Private School News

NEIGHBOURING INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS COME TOGETHER IN MERGER

Two of the oldest and most respected independent schools in Worcestershire are to merge to form a combined flagship school.

Royal Grammar School Worcester and The Alice Ottley School will come together to form a new, enlarged school when the merger is complete in September 2007.

The new school will be called The Royal Grammar School Worcester and The Alice Ottley School. Governors from both schools have welcomed the “union of two historic and nationally recognised standard bearers for education”.

The head of the new school will be Andy Rattue, who is currently headmaster of RGS Worcester. He said the newly-formed school would offer boys and girls the broadest possible academic, cultural, sporting and social opportunities in a co-educational environment.

The two schools stand next to each other at Upper Tything, close to Worcester city centre. From September next year, pupils will benefit from one, enlarged site utilising all the current buildings on a combined site in excess of 20 acres. Planned and new facilities will be introduced to provide one of the best educational facilities in the county.

Mr Rattue said the amalgamation of the two schools would help build on existing strengths and provide a truly first rate education. He said the move had the full backing of governors of both existing schools and was being done to best serve pupils, parents and staff.

Mr Rattue said: ″This is a logical progression for two neighbouring schools, each of which has a proud history and strong record of success, having stood side by side over the years. The merger will create a flagship school with unrivalled facilities less than a mile from the centre of Worcester. Our intention is to ensure the merged school is the school of first choice for boys, girls and parents in Worcestershire.

“We are a forward looking community and I am hopeful that people will continue to support our friendly and unpretentious style.″

The head of The Alice Ottley School, Morag Chapman, who joined in 1999, will help see through the merger of the two schools before leaving in July next year. She said: “What we are doing is creating a new school capable of meeting the most demanding needs of the parents and pupils of our time, whilst preserving the heritage and excellence of all that has gone before.”

The chairmen of the governing bodies of the existing schools have written to parents to explain the merger, and have organised a series of parent forums in the New Year to answer questions.

The chairman of the governors of the new school will be Dr Bob Ingles, with Henry Briggs as vice-chairman. Dr Ingles said: ″Both sets of governors feel the union of two such historic and nationally-recognised schools means that we will be able to offer the very best in terms of education and facilities.

“Alice Ottley can be proud that it has been the standard bearer for girls’ education for more than a century. However, like many other schools and the women-only colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, we must respond to changing times. RGS became a co-educational school five years ago and the union of the two schools will provide genuine equality of opportunity for girls and boys within the same organisation.″

RECORD OXBRIDGE RESULTS FOR RGS WORCESTER

2005-06 has proved to be a record year for Oxbridge results at the Royal Grammar School. Upper Sixth pupils have received a total of fourteen offers from Colleges at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, which is a magnificent achievement considering the strength of the opposition. The range of subject disciplines is impressive, ranging from Physics, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Engineering and Mathematics to Philosophy, Land Economy, Geography, History and Law. “I congratulate these young people on working so hard to achieve these superb results, and for having the ambition to aim high. I should also like to pay tribute to the expertise and experience of the RGS teaching staff, who have provided personalised guidance and preparation for the Oxbridge entrance procedures”, said Headmaster Andy Rattue.

CUMNOR HOUSE ANNOUNCE THE OPENING OF ITS NURSERY