[2] In 1732, William Smith, a former Mayor of Portsmouth and previously the garrison physician, died and left his estate to Christ Church, Oxford.

[4] In 1976, with the removal of the Direct Grant, it stopped being a grammar school under the Tripartite System, though it kept the term as part of its name and at the same time began to accept female pupils.

Pupils have visited France, Germany, Spain, Ireland, the United States, Syria, Russia, Norway, Hungary, Uganda and several other countries.

Exchanges take place as a part of the Modern Foreign Languages programme each year, with pupils spending time in France, Spain, or Germany and receiving a visit from their counterparts.

Additionally, sports teams travel each year to various locations, which have included South Africa and Australia.

With its own composer in residence...Links with the London Mozart Players mean that scholars get the chance to perform a concerto with a professional ensemble...

The PGS Chamber Choir sang at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in 2005 and went on tour to Salzburg at Christmas 2006.