School for the other schools with the name RGS.
Lancaster Royal Grammar School (LRGS) is a voluntary aided, selective grammar school (day and boarding) for boys in Lancaster, England. The school has been awarded specialist Technology College and Language College status. Old boys belong to The Old Lancastrians.
school was in existence by 1235.
The first definite mention of the old grammar school is found in a deed dated the 4th of August 1469, when the Abbess of Syon granted to John Gardyner, of Bailrigg (near Lancaster), a lease of a water-mill on the River Lune and some land nearby for two hundred years to maintain a chaplain to celebrate worship in the Church of St.
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Encyclopedia
See Royal Grammar School for the other schools with the name RGS.
Lancaster Royal Grammar School (LRGS) is a voluntary aided, selective grammar school (day and boarding) for boys in Lancaster, England. The school has been awarded specialist Technology College and Language College status. Old boys belong to The Old Lancastrians.
History
The school was in existence by 1235.
The first definite mention of the old grammar school is found in a deed dated the 4th of August 1469, when the Abbess of Syon granted to John Gardyner, of Bailrigg (near Lancaster), a lease of a water-mill on the River Lune and some land nearby for two hundred years to maintain a chaplain to celebrate worship in the Church of St. Mary, Lancaster, and to instruct boys in grammar freely, "unless perchance something shall be voluntarily offered by their friends".
In 1472, John Gardyner's will made further provisions for the endowment of the school, and also for William Baxstonden to keep the school so long as he could teach the boys. In 1682, the school was rebuilt and in 1852 was removed from the old site on the slopes by the priory to the outskirts of the city, where it now stands (though the city has expanded around it, so they are no longer the outskirts). The title "Royal" was granted by Queen Victoria in 1851.
In 1969, the school celebrated its quincentenary and was visited by Her Majesty the Queen.
Then in 2001, to mark the 150th anniversary of becoming the Royal Grammar School, the school welcomed the The Princess Royal.
Academic
The 2006 Ofsted report stated that Teaching and learning are outstanding throughout the school..
In 2005 just under three-quarters of A level entries resulted in grades A or B (excluding General Studies) whilst at GCSE three-quarters of all grades were A* or A, with nearly all pupils gaining 10 passes and five pupils gaining a clean sweep of A* grades. Over 90% of students go on to further education and a number gain places at Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
Distinguished Old Lancastrians
These include:
- Prof. Roger Ainsworth, Master of St Catherine's College, Oxford;
- Phil Christophers, England rugby international
- Don Foster, Liberal Democrat MP;
- Sir Edward Frankland (1825-1899), chemist;
- Magnus Lund, England rugby international
- Erik Lund, Norweigian rugby international captain
- Nigel Morris, co-Founder and former COO Capital One
- Sir Richard Owen (1804-1892), naturalist
- Lord Cecil Parkinson, former Conservative Party chairman;
- Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide Saatchi & Saatchi;
- David Roy Shackleton Bailey (1917-2005), Latin Scholar;
- William Whewell (1794-1866), scientist;
- John Wrathall (1913-1978), President of Rhodesia;
- Jason Queally, gold medal-winning cyclist at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
- Brian Ashton, England rugby union team Head Coach.
- Colin Povey, chief executive of Warwickshire County Cricket Club and former chief executive of Carlsberg.
- Sir James Crosby, former chief executive of the HBOS Group and former Deputy Chairman of the FSA.
- Professor Hugh Pennington Eminent biologist, head of the 1996 Pennington Enquiry
- Jon Richardson, comedian
- Bob Shennan, BBC radio executive and Controller of BBC Radio 2
- Paul Wellings, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lancaster
Sport
The school offers a wide range of sports to boys throughout their school careers. However, the school remains especially strong in cricket and rugby. Recent highlights include a victory over Charterhouse School in the final of the Lord's Taverners Cricketer Colts Trophy for Schools in 1999, and a run to the semi final of the Daily Mail U18 Cup in 2004 by the school First XV. The school now also offers a hockey team.
The boat club has had 15 years of national success under Tim Lucas achieving medal success in either the School's Head, National School's Regatta or the National Rowing Championships for ten consecutive years from 1992 to 2002. The club has also made at least the final of a national event since 1992 to the present day. The club has had much international success with members of the boat club rowing at a national level, including in the Munich International Regatta in 2006 and at the Coupe de la Jenuesse in 2006.
In 2008 LRGS won the Lancashire cup in the U15 and U16 agegroups.
In 2006, a student who plays American Football was picked for All-Star University England team.
Combined Cadet Force
The School has had its own Combined Cadet Force (CCF) since 1914, though it was as that time known as the Officer Training Corps. Its roots, however, can be traced back further still, with various references to its existence as far back as the early nineteenth century. This 'Cadet Volunteer Battalion' was seventy strong by 1861, when a silver bugle was presented to the contingent by Mrs Lee, wife of the Headmaster.
The contemporary CCF at LRGS comprises Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force sections. Pupils who are in the Third Form and above are allowed to join. It parades on Tuesday afternoons after school and is voluntary. All sections participate in camps throughout the year, including an annual Summer Camp at the beginning of the Summer Holidays.
The Army Section is approximately 105 boys strong. They participate in camps throughout the year including an annual camp that lasts in excess of one week, and an Easter Camp where they take part in adventure training activities. Annual Camp 2007 was at a CCF Central Camp at Wathgill, in North Yorkshire.
The Royal Air Force section comprises of approximately 55 cadets. Cadets in the RAF section receive flying lessons in the Grob Tutor T.1 aircraft at least twice a term, and gliding lessons in the Grob Vigilant G 109 glider at least once a term. Other opportunites for flying and gliding scholarships, as well as various leadership courses, are available to those cadets who are interested and who meet the minimum requirements. As with the Army and Navy sections, the RAF cadets have the option of attending Easter and Summer Camps, which are always greatly enjoyed. In 2008, the Summer Camp was held at RAF Cottesmore.
All three sections of the CCF learn how to use the L98-A1 Cadet GP Rifle. In order for the cadet to fire the rifle, the cadet must pass the test on the GP Rifle, which is why the Army section places particular emphasis on the training of the GP Rifle. The new recruits in the Army section are tested on the GP Rifle at a camp in Halton.
School Song
The headmaster said in an assembly in September 2008 that he thought the school song was 'completely and utterly rubbish' and that the students in the assembly at the time will 'definitely not be singing it':
Do you recall the School House on the hill
Where through the open windows crept the sun
And waked us from our slumbers ere our will
Would credit that the day had yet begun?
Can you still see the castle on the mount,
Which through the mist of years rolled thick and dark?
She smiled on us, we said, as one who'd count
How many boys still wore the Red Rose mark.
Chorus:
Here's to the Red Rose, the Lancaster Red Rose,
Old John o' Gaunt's Red Rose, the Royal School's Red Rose;
The dragons are vanish'd, the knights all are dead,
The Old Orders banish'd but the Rose still is red.
This is from memory, as taught by Mr. Prescott to the 84-91 generation (any error is, I am sure, in the remembering)- I will find the issue of 'The Lancastrian' in which I once saw the entire lyric published, and reproduce it here, unless someone can do so without research. Especially useful would be sheet music, which I remember seeing, or a recording of the song. Wistful in the verses, stirring in the chorus, it may not appeal to all, but it certainly knocks 'Row, row, row...' into a repetetively-cocked hat.
Lancashire Schools
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