Royal Grammar School / RGS Guildford / Wellbeing

Wellbeing

Wellbeing and pastoral care are the very cornerstones of the RGS experience. Happy, confident boys flourish and our staff have invaluable experience, as well as the necessary patience and compassion, to support each student.

We place great emphasis on emotional and physical balance: working as a close partnership between our students, their parents and the School. By creating an open environment students feel they can discuss and receive help for any mental health issues.

The school has effective and frequently reviewed
systems and measures in place for promoting pupils’ well-being, including their mental health.

ISI Report 2022

Professional Support

We have a team of dedicated, specialist, professional staff support that nurture the physical, mental and emotional health of our students.  We have a full programme of personal, social, health and moral education for students and parents alike to guide them through the teenage years.

To further support our students’ wellbeing, advice is available through our multiple channels: our School Counsellor, School Nurse and experienced pastoral team.

Mentoring

The Academic and Senior Mentoring schemes provide one-on-one peer support for students, as required, in the First to Fifth Forms. Carefully selected and trained Sixth Form Mentors give weekly support to students who are struggling with aspects of school life such as organisation or who are finding a particular subject area challenging.

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Younger students are often more ready to listen and take on board the advice of older students, who have often experienced similar issues themselves. Over a period of between six weeks to a term, the mentor and student develop a close rapport, which enables the younger student to speak honestly and openly and, as a result, to find practical solutions to the challenges they are facing.

PSHME and Tutor Periods

The School has a bespoke programme to deliver PSHME (Pastoral, Social, Health, and Moral Education). The statutory curriculum is delivered alongside additional topics that the School feels are beneficial.  The programme has a solid foundation but adapts to the changing needs of teenagers in a rapidly-moving society. The timetable in the Lower and Middle School provides a Tutor Period where students will consider, in an age-appropriate way, issues affecting their lives. In the Senior School this is done through Religious Education periods and the General Studies programme. Year group assemblies are often used to deliver PSHME topics and occasionally the School will devote a half or full-day for deeper consideration of pertinent topics.

Houses

The House system is at the very heart of school life at the RGS as students derive great pride and enjoyment from their sense of identity through their involvement with their House.

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Each student is assigned to one of the six Houses on entry to the School. The regular meetings and competitive events serve to produce a close-knit, cohesive group which provides strong links between age-groups and a supportive, vertical pastoral structure. The Houses compete in the annual Hardy Cup which is an enthusiastically; this allows all students to represent their Houses in a range of events from sport, to public speaking, to quizzes.

There are six Houses named after benefactors of the School.

  • Austen
  • Beckingham
  • Hamonde
  • Nettles
  • Powell

Learning Support and Special Education Needs

  • Our Learning Support Department works closely with all teachers to ensure that the specific needs of every student are met.
  • The Learning Support Department provides assistance for students, which covers areas such as emotional intelligence, spelling booster classes, writing organisation, examination technique and revision strategies. In addition, members of the English and Mathematics Departments, who have specific areas of expertise, run small support classes for students in the First to Fifth Forms.
  • Boys are screened upon entry to the School to ascertain whether additional support is required and they are then monitored throughout their time at the RGS.  If appropriate, the School will recommend that students are assessed by an Educational Psychologist.
  • Our admissions procedure is conducted on a fair and non-discriminatory basis; we follow the JCQ criteria for examinations.
  • All students on the Learning Support Register will have a Personal Pupil Profile with strategies to support their learning in the classroom and at home. This profile will be put together after consultation with both the pupil and his parents and will be reviewed regularly. Support is undertaken in an unobtrusive but effective manner so that students are able to address challenges they face in a structured and encouraging way.
  • Support will take the form of either individual or small group sessions, where the focus is on developing confidence and formulating strategies to enable students to maximise their potential and fully enjoy their learning.
  • There is no additional cost to parents for these support classes.
  • We have experience in supporting students with a number of additional needs including: dyslexia, dyspraxia / developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or pervasive developmental disorder, anxiety disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD/ADD) and visual, hearing or physical impairments.

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