The Unchained Library

The Home of RGS Scholarship

Welcome to the Unchained Library, the modern home of RGS Scholarship.

The Royal Grammar School Guildford is the custodian of the most splendid chained library featuring unique works of scholarship, including two early editions of Newton’s Principa. As stunning a scholarly repository as it is, it is only appreciated in person.

This Unchained Library is our way of exhibiting unique works of scholarship written by our students, alumni and staff to a much wider audience.

Scholarship is one of our core values; it is what our institution prides itself upon above all else, and I hope you get a flavour of that in digesting the materials contained herein.

Mrs H E Tarasewicz

Head of Scholarship

Feature Piece

Recent Posts

  • In the twenty-first century, what is monarchy for?
    This long-read article was written by Edward Eves for the 2022 Robinson College essay competition, and was highly commended. Estimated read time of essay: 15 minutes The twentieth century was a disaster for royalty. In July 1900, King Umberto I of Italy was assassinated at Monza and in July 1946, his son, Vittorio Emmanuele III, scampers from the throne. In […]
  • How the criticisms of Utilitarianism underline a fundamental error in our approach to ethical discourse
    This article was written by Stuart Brown and was the winning article of the David Garlick essay competition. The judges commented ‘This is a very well written piece with a strong argument, which shows detailed and nuanced understanding of the issues.’ Estimated read time of essay: 6 minutes Utilitarianism as a normative ethical theory is attacked in a number of […]
  • Must We Always Obey the Law?
    This long-read article was written by Adam Zhang for the Northeastern University London essay competition, and received a finalist position. Estimated read time of essay: 12 minutes Before we can answer the question, it is important to first understand what the law is. Laws are defined by the Collins Dictionary as “a rule or set of rules, enforceable by the […]
  • What would have to change about ‘democracy’ in order to restore faith in democracy among young people?
    This long-read article was written by Joshua Inglesfield for the Northeastern University London essay competition, and received a finalist position. Estimated read time of essay: 12 minutes What would have to change about ‘democracy’ in order to restore faith in democracy among young people? Young people – who I shall class as anyone aged 16-24 (taking the 18-24 grouping used […]

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