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Our View
There’s a unique naval heritage at this knockout co-ed day and boarding school in East Anglia whose rich history spans four centuries. And while today it’s no longer a military school, it still pays homage to its roots with regular all-school parades in naval uniform (‘Divisions’ in navy speak), a four-service CCF and an outstanding sailing academy. Add in seriously grand buildings and vast grounds, and you’ve got a school with gravitas where pupils feel part of a strong community.
Where?
RHS is set in 200 acres of idyllic Suffolk countryside near the Stour Estuary – the scale of the place is hard to take in. Founded in 1712 in Greenwich in the buildings that are now home to the National Maritime Museum, it moved in 1933 to its current site, which is equally as striking. Made up of a large group of imposing buildings spaciously laid out and arranged symmetrically overlooking the River Stour, it has the feel of a university, with interiors that are huge – from the high ceilings to the windows to the corridors.
A five-mile drive from Ipswich and just off the A12 and A14, the school is easily accessible and there is an extensive network of buses covering Suffolk and Essex. The closest station is Manningtree, an hour from Liverpool Street, while by car, London and Stansted airport are both around an hour away.
Head
Irfan Latif joined the school in September 2024 from DLD College in London, where he was principal. Despite having only recently arrived, he has already developed RHS 3.0, which stands for Respect, Honour, Service – three attributes the school aims to bring out in its pupils. He is also teaching the Year 8s RHS+ (see below) and on our visit was delivering a Spooky Science lesson to the younger years to mark Halloween. He’s a hugely enthusiastic and friendly head, and laser-focused on the importance of pastoral care, for which the school already has an enviable reputation, but he tells us he’s determined to make it even better.
Admissions
Non-selective, the school has a wide academic range and can cater for most abilities. The main entry points are Years 7, 9 and 12, with most pupils joining in Year 7. Pupils take entrance tests in maths, English and verbal reasoning, while prospective sixth-formers are offered places based on their predicted GCSE grades – an average of 5.5 is required, with a 6 or 7 in the A-level subjects they’re choosing. Academic, music, sailing, creativity, drama, sports and all-round talent scholarships and exhibitions are all available for Years 7, 9 and 12.
Academics and destinations
Small class sizes and above-average contact time with teachers mean academic outcomes are excellent, with impressive value-added. The lower-school pupils follow a bespoke Compass Programme, which focuses on fields such as critical thinking, digital literacy and presentation skills to enhance their academic work. A scholars’ programme runs in all years to stretch the most able, while the excellent learning-support department offers one-to-one, group and study-support sessions.
At GCSE, pupils take nine or 10 subjects, with many vocational options such as media studies and PE. Sixth-formers have a huge choice of options – about 20 A-level subjects and BTECs in enterprise and entrepreneurship, media and sports science. They can select a mix of both A-levels and BTECs and in the lower sixth can also complete an elective – EPQs, core maths, AS drama and sports coaching or sailing qualifications are popular. RHS+ provides PSHE, careers advice and life skills, while the RHS Xtra programme enriches and broadens horizons through a series of lectures, which pupils told us they find particularly inspiring.
Everyone has a Microsoft Surface Pro (the school has just been awarded Microsoft Showcase School status) and technology is fully integrated into learning, as is the dedicated one-to-one careers service, RHS Futures, which begins as early as Year 7, helping pupils think about what they want in life beyond school well before they leave. Most go to university, but apprenticeships are also popular and about 10 per cent join the armed forces.
Co-curricular
With incredible sports facilities – including 96 acres of sports fields, multiple fitness suites, a climbing wall, golf course, equestrian facilities and sailing academy – you’d expect nothing but the best when it comes to sport…and that is exactly what pupils get. Core sports are rugby for boys, netball for girls, and hockey, cricket and athletics for both, with two games sessions per week and one on Saturday afternoon. There are plenty of fixtures and everyone is encouraged to play in a team. Elite pathways are available for gifted players, with year-round specialist training and wellbeing support offered. Sailing is an additional core sport every term – all Year 7s spend a week learning how to sail to see if they would like to take it further. Many do and the school has produced a number of Olympians.
Music is also fantastic. The director of music, Ed Allen, runs an inspiring department and opportunities to get involved are endless, from choirs and orchestras to ensembles and marching bands. Every week there are 400 one-to-one lessons, and this year there are 28 music scholars at the school. The school’s naval ties mean there are some wonderful performance opportunities too, such as aboard HMS Diamond and on an aircraft carrier in Portsmouth, and in October the chapel choir sang in St Paul’s Cathedral as part of the annual National Service for Seafarers. Everyone gathers three times a week to sing in chapel, raising the roof of the 1,000-capacity space, which has one of the loudest organs in Europe.
A huge atrium links the art and D&T departments, which are housed in their own bespoke set of buildings, where pupils can explore their creativity in a wide range of disciplines, from fine art, photography and sculpture to textiles, printing and ceramics. CAD and food technology are also on offer in the design department.
The lower school has timetabled drama and it’s also an option at GCSE, although not at A-level. There is, however, a sixth-form theatre company for budding thespians, and LAMDA exams can be taken. Productions include musicals, plays and operas, with pupils given the opportunity to write and produce too.
Among the 80 clubs on offer, climbing, Pilates, yoga and CCF are the most popular. The school has all four branches of CCF, which is a rarity, and in Years 9 and 10 it’s compulsory, with many choosing to carry it on into sixth form. All Year 9s also do DofE; every year about 100 pupils work towards their gold award. There are usually about 100 pupils involved in Model United Nations too, which sees them participating in up to eight inter-school conferences a year. The two debating societies also take part in external competitions.
Boarding
The school offers a great deal of flexibility when it comes to boarding: full, weekly, three nights a week, a ‘boarding bundle’ of 15 nights a term flexi boarding, and ad hoc boarding for day pupils within certain parameters. Around 60 per cent of pupils board some nights, with about half of pupils full or weekly boarders. The four senior boarding houses are all spacious and well equipped, with kitchens, games rooms, quiet spaces and TV rooms. There is also a junior house for Year 7s, and the upper-sixth house is modelled on a university hall of residence, with single study bedrooms instead of dorms and lots of freedom – and responsibility – to prepare Year 13s for life beyond school.
Pupils in Year 7 and 8 engage in an optional weekend activity programme including everything from workshops in circus skills to street dance and steel drums. Year 9 and above benefit from the School's Future Ready programme - a selection of innovative short-courses and one-day activities across the academic year, designed to develop key employability skills such as creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication, as well as providing time for academic consolidation and support. The programme is optional for day pupils, with tailored flexibility for boarders including advanced coding for AI and robotics, Masterchef, entrepreneurship and startup simulations, art portfolio development, young engineers, music composition, scriptwriting, financial education and stage production.
School community
RHS is well known for its fantastic pastoral care. House matrons diligently look out for their pupils, newcomers are buddied up to help them settle in and sixth-formers train as academic mentors to younger pupils. The large medical centre is staffed by a nurse, doctor, dentist and counsellor. As well as the magnificent dining hall, which is the centrepiece of the school, there’s also the new Heritage Café offering a less formal dining option. Lots of parents come here, especially in fine weather when you can sit on the terrace and take in the view down to the river. Parents are a mix of locals, military and overseas families, and there’s always a good turnout for the Divisions parades and music performances.
And finally....
This school really takes your breath away with its size and scope. Facilities are next level, and the breadth of education it offers pupils is very impressive. It feels like a place where everyone can find their thing and be nurtured to fly with it.