Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne

Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne, usually abbreviated as RGS, is a selective British independent school for pupils aged between 7 and 18 years. Founded in 1525 by Thomas Horsley, the Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne, it received royal foundation by Queen Elizabeth I and is the city's oldest institution of learning.The School is located in Newcastle upon Tyne, in North East England, and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. In 2008, RGS became fully co-educational after 450 years as an all boys' school. It has a current enrollment of more than 1,200 pupils.RGS has a long list of distinguished former pupils including academics, politicians and British aristocracy. Former students are known as Old Novocastrians or Old Novos ("Novocastrian" is macaronic Latin for "citizen of Newcastle"). In 2012 the Sunday Times Schools Guide named RGS the top performing school in the North of England based on academic results from A-levels and GCSEs.In 2015, RGS was named Best School in the North of England by the Sunday Times Schools Guide. In October 2015, the school was also the team base for the Scottish national rugby union team during the 2015 Rugby World Cup.