How you can make a lasting impact

Dear Old Riponians,

Welcome to the fourth edition of our online Riponian alumni magazine which connects you, your old school and each other with the wider RGS community.

This year and last it has been an especial delight to welcome members of the Class of ‘71 and the Class of ‘73 back to RGS. Some ORs had not been back since the 1970s – a time when the world seemed a very different place to today. And yes, while some parts of the school might be unrecognisable, there are no doubt some parts of the school’s fabric which haven’t changed in 50 years!

For me a poignant moment was showing ex-boarders round their old boarding house. Things here have definitely changed in terms of home comforts no doubt, but it was fun to hear of some of the tales of high jinks which the students got up ‘back in the day’.

If you would like to organise a year group reunion, please do get in touch with school as we are always very happy to arrange a visit and tours with current students. As I said to the leavers of 2024, maybe they will organise their reunion for 2074. I wonder what the world will look like then.

With several thousand of you on the database we are trying to build those connections and encourage alumni to become ORs by simply registering their email with the society’s president Derek Crookes. That way we can ensure as many members as possible of each leaving year have the opportunity to meet up and establish old friendships, perhaps after years of lost contact.

RGS continues to move on apace and there are lots of new initiatives we are undertaking, from fabric upgrades to new WIFI access across the school site to support digital learning.

In the current economic climate, we remain extremely grateful for the financial support of parents and ORs to our development fund which is currently supporting sports transport, library resources, IT development and lots of other crucial infrastructure and material support.

We are very grateful for the support ORs can give us and I would urge you to consider making even a small monthly donation through our development fund page (see QR code below).

Cumulatively a small donation for some can have a large and lasting impact on current students by giving them support with access to trips, resources or new opportunities to learn.

With best wishes,

Jonathan Webb

(Headmaster, Ripon Grammar School)