refurbishment between 2001 and 2003, funded by a £10 million public-private partnership project with Amey plc. Academics The most recent report was April 2007. HM Inspectors found "very high levels of attainment at all stages", "motivated pupils who took a pride in their school", and "a very positive school ethos". Pupils scored highly in national examinations, consistently outperforming those in comparator schools as well as the Edinburgh and national averages. 130 university entrants from the Royal High School or 30.1% went to one of the ‘Sutton 13' top UK universities in the five years between 2002 and 2006, second among Scottish state schools and colleges. In 2006 the Royal High School's ranking for Higher grades was joint third in the Edinburgh state school league tables (joint seventeenth nationally in the state school rankings). The school has dropped down 11 places, out of the top 20, in the Scottish schools rankings since 2009 since the new rector took over. Traditions The school uniform is black and white, derived from the municipal colours of Edinburgh. Girls wear a plain white blouse, school tie, black blazer with crest, black skirt or trousers, black tights and black polished shoes. The boys' uniform consists of a plain white shirt, school tie, black blazer with crest, black trousers and black polished shoes. The school blazer is a compulsory part of the uniform and children are allowed to wear other jackets as long as they are not worn inside the building. A black and white striped tie is standard for the lower years; a plain black tie denotes a Sixth Year. The school badge features the school motto and the embattled triple-towered castle of the school arms. When full colours are awarded to a pupil a new pocket is attached to the blazer with the school emblem embroidered in silver wire with the dates of the present academic year either side of the badge. Pupils wear uniform within school and at official functions where they represent the school. The prefect system was established in 1915. The Royal High School armorial bearings derive from the shield of the city arms, and antedate the Act of Parliament on the subject in 1672. Their simple early form can be seen on a carved stone formerly set above the principal entrance to the school at Blackfriars in 1578. The pediment from the 1578 building was incorporated into the Regent Road building