School's history

A Brief history of time: the Ripon Grammar School clock

The story of the origins of the famous clock tower. To read the article please click here 

History of Ripon Grammar School

This history is based on the summary written by the late Dr Bill Petchey on the transfer of the school’s document archive to York University Library (Borthwick Institute) in June 1995. 

To read the summary please click here.

Dr Bill Petchey (RGS History Master 1960-1994)

Early history of Ripon Girls' High School

This early history is based substantially on the article written by the late Jean Denton in 2005 for the Ripon Historian magazine.

To read the article please click here 

Miss Jean Denton (RGHS & RGS History Teacher from 1953-1982)

The 1555 Charter of Ripon Free Grammar School

Translation by C.C.Swinton Bland RGS Headmaster 1895-1919

To read the charter please click here.

World War 1

During the 1914–1918 conflict, 287 old boys and masters saw active service and sadly forty-eight Old Riponians gave their lives. In the early part of the 20th century the school was small by today’s standards (ca 100 students) and the majority of the students leaving school served in the armed forces. Within Ripon Grammar School, those who served are commemorated and remembered on the War Memorial Plaque and Scroll in the school library, which was unveiled in December 1921. The Old Riponians’ Association also raised funds in 1922-23 to purchase ‘The Memorial Sports Field’, which is today’s 1st XV rugby pitch, as a memorial to all those who died in the conflict.

The Old Riponians Memorial to the Fallen (photographed in 1922)





To view Ripon Grammar School's Roll of Honour please click here.

From the 1913 cricket fields to the WW1 battlefields

As part of the centenary tributes to all those lost in World War 1, the Old Riponians Association have gathered together information from the school's archives and various national archives to allow us to remember the Fallen from the school's 1913 Cricket Team.

To read this article please click here.

Letter from the trenches by Alan F Newton

Please click here to read one of the letters from the Old Boys sent to the school for publication in the 1915 edition of the school magazine - The Riponian.

List of the RGS headmasters/masters from 1545 to 2014

To read the list please click here.