We understand the needs of our pupils and we provide exceptional pastoral care via a dedicated team of professional and caring staff.

FamilyWorks, our school counselling service, has offered to continue to work remotely with RSD pupils.  For more information please visit our Pastoral Page.

At RSD our aim is to ensure that boarding is an enjoyable experience and that the boarding environment helps boarders to develop academically, spiritually, physically and emotionally.

We work hard to ensure that entering RSD as a new Year 8 pupil is both an exciting and reassuring experience.

We provide a safe and caring environment where pupils have the opportunity to develop their self-confidence and reach their academic potential in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

Our House System complements the pastoral work of the Heads of Year and Form Tutors and contributes to the pupils’ sense of belonging to the school community.

Pupils are expected to wear their uniform with pride and to understand that they represent the School and are promoting its identity.

The focus at RSD is on learning. We value knowledge and help all pupils to have a sound understanding of the subjects they study.

Our curriculum is a blend of traditional subjects from the Sciences, Arts, Humanities and Languages alongside more practical and contemporary subjects.

We monitor the academic progress of all pupils during each Key Stage. The focus is on helping pupils and parents to understand where a pupil is in terms of his or her learning in each subject.

At RSD pupils fulfil their academic potential. Performance is consistently above the average figures for both UK and Northern Ireland schools.       GCSE Results A Level Results