Ripon Grammar School‘s boarding school has been rated ‘good’ by Ofsted.

A report published on Saturday said children “enjoy boarding at this school”, safeguarding arrangements are “effective” and “the school is very well supported by a skilled, experienced governing body”.

Government inspectors rated the boarding provision ‘good’ in all areas assessed. It was rated ‘outstanding’ at its previous Ofsted inspection in 2017.

Ripon Grammar has 929 boys and girls aged 11 to 18 years, of which 94 are boarders. Yearly fees for years seven to 11 are £11,719.

Accommodation is provided in two houses: School House for boys and Johnson House for girls.

School House

The latest Ofsted visit took place from February 8 to 18 this year.

The report said:

“Children enjoy boarding at this school. They make new friends and enjoy socialising with children of all ages. Older children help the younger children, or those new to boarding, to feel at home.

“Children feel they are fortunate to board at this school. They believe that the experience helps
their overall development.

“Children are helped to settle as boarders. There is a well-established routine of visits
to the school before children begin boarding.”

Headteacher Jonathan Webb

Boarders told inspectors their boarding houses were like ‘big families’. The report said:

“Everyone has someone they can talk to, which means that children feel reassured
about being away from family members.”

Areas to improve

Ofsted recommended improvements in three areas. It described the arrangements for auditing medication as “mixed”, adding:

“This reduces the effectiveness of the oversight of medication that is stored in the boarding houses. The head of boarding accepts this shortfall and plans to improve these processes.”

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Inspectors also said that although most areas are well maintained “the physical condition of the boarding houses varies” and that “some bathrooms need improving and one of the houses lacks homely touches” .

“Given that some children stay in the boarding houses for long periods, this is detrimental to their experiences.”

Ofsted also said there was a potential risk to children, recognised by leaders, due to the siting of the artificial playing field and their were plans “to improve screening to enhance the protection afforded to children”.

Headteacher ‘extremely pleased’

Mr Webb said:

“Overall we are extremely pleased with the outcome of this report given the increased rigour, now evident from Ofsted, which is being applied to the inspection framework.

“Since our last inspection in 2017, boarding at RGS has most definitely moved on with some essential, possibly less eye-catching, initiatives such as the considerable amount of investment we have made to site and fire security in both houses, extensive upgrades to staff accommodation to ensure we recruit and retain highly qualified and committed staff, and improvements in some of the social spaces such as communal kitchens and common rooms.

“Last year we also added a further 10 new bedrooms in School House to accommodate boarders. In addition, a huge amount of work has been done to standardise routines across both houses and promote boarders’ independence.”

A Harrogate district private school receives over £8m a year from the government to pay the school fees of children whose parents serve in the British Army.

Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate is an independent boarding school for boys and girls at Thorpe Underwood, close to Little Ouseburn.

The school has a capacity of 1,600 pupils and around 400 are children of people serving in the armed forces. It’s situated about 30 miles from ITC Catterick and 17 miles from Harrogate’s Army Foundation College.

Members of the military are entitled to use the Continuity of Education Allowance grant, which is a state payment that covers 90% of the cost to send a child to private boarding school.

The grant is paid so children do not have their education disrupted when their parents’ army jobs require them to move around the world.

However, it can also be used by troops serving in the UK and many of the families using it are well-paid officers.

One critic of the CEA grant told the Stray Ferret the payments to Queen Ethelburga’s were effectively a “state subsidy of a very large private school” and an obstacle to social mobility.

Long-standing relationship

The Stray Ferret sent a freedom of information request to the Ministry of Defence to ask which private schools in the district have been in receipt of the CEA grant over the past three years.

Other private schools, such as Harrogate’s Ashville College, also receive the grant but not on the scale of QE, whose relationship with the armed forces goes back over 100 years.

The figures show that in 2020/21, QE had 427 children receiving the grant, worth a total of £8.5m.

Over the last three years, Ashville College has received around £300,000 a year for between 18 and 20 children. Ripon Grammar School and Harrogate Ladies’ College also received the grant for a small number of children.

‘State subsidy’

Robert Verkaik is a journalist and author who wrote a book on the public school system called Posh Boys. He is also the former home affairs editor at the Independent newspaper.

Mr Verkaik told the Stray Ferret he was troubled by the amount of money received by QE, which he called “morally and economically wrong”.

Social mobility charity the Sutton Trust has said people at the top of the armed forces were seven times more likely to go to private schools — a situation that Mr Verkaik believes is reinforced by the CEA grant.

Robert Verkaik

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The journalist submitted an FOI request of his own to the MOD in 2015 that revealed, across the UK, the majority of troops using the grant are ranked officer or above.

These include lieutenant colonels, colonels, brigadiers and generals, who are paid between £75,000 and £123,000.

Mr Verkaik said:

“Taxpayers’ money should not be used to fund privileged and wealthy families.

“The grant is an obstacle to social mobility. What happens with the CEA is that officer families receive the bulk of the subsidy. So all you’re doing is promoting the education of already very privileged children”.

State boarding schools

Whilst the CEA grant covers most of the cost for children to attend private boarding schools like Queen Ethelburga’s, 10% of the fees are expected to be paid for by the family.

But with boarding fees of between £11,214 and £14,012 per term at QE, Mr Verkaik says a lance corporal earning under £30,000 would not be able to afford the 10% termly contribution, which still equates to thousands of pounds a year for one child.

He believes children of people serving in the forces should go to state boarding schools instead and save the taxpayer millions.

“The children of non-officer ranks don’t benefit to the same extent. It’s exacerbating the hold a narrow group of families have over the education of children.”

QE response

Queen Ethelburga’s said the college provided a “secure and supportive home from home for students whose parents may need to travel or live abroad for work”.

The school did not respond to our questions that asked what rank the armed forces personnel who send their children to the school hold, and how many are based in the UK.

Dan Machin, Queen Ethelburga’s principal said:

“Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate (QE) has a long-standing relationship with the British forces, welcoming students from forces military families for over 100 years.  QE is CEA-accredited, which means that forces families can use the Continuity of Education Allowance offered by the Ministry of Defence to assist with the funding of a boarding place for their child, at any school of their choice. The aim of the grant is to provide continuity of education for forces children.

“Across the collegiate there is an understanding of the importance of providing a secure and supportive home from home for students whose parents may need to travel or live abroad for work. Staff strive to create the right learning and living environment in which every one of the students at QE can thrive.  QE also has two specialist forces liaison officers, a keeping in touch club for students, and support clinics.

“In these sessions, staff help students to contact parents who may be deployed abroad, chat about issues that are important to them and anything else that they might need help and support with. Our forces children contribute significantly to our QE community with their approach to their education, boarding and activities. They are a valuable part of our QE family.

“In addition to being CEA-accredited, QE is signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant to further our commitment to families, particularly by offering the possibility of employment opportunities to veterans from all branches of the armed forces, to whom we all owe a great debt.  QE also has its own Combined Cadet Force, bringing together an army section (Yorkshire Regiment) and an RAF section. The CCF offers students the chance to develop real life skills that will help them achieve success in life and in the workplace.

“This holistic approach to supporting forces families makes QE a very popular choice.”

Dan Machin

A British Army spokesman said:

“The Ministry of Defence provides support to eligible service personnel with school age children in order to help them provide the continuity in their child’s education that can be difficult to achieve within the state education system, due to the inherent mobility of service life.”

“Continuity of Education Allowance is one of a range of measures for service personnel of all ranks and their families to allow greater parental choice in providing a stable education for their children.”

Former Ripon Grammar School student Lewis Edwards has told the Stray Ferret that ambulances in Ukraine are being attacked by Russian forces.

This is among the latest in a growing list of breaches of the Geneva Convention committed by the invading troops, as the situation for civilians trapped in towns and cities under siege becomes more horrific and desperate by the hour.

The targeting of the emergency vehicles follows a weekend in which fleeing refugees came under attack during a supposed ceasefire in Mariupol.

Lewis Edwards and his partner Tanya Bogdanovska pictured at Christmas in Kyiv

Speaking from Slovakia yesterday afternoon, Mr Edwards said:

“I got a phone call from an organisation in Ukraine saying they wanted me to try and source armoured ambulances, because the Russians have started shooting at the normal ambulances used to take injured people hospital.

“Through contacts, I’ve managed to find two already and I’ve been phoning around asking if there is anybody who might know where we can get some more.

“The whole situation is chaotic and insane, as the aid agencies that we are working alongside seem to be relying on us – 10 refugees – to provide logistical support, because we appear to be able to get things done that they can’t.”

Oksana Pron (left) and Kristina Simalova are part of the team sending items such as medical supplies from Slovakia to Ukraine.

Mr Edwards, 33, and his 30-year-old Ukrainian partner Tanya Bogdanovska — both teachers who had been working at a private school in Kyiv — fled the Ukraine capital on February 25.

After crossing the border into Slovakia a week ago, they teamed up with eight other volunteers to help people seeking sanctuary in countries including the UK.

As well as helping refugees — mostly women and children who are arriving in Slovakia each day — they are continuing to do all that they can for Ukraine people, including friends and family, who have been unable to escape.

In addition to sourcing ambulances, they have supplied a generator for an area without electricity and have assembled a shipment of essential medical supplies that will be setting off to Ukraine tomorrow.

As rockets and mortar fire rained down on Kyiv and Russian tanks moved menacingly on the capital’s streets, a former Ripon Grammar School student and his partner, hatched a plan to flee Ukraine and help others seeking sanctuary abroad.

Teachers Lewis Edwards, 33, and Tanya Bogdanovska, 30, arrived in Uzhhorod in the early hours of yesterday morning, after leaving Kyiv on Friday to drive 500 kilometres to the border with Slovakia.

Today they face a long wait to cross into the neighbouring country, where their plans for a shelter that will provide assistance to fellow refugees from Ukraine are starting to take shape.

They have growing support from a team of people that includes doctors and other professionals.

Fundraising and advice

Back home in Ripon, Lewis’s family launched a Go Fund Me page yesterday, which aims to raise an initial £10,000 to get their humanitarian venture off the ground.

At the time of publication, more than £3,000 had been raised.

Advice is being provided by Nicola David, chair of Ripon City of Sanctuary, who has expertise in resettlement programmes from her work with organisations that have assisted Syrian refugees.

She said:

“I was in contact with Lewis yesterday to offer advice on the structures that need to be put into place, both here and in Slovakia, to support the shelter in its work.”

Lewis Edwards, with his mother, Ali. Picture: the Edwards family

His mother, Ali, said:

“We have been worrying, as we have witnessed hour by hour coverage of Russia’s invasion and attacks on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, while praying that Lewis and Tanya will get out safely.

“I’m very proud of them for the way that they always think about others and hope that people in Ripon and further afield will give their financial support at this desperate time for the people of Ukraine.”

The horror in Ukraine

Last night, Lewis told the Stray Ferret about the horror of seeing his adopted country invaded by Russia.

He said:

“A week ago, Tanya and I were teaching children at a private secondary school in Kyiv and on Thursday, our lives were turned upside down as the first rockets and mortars were fired at Ukraine and the invasion began.

“We sought safety in the shelter of an underground metro station, but could hear explosions above and when we emerged we discovered that residential blocks, schools, hospitals and nurseries in Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine had been indiscriminately attacked by the Russians.

“Then came a terrifying moment as we walked along the street and heard the sound of a gun being cocked. We didn’t know if we were the target, all we could do was hope and fortunately we survived.”

An audit of litter bins is being conducted in Ripon to ensure they are more evenly spread out.

Once the audit is complete, Harrogate Borough Council will be asked to relocate some of the city’s bins to areas of greater footfall.

Councillors at last week’s full Ripon City Council meeting said that while some areas are well served with bins for rubbish and dog waste, there is a dearth of them in other parts of Ripon.

Councillor Stephen Craggs, who is carrying out the city-wide audit to pinpoint the location of bins, said:

“If you look at Spa Park for example, there are six bins within close proximity to each other, but if you walk down to Clotherholme Road on the route that many Outwood and Ripon Grammar students use to go to school, they are in short supply.”

Clotherholme Road, one of the principal walking routes for students going to Outwood Academy and Ripon Grammar, has a shortage of litter bins

He added:

“At a time when we are encouraging children to walk to school, it makes sense to have litter bins that they can use along the way to avoid discarded rubbish ending up in hedgerows.

“It’s not a case of asking for new bins to be installed, but for a better distribution of them on the routes that are used by pedestrians and dog walkers.”

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Council leader Andrew Williams, who has received complaints about the lack of litter bins from residents in his ward, agrees with Cllr Craggs.

He said:

“If you add the six bins at Spa Park to the nine at Spa Gardens and the one outside Spa Baths, we have a concentration of 16 in a relatively compact area and these need to be spread out, so that they are serving more people.”

Councillors have been asked to come forward with details of any lack of litter and dog waste bins in the areas of the city that they represent, so that recommendations for relocation of existing bins can be put forward to Harrogate Borough Council.

Ripon Grammar School student Izzy Kirby has won a place at a leading musical theatre college.

The 16-year-old was among the youngest students to gain a place on the highly acclaimed three-year musical theatre course at SLP (Studios La Pointe) College in Leeds.

The course, equivalent to a higher education degree, usually attracts 18-year-olds who have already achieved a foundation course qualification in technique and performance.

Izzy, who will play the role of Babette in next month’s RGS production of Beauty and the Beast, has worked hard to reach the required entry level, beginning her training at The Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts in Darlington seven years ago.

For the past four years, she has attended Ripon’s Upstage Academy outside school and will play the starring role of Tracy in the performing arts school’s summer production of Hairspray.

Izzy, said:

“My first love is acting but I know that training as an all-round performer is crucial nowadays and a place at SLP will be a great grounding for a career in this industry.”

Her audition consisted of solo singing, dance classes and acting workshops.

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She was expecting to hear back two-weeks later, but received an email the next day offering her a place on the three-year diploma course.

Izzy, who is currently working towards her London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art grades 6, 7 and 8 acting qualifications, says her dream roles include Sophie in Mamma Mia, Velma in Chicago or the title role of Mary Poppins in the musical.

As well as receiving one-to-one singing lessons at SLP, she will have the opportunity to work with guest teachers, directors and choreographers.

Recent graduates have gone on to work in musicals including Wicked, Beautiful, The Lion King and Bat Out of Hell.

Ripon Leisure Centre is set to become the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in honour of the local Olympic hero.

Jack Laugher’s family home is in Littlethorpe, near Ripon. He attended Ripon Grammar School and learned to dive with the Harrogate and District Diving Club.

He became Great Britain’s first Olympic champion in diving alongside his partner Chris Mears at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He followed it up with an individual silver to become the most successful British diver ever.

In the years that followed he achieved three gold medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, a bronze and silver medal in the 3m individual and synchro springboard events respectively at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju and a bronze medal in the 3m springboard at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The council has said the new six-lane 25 metre pool at the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre is now set to open “early in the new year” after a number of delays due to problems in construction.

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Jack Laugher said:

“I’m truly honoured that Harrogate Borough Council have named the new facility in Ripon the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre.

“As a city I grew-up in and a district where I learned to swim and dive, I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would have a facility named after me.

“I hope this new pool and the diving facilities in Harrogate encourage others to follow their dreams like I have.”

Councillor Stanley Lumley, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, and chair of the board of directors at Brimhams Active, said:

“The addition of the new swimming pool is a major development for Ripon and shows our commitment to providing modern and fit-for-purpose leisure facilities.

“Jack may not have had this opportunity if it wasn’t for his perseverance and determination, and the leisure facilities available across the Harrogate district. I am therefore delighted that we have named the new facility after him.

“The pool will open early in the new year and I hope everyone, irrespective of disability, gender, age, race, sexual orientation or religion use this fantastic new facility.”

Powerchair football star Ellie Renton, has won a Northern Children of Courage award for her achievements in the fast-paced sport.

The 11-year-old Ripon Grammar School student, whose rare genetic condition means she is unable to walk, was also praised for being a brilliant role model at an awards ceremony held at the Hilton Hotel in Gateshead.

Powerchair football allows people with physical disabilities to play football. Middlesbrough Powerchair Football Club first team winger Ellie, from Kirkby Malzeard, is one of the youngest players competing in the national league.

She was diagnosed at 18 months old with type two spinal muscular atrophy, a slow progressive muscle wasting condition which has left her with weak arms and legs and prone to potentially life-threatening chest infections and pneumonia.

The awards, organised by The St. James’s Place Charitable Foundation, celebrate the achievements of young people who have overcome barriers, achieved something extraordinary or helped and supported others.

Coach Carolyn Bean, who nominated Ellie, praised her achievements:

She said:

“She has worked her way up through the teams and has improved so much. She is a joy to coach, listens and tries her hardest absolutely all the time.

“Ellie often comes to training early to help out during our lower-level training, at such a young age I find this pretty amazing. She has such a natural understanding of what other players need and is already a brilliant role model, even to those older than her.

“Ellie holds her own during matches, playing against other teams with players of all ages, which can sometimes be quite scary.”

Ellie, pictured in the foreground, playing powerchair football.

The year seven pupil, who plans to study marine biology at university, said the award came as a huge surprise as she didn’t know she had been nominated. She said:

“I feel grateful, happy and honoured, when I play powerchair football it feels normal, like a normal sport as this is something I can do with my abilities.”

Her mother, Yvonne, added:

“When Ellie was five and first got into a powerchair for football, we were told she would go far. Within two to three years, she had achieved national status, the youngest player to reach that level in the UK.”

Ellie also enjoys music, art, science and maths.

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Her father, Martin, said:

“We would like to thank her coach who nominated her without us knowing – it was a huge surprise when we heard Ellie had won. We are extremely happy and over the moon for her, to receive such an award and to be recognised for her abilities in powerchair football.”

Students and staff at Ripon Grammar School marked National Tree Week with an ambitious 3,000-sapling hedge-planting drive.

Hundreds of students gathered in the school grounds last week to plant the first 2,000 trees over two days.

The project was made possible by The Tree Council’s branching out fund, which supports schools and others across the UK to plant trees, hedges and orchards as National Tree Week inspires people to get outdoors and get planting in the first week of December.

Ava Edwards, who worked with Year 7 students on their massive planting project, in addition to digging in with fellow sixth formers throughout the week, said:

“The tree planting has provided fantastic opportunities for us all to get involved in regenerating the environment on school grounds.”

RGS gardening and wildlife champion, teacher David Bruce, who has been working with student volunteers from other year groups during lunchtime breaks, said:

“This year’s National Tree Week is more important than ever as we work together to tackle the climate and nature crises.

“Trees and hedgerows store carbon, reduce flood risks and improve our air quality, and by planting more we can help grow a greener future. The young people in our community are an amazing force for nature and by planting these new hedgerows they are helping to create a nature-filled legacy for all of us.

“We managed to get around two thirds of our trees planted so far, with the remaining 1,000 set to be planted at a more leisurely pace over the next couple of weeks. Although the planting is almost done, it’s not over because sustaining the growth of the young trees and maintaining them in a wildlife-friendly way is going to be an ongoing project.”

Ripon Grammar School has been named as the top performing state school in the north of England by The Sunday Times for the ninth year running.

The school, which ranked 53rd nationally, was the only school in the Harrogate district to make the top 10 in the north. Skipton Girls’ High School was second and Ermysted’s Grammar School, also in Skipton, was third.

The results are contained in the 29th edition of The Sunday Times Parent Power tables, which identify the highest achieving schools in the UK, ranked by their examination results from 2017-19. A total of 78 per cent of Ripon Grammar School pupils achieved A-level grades A to B during this period.

Jonathan Webb (pictured above with students), headmaster of Ripon Grammar school, said the accolade was a tribute to the efforts of staff and pupils during the pandemic. He added:

“After a truly difficult 18 months this will give our students and everyone who works at the school a real boost.

“We offer an exceptional all-round, holistic education, with music, drama and sport also thriving.

“Staff have created recently a pioneering new student development programme as now, more than ever, we need to ensure students gain the valuable skills, qualifications and experience outside the classroom which will prepare them well for life beyond school.”

The Plus One programme will be showcased at the school’s sixth form open evening on January 17.

Alastair McCall, editor of Parent Power, said the need for clarity about school examination performance had never been greater, following two years of centre- and teacher-assessed grades, during which the numbers of top grades had increased dramatically.

Mr McCall, said:

“At a time when some schools are making it hard to substantiate claims of academic prowess based on outcomes from 2021 and 2020, we believe these rankings – and all the additional information on offer in Parent Power – provide parents with a more reliable guide to academic achievement in schools today.”