Radley College Explained

Radley College
Motto:Latin

Sicut serpentes, sicut columbae
([wise] as serpents, [innocent] as doves [Matthew 10:16])

Type:Public school
Private boarding school
Head Label:Warden
Head:John Moule
Chair Label:Chairman of the Council
Chair:David Smellie
Address:Kennington Road
Country:England
Postcode:OX14 2HR
Urn:123300
Enrolment:770
Gender:Boys
Lower Age:13
Upper Age:18
Houses:11
Colours:Red and white
Free 1:The Radleian
Free Label 2:Former pupils
Free 2:Old Radleians (ORs)[1]

Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley or the College of St. Peter at Radley,[2] [3] is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847.[4] [5] The school covers 800acres including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, and farmland. Before the counties of England were re-organised, the school was in Berkshire.

Radley is one of only four public schools to have retained the boys-only, boarding-only tradition, the others being Sherborne, Harrow and Eton. Formerly this group included Winchester, although the latter school is currently undergoing a transition to co-ed status.[6] Of the seven public schools addressed by the Public Schools Act 1868 four have since become co-educational: Rugby (1976), Charterhouse (1971), Westminster (1973), and Shrewsbury (2014). For the academic year 2022/23, Radley charged boarders up to £14,850 per term, or £44,550 per annum.[7] It is a member of the Rugby Group.

History

Radley was founded in 1847 by William Sewell (1804–79) and Robert Corbet Singleton (1810–81). The first pupil was Samuel Reynolds, who in 1897 wrote his reminiscences of school life.

The school was originally housed in Radley Hall, now known as "Mansion". Radley Hall was built in the 1720s for the Stonehouse family. Later in the 18th century the estate passed to the Bowyer family, who commissioned Capability Brown to re-design the grounds. After the school was founded, extensive building work took place, beginning with Chapel (replaced by the current building in 1895), F Social and Octagon (the earliest living accommodation for the boys), Clock Tower, and in 1910 the dining hall (Hall). Building work has continued throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, with three new Socials, a weights-room/gym, a rowing tank, a theatre, and a real tennis court being completed since 2006. The Science Block was also expanded and refurbished in 2019. The grounds include a lake, a golf course and woodland.

On 31 August 2017, The Daily Telegraph[8] reported that a whistleblower had suggested that teachers had helped their students in an art GCSE exam. Investigations by the exam board found no fault beyond a minor technical breach of exam regulations. Radley College issued a statement expressing full support for staff and procedures both within the art department and across the school.

On 6 July 2018, a plane trailing a banner reading "Make Radley Great Again" was flown over the school, in protest against Warden John Moule's campaign of modernisation. The £750 cost of the plane hire was raised by pupils at the school.[9]

Price-fixing cartel case (2005)

In 2005 Radley College was one of fifty of the country's leading independent schools which were found guilty by the Office of Fair Trading of running an illegal price-fixing cartel which had allowed them to drive up fees.[10] Each school was required to pay a nominal penalty of £21,360 and all agreed to make ex-gratia payments totalling three million pounds into a Trust designed to benefit pupils who attended the schools during the period in respect of which fee information was shared.[11] In their defence, Jean Scott, the head of the Independent Schools Council, said that independent schools had previously been exempt from the anti-cartel rules applied to business; they were following a long-established procedure in sharing the information with one another and they were unaware of the current law.[12]

School terms

There are three academic terms in the year:

Radley formalities

Radley College has its own specialised terminology and formalities, similar to the notions of Winchester College.[13] For example, all teachers are referred to as "dons", and female teachers and members of staff are addressed only as "ma'am"; the headmaster is known as the "warden"; boarding houses are known as "socials", with their masters being known as "tutors" and their head prefects as "pups"; ties earned by pups, top sportsmen, and other distinguished boys have flat bottoms and are known as "strings" ("social strings" if earned for distinction within the social, "college strings" if earned for distinction within the wider college); and the five year-groups, from first to last, are called "shell", "remove", "fifth", "6.1", and "6.2". During the Michaelmas and Lent terms, gowns are worn over uniforms, while during the summer term, shirts are worn without ties, jackets, or gowns (known as "Summer Dress" or, more officially, as "Shirt-Sleeve Order"). A formal house meeting is held once a week, known as "social prayers" (an assembly usually with a talk or presentation); an informal house meeting with food, known as "cocoa", takes place every evening; a weekend which a boy would usually stay in school for but has been allowed to leave on is known as a "privi" (short for "privilege weekend" as these can be cancelled if a boy is subject to disciplinary proceedings); and the final day of the academic year is known as "gaudy", from the Latin Latin: gaudē meaning "rejoice thou".

Socials

There are 11 socials at Radley, each housing approximately 70 boys and distinguished by the colours of their members' ties. They are each known by a single letter, although they are formally named after their tutor (e.g., H, formally May's Social). When the college opened, most boys were living together in College, but they were under the care of six "social tutors" and the term "social" then referred to all the boys under the care of one tutor. When D Social was built in 1886 all the boys and their tutor were united in their own living quarters and so the word "social" came to mean the building and all of its inhabitants.[14] Similar to Eton's houses and their dames, each social at Radley has a matron known as the "PHM" ("pastoral housemistress"), whose role is central.[15]

NameColoursTutor
ABlue and brownRichard Hughes
BPurple and blackCharlie Scott Malden
CPale blue and dark blueStephen Giddens
DBlue and whiteCharlie McKegney
EPink and blackAdam Jolly
FRed and goldTom Norton
GRed and dark blueGraham King
HDark green and light yellowNick Wood
JLight blue and coralKyle Willis-Stovold
KGreen and whiteMatt Glendon-Doyle
LGold and navy blueAli Hakimi

Academic aspects

The school was inspected by the independent schools' Inspectorate in February 2008. The inspection report rated the school's standard of education as "outstanding", the highest rating.[16] There was a subsequent inspection by ISI in 2013.[17]

In 2012, the Independent review of A level results, based on government issued statistics, ranked Radley 31st in the UK, ahead of Malvern (32nd), Harrow (34th), Winchester (73rd), Tonbridge (74th), Eton (80th) and Wellington (89th)[18] By 2019 they were still in the top 100 but had dropped to 75th place.[19]

Sports

Sports played at the College are rugby football in the Michaelmas Term, hockey, rowing and football in the Lent Term and cricket, rowing, lawn tennis, and athletics in the Summer Term.

Other sports played include badminton, basketball, beagling, cross-country, fencing, fives, lacrosse, rackets, real tennis, rugby sevens, squash and water polo.[20] [21]

Rugby

Rugby is the major sport of the Michaelmas term. The school fields 23 rugby teams on most Saturdays of the Michaelmas term and on some Thursdays. The Master in charge of Rugby is Gloucester loose-head prop Nick Wood, OR.

Rowing

See main article: Radley College Boat Club. Radley is recognised for its rowing, having won events at Henley Royal Regatta on 6 occasions.[22] Only Eton, St Paul's, Shrewsbury, and St Edward's have won more events at the Regatta.

Cricket

Cricket is played in the summer term. Some Old Radleians have progressed to play cricket for England or captain county level cricket teams. The cricket grounds (including Smithson Fields) have been described as 'arguably one of the best in the country'[23] while the sporting facilities have been described as world-class.[24]

Field hockey

Eighteen hockey teams are fielded during the Lent term. Teams train on three Astroturf pitches and a full-sized indoor hockey pitch. Radley takes part in the Independent Schools Hockey League.[25]

Football

Twelve football teams are fielded in the Lent term. Radley competes in ISFA Southern Independent Schools Lent Term League. There is a yearly pre-season training camp before term starts.[26]

Other sports

Sports such as fives, rackets, sailing, badminton, and polo are represented, as well as scuba diving. A real tennis court opened in July 2008, which made Radley the only school in the world to have fives, squash, badminton, tennis, racquets, and real tennis courts all on campus.[27]

Southern Railway Schools Class

The school lent its name to the thirty-first steam locomotive (Engine 930) in the Southern Railway's Class V of which there were 40.[28] This Class was also known as the Schools Class because all 40 of the class were named after prominent English public schools. "Radley", as it was called, was built in 1934 and was withdrawn in 1962. A nameplate from 930, Radley, is now displayed in the stationery department of Shop (the College's shop).

List of Wardens

Old Radleians

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: RadSoc Hub. Radley College. Radley College. 18 May 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240518054312/https://www.radley.org.uk/radleian-society/radleian-society/. 18 May 2024.
  2. Web site: About the register of charities. 2021-03-21. register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk.
  3. Web site: The College Crest and Motto. 2023-04-27. www.radley.org.uk.
  4. Web site: Joyce Huddleston – freelance technical writer, editor and abstractor . 2 May 2010 . 13 May 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180513081115/http://www.jhud.co.uk/huddleston/radley.html . dead .
  5. Web site: Radley College . https://web.archive.org/web/20050308210442/http://www.radleyvillage.org.uk/institutions/radleycollege.html . dead. 8 March 2005 . Radley Village. 16 April 2010 .
  6. Web site: Winchester College in the 21st Century . Winchester College . 9 February 2021.
  7. https://www.radley.org.uk/userfiles/rcmvc/Documents/02-Admissions/Fees/Schedule%20of%20Fees%202022-23.pdf
  8. News: Cheating in Exam. 31 August 2017. The Daily Telegraph. London.
  9. News: Radley College revolt over modernising headteacher who has changed 100-year-old crest . The Daily Telegraph . London . 14 July 2018 . 15 July 2018.
  10. News: Private schools fee-fixing ruling. 9 November 2005. BBC News. London.
  11. Web site: OFT names further trustees as part of the independent schools settlement . The Office of Fair Trading . 16 April 2010 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080610055129/http://www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/2006/182-06 . 10 June 2008 .
  12. News: Private schools send papers to fee-fixing inquiry . The Daily Telegraph . London . 1 March 2004 . 15 March 2011.
  13. Web site: A Radley Glossary . Radley College . 20 August 2021.
  14. Web site: The Socials . Radley College . 26 August 2021.
  15. Web site: A Radley Glossary . Radley College . 26 August 2021.
  16. Web site: ISI Inspection report 2008 . Radley College . 21 February 2008 . 16 April 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100505161104/http://www.radley.org.uk/pages/inspectn.html . 5 May 2010 . dead.
  17. Web site: Radley College :: Independent Schools Inspectorate. isi.net. 20 April 2017.
  18. News: The Top 100 Independent Schools at A-level . . 26 January 2012 . 31 May 2013.
  19. Web site: Top 100 Independent Schools by A Levels and Pre U. 2021-03-21. Best Schools. en.
  20. Web site: StackPath. 2021-03-21. www.radley.org.uk.
  21. Web site: StudyLink . Britannia . 2021-05-19 . Radley College Guide: Reviews, Rankings, Fees And More . 2024-04-17 . Britannia StudyLink Malaysia: UK Study Expert . en-GB.
  22. Web site: Results of Final Races – 1946–2003 . 29 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110716161931/http://www.rowinghistory.net/HRR%20US/hrr_1946-2000.htm . 16 July 2011 . dead.
  23. http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/search/790855.SCHOOL_SPORT__Search_is_on_at_Radley_for_next_Strauss/ SCHOOL SPORT: Search is on at Radley for next Strauss (From Oxford Mail)
  24. Web site: 'World class' facilities at Radley and Upton to boost area's Olympic boom (From Oxford Mail) . Oxfordmail.co.uk . 27 November 2009 . 16 April 2010.
  25. Web site: StackPath. 2021-03-21. www.radley.org.uk.
  26. Web site: StackPath. 2021-03-21. www.radley.org.uk.
  27. News: School Sport: Search is on at Radley for next Strauss . Russell . Smith . . 12 June 2006 . 31 May 2013.
  28. Web site: Southern E-Group. 29 December 2012.
  29. Web site: William Wood's Diary. Radley College Archive. 25 June 2019.
  30. Illman . John . 2024-01-19 . Chris Bulstrode: volunteered for the army as a trauma surgeon in his 50s . BMJ . en . 384 . q133 . 10.1136/bmj.q133 . 1756-1833.
  31. Web site: William Burdett-Coutts . Rhodes University Trust . 19 August 2012 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120311123115/http://www.rhodesalumni.co.uk/alumni-accolades/#wbc . 11 March 2012 . dmy-all .
  32. Charles Mosley, ed., Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage (107th edition, 2003), vol. 1, page 641; vol. 2, p. 2289
  33. Web site: Crabtree, John Rawcliffe Airey, (born 5 Aug. 1949), Lord-Lieutenant of West Midlands, since 2017 . Who's Who & Who Was Who . 29 May 2022 .
  34. 'Macnab of Macnab, James Charles' in Who's Who 2012 (London: A. & C. Black, 2011)
  35. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/3527597/Sir-Nicholas-Redmayne-Bt.html "Sir Nicholas Redmayne, Bt: Stockbroker who helped to reposition Kleinwort Benson as a leading investment bank in the 1980s"
  36. Web site: Player profile: Charles Worsley. CricketArchive. 19 November 2011.

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