Although the exact date is a matter of argument, tradition has it that the Newcastle upon Tyne Royal Grammar School was founded in 1525. The RGS continues to flourish today as the premier independent school in the North-East of England and as one of the country's leading schools. Over the centuries the school has moved five times but has occupied its present site in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, since 1906. The RGS has grown substantially in recent years. There are now some 1317 students, 264 of whom are in the Junior School. The Sixth Form of 342 is one of the largest in the independent sector. The school has a strong tradition of welcoming students from all backgrounds; the school used to have over 300 students on Assisted Places and has introduced a bursary scheme to replace them in some measure. The efforts of the bursary campaign and the support from its benefactors has made it possible to provide financial assistance for some 80 students, the great majority of whom receive support at a level of 90% or above. In September 2001, we welcomed our first group of girls into the Sixth Form and girls have been represented in all year groups since 2008; they now comprise 46% of the school. In addition to its reputation for academic excellence, the school also enjoys a wide range of excellent resources and facilities, and its accommodation has been extensively rebuilt and refurbished in recent years. We recently completed our multi-million building and development programme, Project XL, which will take the school forward to the year 2040 with outstanding facilities matched by few independent day schools. In September 2019, phase 3 of Project XL opened. The building is home to a new state-of-the-art library, art studios, maths classrooms, a pastoral suite and an assembly space. January 2020 saw the opening of our new Sixth Form centre - the combination of the old sixth form and old library into a modern, and much larger area.