RGS Guildford 2022 entry

My son is year 8 at RGS. I've just asked him and he said the after school sports practices are not compulsory but if you want to be selected for or are in a team then you need to attend. He goes to one practice per week and does one other non-sport after school club. Occasionally there are ad hoc sporting fixtures too whereby you can collect afterwards from the venue or the boys can catch the minibus back to school/the train station.

Thanks for sharing. Its very helpful and really pleased with the info. Glad to hear that it was such a thought-out process. Pastoral care, sports, music, art and clubs is great. One query - do you know how many 'late' evenings they would have. One school we visited shared that the students must do at least 3 evenings a week of after-school activities. Any similar reqts in RGS? In RGS, I saw that boys will end at around 4pm and so trying to get a sense of return home timings. Thanks

We really enjoyed the day. A lot of thought and time had obviously gone into it and all of the teachers they rolled out had a really nice approach I thought. The Head set the tone at the start - very down to earth and upbeat with a clear sense of direction. The teachers we met were brilliant with my son and seemed very caring. A lot of talk about the sheer number and variety of clubs, which sounds great. Academics aren't our priority (we take as a given) so we were really probing about the pastoral side - how they support the boys and make it fun. Also interested in music and art and both seem excellent. The two boys who showed us around were a credit to the school. Quietly confident, sense of fun, no edge to them at all. It was Friday afternoon and a lot of sport and sport chat going on so if I had a sporty son I'd have no hesitation. The boy who showed us around was on the tennis team. We loved what we saw but I am realistic that any senior school will be a big step (for our son in particular) and no school will be perfect or without bumps along the way.

Yes, do share! Keen to know how you feel / impressions about the school etc, travel, lifestyle of boys, academic pressure, sports / club commitments etc, music m. (I’m only going in mid-April for 13+.)

How did everyone get on with the offer holders afternoon yesterday? Are the decisions feeling easier now?

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

I would second JustInvolved, our experience is that they must have gone on potential with my son and I am very impressed by that given that on the face of it, the entrance process seems very rigid. We are currently deciding between RGS and a much more mixed ability option which would potentially be more ‘nurturing’. If anyone has experience of the learning support function pls could you share it with me either on here or by a PM. My son is very bright, but needs a little bit of flexibility and tailoring in the classroom - at the moment very light touch but not sure if this will become greater as he goes into the teenage years. He likes structure and predictability and needs to be challenged.. and he just loved RGS when we visited.

I just wanted to share that I have been very impressed with RGS in this 11+ / 13+ process and I do think they live up to their reputation of how they take in boys with potential. From my experience, RGS came across as the only one that was prepared to look at ‘potential’. My DS had a decent CAT score, was called back for 2nd interview for maths borderline and now offered a spot. He was not tutored apart my guidance in the evenings after work. My DS probably did reasonably well in the other subjects, is good in music (he learnt very much on his own and with weekly lessons, as neither my DH and I have a music background) and probably had a good reference letter from his prep school. It was likely based on these that he got the offer. But I was thinking that RGS probably had a lot of good performers to choose from. So, why should they offer a spot to a child who did not do too well in Maths in ISEB? Also RGS has been doing this all these years and yet majority of boys do well in GCSE and beyond. RGS seems to be ranking high for a number of years. My only conclusion is that they do pick boys with potential (perhaps also spitting boys who are not tutored) and have a way of teaching them that leads to good outcomes. Just sharing my personal thoughts and hope it’s helpful.

@Oldmonk, at RGS boys can play the different sports "casually" (not beyond Games or PE lessons). They encourage 'casual' players to join in the House competitions, as without them, there aren't enough players. For House Rugby, they did reduce the number of players needed for each team to make the games fairer. But, House competition isn't only the 'big' sports... there's House Chess, House Table Tennis and other non-contact/non-sport House competitions that happen, too. House Quiz was a good one, this half-term. Everyone finds something they like

Thank you for the feedback. Lots to decide and take in!

@Oldmonk we had the same choice and opted for Hampton - Y7 (non-sporty, non musical) DS is now very happy there. There were two main reasons for our choice - firstly DS liked it more than RGS (RGS is lovely, but this was just his gut 11-year-old feel I think!) and secondly the journey was more convenient for us in terms of the coach route. DS is the middle child of three and the train to RGS would have been much more of a faff for us, from where we live, in terms of co-ordinating family logistics.

In terms of the sports query specifically - I don't know what happens at RGS but at Hampton the boys have the option of taking 'non-competitive football' for games in Y7 if they want to. This means they don't have to compete in Saturday matches and just play football as a non-competitive group during their games lessons. The majority of boys do opt for competitive - and the standard is super high for those that do - but DS tells me that there are around 25 boys doing non-competitive, which is actually a decent number, and their group seem to be quite happy just enjoying their football informally.

Honestly, despite their 'sporty' reputations, RGS and Hampton will each have their contingents of quiet, non-sporty boys in their various year groups and I am sure your boy will find friends whichever school you opt for.

@Oldmonk my DS had Hamptons and RGS, he is at RGS but mainly because his brother is there and we have been happy with the school.
I think Hamptons is amazing, loads of space and lovely boys there. The issue we had with it was the location, RGS is easy to get to by train and they are in a town centre so they can socialise a bit (more for when they are older).
RGS likes all boys to do sport but I don't think it is as sporty as Hampton, but I'm pretty sure Hamptons won't be forceful in terms of making you play for a team.

We have been very happy with RGS, I don't think you can go wrong with either school tbh and once you make the decision you will be fine about it.

Will someone have some advice for us- DS is fortunate to have offers from Hampton and RGS. Travel timewise both similar- one will be public transport while Hampton will be coach. Which one will suit a quiet but confident boy, not massively into competetive sports though happily participates in all. Not musical at all.

Well done everyone!
My DS got offered a place; very happy, it is a fantastic school. He’ll be joining his brother who is further up in the school.

Well done all, looks like good news all round. Very proud of DS, who has been offered a place with academic scholarship.

Wow congratulation to you all. Finally my postman has arrived!! and we got a YES!!

Post has now arrived and we also have a yes - so happy!

Well done to everyone

OMG!! Letter just came! We got a yes for 13+! It was a small envelope! I can’t believe it!!! Many thanks to all of you for your kind words and support! This was such a slog for us!! I’ll write more late!

We have a yes for 11+ too. Can’t quite believe it. Well done to all those boys that sat the exam, it’s quite a process! Any 11+ boys from the Haslemere area?

We got a yes for 11+, in a big envelope. I wasn't expecting it. Very impressed with DS.

We have a yes! 😍

Well done everyone - that's great news!

Still waiting for the postman here....

Yes for 11+ here too. Very happy and relieved! Well done to others who have offers and hope everyone else’s post arrives soon.

A yes here too... am going to have a very happy DS this afternoon when he comes home. Well done to all the DS's.

Great news @Atreyu!