Robert Gordon's College
The "Auld Hoose" of Robert Gordon's College, by night
Rector	Mr Hugh Ouston
Type	Private independent coeducational
Location	Schoolhill, Aberdeen, Scotland
Coordinates	57°8′55″N, 2°6′9″W
Founded	1750
Motto	OMNI NUNC ARTE MAGISTRA (latin for: Now you should use all your masterly skill)
Age Range	5 - 18 years
Primary Years	P1 -P7
Secondary Years	S1 -S6
Pupils	1500 (approx)
Website	rgc.aberdeen.sch.uk
Email	enquiries@rgc.aberdeen.sch.uk
Telephone	(junior school) +44 (0)1224 646758 (senior school) +44 (0)1224 646346

Robert Gordon's College (known by the acronym RGC) is a private co-educational day school in Aberdeen, Scotland. It originally opened in 1750 as the result of a bequest by Robert Gordon, an Aberdeen merchant who made his fortune from trading with Baltic ports, and was known at foundation as Robert Gordon's Hospital. This was 19 years after Gordon had died and left his estate in a 'Deed of Mortification' to fund the foundation of the Hospital. The fine William Adam-designed building was in fact completed in 1732, but lay empty until 1745 until Gordon's foundation had sufficient funds to complete the interior. During the Jacobite Rising, in 1746 the buildings were commandered by Hanoverian troops and named Fort Cumberland. Gordon's aim was to give the poor boys of Aberdeen a firm education, or as he put it to "found a Hospital for the Maintenance, Aliment, Entertainment and Education of young boys from the city whose parents were poor and destitute". At this point all pupils at the school were boarders, but in 1881, the Hospital became a day school known as Robert Gordon's College. Boarding did not return until 1937 with the establishment of Sillerton House. In 1989 RGC became a co-educational school.^[1] Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (857x569, 95 KB) The Auld Hoose of Robert Gordons College floodlit Taken by me in 2005, released into the public domain in 2007 I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... , Aberdeen (IPA: ; Scottish Gaelic: ) is Scotlands third largest city with an official population of 202,370. ... This article is about the country. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... An independent school or private school in the United Kingdom is a school relying for all of its funding upon private sources. ... Coeducation is the integrated education of men and women. ... , Aberdeen (IPA: ; Scottish Gaelic: ) is Scotlands third largest city with an official population of 202,370. ... This article is about the country. ... Robert Gordon (1668-1731) was born in Aberdeen. ... Baltic can refer to: The Baltic Sea Council of the Baltic Sea States - an intergovernmental organization Baltic sea countries - countries with access to the Baltic Sea The Baltic region (Balticum) Baltic States - the independent countries of Estonia Latvia Lithuania Baltic Republics - term refers to the three Baltic states under the... Look up estate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... William Adam (1689–June 24, 1748) was a Scottish architect, mason, and entrepreneur. ... The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in the British Isles occurring between 1688 and 1746. ... The House of Hanover (the Hanoverians) were a German royal dynasty which succeeded the House of Stuart as monarchs of Great Britain in 1714. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ...

The modern school is divided into a Nursery, Junior School, and Senior School, and caters for boys and girls from 4 to 18 years. RGC has long had a reputation as one of the stronger academic schools in Scotland, and follows the Scottish curriculum consisting of standard grades in the fourth year, Highers in the Fifth Year, and Advanced Highers in the Sixth Year. In 2006, there was a 90% pass rate at higher, and 35 pupils gained 5+ passes at A grade. 98% of leavers went on to higher education, the majority at Scottish Universities such as Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, but also 10 pupils gaining entry to Oxford and Cambridge. Educational oversight {{{leader titles}}} {{{agency}}} {{{leader names}}} National education budget {{{budget}}} ([[{{{budget year}}}]]) Primary language(s) of education English and Scottish Gaelic system type = National {{{system type}}} system Compulsory education 1872 Literacy (2005 est) ʉۢ Men ʉۢ Women 99 % 99 % 99 % Enrollment ʉۢ Primary ʉۢ Secondary ʉۢ Post-secondary 1,452,240 390,2602 322... Educational oversight {{{leader titles}}} {{{agency}}} {{{leader names}}} National education budget {{{budget}}} ([[{{{budget year}}}]]) Primary language(s) of education English and Scottish Gaelic system type = National {{{system type}}} system Compulsory education 1872 Literacy (2005 est) ʉۢ Men ʉۢ Women 99 % 99 % 99 % Enrollment ʉۢ Primary ʉۢ Secondary ʉۢ Post-secondary 1,452,240 390,2602 322... Standard Grades are Scotlands educational qualifications for students aged around 15-16 years. ... Higher is one of the educational levels of National Course on the Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) offered by the Scottish Qualifications Authority which supereded the old Higher Grade on the Scottish Certificate of Education (SCE). ... The Advanced Higher is a non-compulsory qualification which forms part of the Scottish secondary education system. ... The University of Cambridge is an institute of higher learning. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Master of Theology (MTh) Dentistry Nursing Affiliations Russell Group, Universitas 21 Website http://www. ... The University of Edinburgh (Scottish Gaelic: ), founded in 1582,[4] is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... The University of Aberdeen was founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland. ... The University of Oxford (usually abbreviated as Oxon. ... The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the worlds most prestigious universities. ...

House system

The school operates four houses, to one of which each student is allocated upon entering the school. The houses compete for different sporting and academic trophies throughout the year, and determine each student's form class. The House System is a traditional feature of British schools, similar to the collegiate system of a university. ...

The four houses are:

Blackfriars - named for the Dominican monks (or black friars due to their garb), that once had a convent adjacent to the school grounds.

Collyhill - named for Alexander Simpson of Collyhill who bequeathed a large sum of money to the school, which allowed for more boys to join the school.

Sillerton - The origin of the Sillerton house name is not clear, but it is believed that, in Robert Gordon's lifetime, he was known as Gordon of Silverton (siller being Scots for silver), and on a 1746 map, the school is identified as Sillerton Hospital.

Straloch - named for Robert Gordon of Straloch, who one of the first graduates of Marischal College, studying humanities, mathematics and philisophy.

A Roman Catholic monk A monk is a person who practices monasticism, adopting a strict religious and ascetic lifestyle, usually in community with others following the same path. ... Laudare, Benedicere, Praedicare Saint Dominic saw the need for a new type of organization to address the needs of his time, one that would bring the dedication and systematic education of the older monastic orders to bear on the religious problems of the burgeoning population of cities, but with more... This article is about an abbey as a religious building. ... Scots refers to the Anglic varieties spoken in parts of Scotland. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5, d Appearance lustrous white metal Standard atomic weight 107. ... Robert Gordon of Straloch was born in 1580. ... Marschal College viewed from Upper Kirkgate Marischal College was founded in 1593 in Aberdeen by George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal of Scotland. ...

Extra-curricular activities

During the 1980s and 1990s Robert Gordon's College developed a powerful reputation for its debating. World Schools Style debating (or WSS) is a combination of the British Parliamentary and Australia-Asian debating formats, designed to meet the needs of the World Schools Debating Championships tournament. ...

In 2002 the College achieved great success in hockey winning the Scottish Reserve Cup, the Scottish School's Cup and the North District League. Squad included David Lawson (to an extent), Steven Craig, Mike Gall and Chris Lunn. The success continues at the college as the North District Under 16 and Under 18 squads are heavily made up of RGC players every year. A game of field hockey in progress Field hockey is a popular sport for men and women in many countries around the world. ...

In golf they have also had considerable success. The schools golf team this year played against Gordonstoun commandingly beating them 4-2. They also run a house golf competition which the house of Straloch won in 2006. Ben Forbes is also considered to be a hopeful prospect for the future of golf in the school as he represented the North-East Under 14s District team against Angus in 2006. This article is about the sport. ... Gordonstoun House Gordonstoun (originally in full, the British Salem School[] in Gordonstoun) is a Scottish co-educational independent school. ...

RGC has achieved lots of rugby success ^{[citation needed]} in the year 2005-06. In addition to winning the first Royal Navy 7's Cup, they have got to the final of the Bell Lawrie Scottish Schools Cup in the U-18 and U-15 category.

It has the highest intake of the Duke of Edinburgh candidates in the whole of Scotland - more than twice as many as any other taking part in the award scheme. In 2006, 66 candidates are doing the Gold Award. In contrast, in 2005, Aberdeenshire Council produced only 6 Gold Candidates. The logo of the Duke of Edinburghs Award. ... Aberdeenshire (Siorrachd Obar Dheathain in Gaelic) is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland. ...

The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is also renowned for being one of the best in Scotland^{[citation needed]}. In 2004, the school won the Military Skills Competition in Barry Buddon. This competition allows the top 7 CCF Army sections in Scotland to compete for the trophy. In 2005, they came 2nd. In 2006, they came 3rd. The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. ...

Notable alumni

Former pupils include politician Nicol Stephen^[2], journalist and politician Michael Gove^[3], singer Sandi Thom^[4], Scottish rugby players Chris Cusiter and Stuart Grimes, Commonwealth gold medal winner David Carry, writer and broadcaster David Stenhouse, and former Manchester United, Aberdeen and Scotland captain Martin Buchan. Another former pupil, Ian Black, was a Commonwealth Games gold medalist, and BBC Sports Personality of the Year, in 1958 at the age of only seventeen. He later returned to RGC as Headmaster of the Junior School. More recently, former RCG pupil John West has caused a stir in the Aberdeen media by being indited as depute provost at the age of 18. Nicol Ross Stephen (born 23 March 1960) is the Deputy First Minister of Scotland, Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, and Member of the Scottish Parliament for Aberdeen South. ... Michael Andrew Gove (born August 26, 1967) is a Conservative politician, journalist and author in the United Kingdom. ... Alexandria Sandi Thom [1] (born August 11, 1981) is a Scottish singer-songwriter from Macduff in Aberdeenshire. ... Chris Cusiter (born June 13, 1982) is a young scrum half who is a great future prospect for the Scotland national rugby union team and the British and Irish Lions. ... Stuart Brian Grimes (born April 4, 1974) - Scottish rugby player. ... David Carry (born 8 October 1981, Aberdeen, Scotland) is a British swimmer. ... Martin McLean Buchan (born March 6, 1949 in Aberdeen) was a Scottish football player. ... Ian Black was a Scottish swimmer. ... Current flag of the Commonwealth Games Federation Locations of the games, and participating countries Commonwealth Games Federation seal, adopted in 2001 The Commonwealth Games is a multinational, multi-sport event. ... The BBC Sports Personality of the Year award is given to one sportsman or sportswoman, usually British, every year. ...

References

External links

• Homepage of Robert Gordon's College