A message from the headmaster

Dear Old Riponians

Each year we challenge the departing cohort to leave Ripon Grammar School with a strong sense of integrity, a passion for lifelong learning, an aspiration to make the world a better place but also to be grounded with a sense of humility, kindness and compassion. So it is always a treat to read in The Riponian about former students of RGS and see how they are forging ahead with their careers, their dreams and their passions in the ‘world beyond Ripon’. Let’s face it we need all the leadership we can get in this troubled world!

Life at RGS continues according to many of the tried and tested rituals and traditions you have all experienced. While Year 10 work experience has recently ended, the Year 9 Bewerley Park expedition is on the horizon; the end of term events such as prize giving, sports day and Commemoration will soon be upon us. As I write, earnest scholars at ranked desks in the sports hall are scribing their responses to A-level and GCSE questions. 

There are of course ongoing improvements to school, from the development of the house system – with School House now renamed  Holland House after former deputy head Barbara Holland - to IT upgrades, classroom and boarding refurbishments. 

But what always remains the same is the movement of year groups through the school, bringing all their varied talents, skills and personalities to a continuous thread of education which stretches back to the murky and misty days of Saxon England. Long may that thread continue into the future.

Old Riponians are always welcome to come back to school for reunions and revisits – we have the class of 1985 joining us in June and an OR day in July. Tours can be arranged to see how much and how little (in some areas) school has changed.

Finally, I would like to pay tribute to your Old Riponians' president, Derek Crookes, who will relinquish the presidency after the July 12th reunion. Derek has so generously given his time over the last 13 years to ORs and its committee and has supported the school in so many ways for which RGS is extremely grateful.

Best wishes

Jonathan Webb