N e w s l e t t e R - Radley College

the
new
Socials
It is nearly a century since Radley
last opened a new Social (H, in 1909) and
now – in 2008 – two more will be added.
The idea of a 9th Social has been debated
for at least a decade; with the present 8 Socials
full to bursting, a new Social was seen as
a means of reducing pressure on current
boarding accommodation. Yet while one
new Social might not have made a significant
difference in numbers to each Social, two new
Socials could dramatically reduce the size of
all, in fact down to a complement of 65. The
aim was most definitely not to expand the size
of Radley by adding on 130 more boys.
The main reason for building Socials J
and K is that accommodation and pastoral
care for all boys at Radley will be enhanced.
The new Socials will be built to a very high
Mark Hindley -
Tutor of J Social
specification, designed by David Welbourne
who was the architect of the Queen’s Court, the
David Rae Smith Building, the new Pavilion
and the new Theatre. He won the competition
to design these new Socials with imaginative
proposals which were sensitive to Radley’s
other buildings and to its campus environment.
Quite as important as the quality and beauty of
the new Socials’ accommodation is the other
half of the plan, the commitment to use the
reduction in boy numbers in the old Socials as
an opportunity to improve their facilities, too.
Much of the rationale for creating
new Socials has been to do with the desire
to improve the care of all Radleians. The
pressures on Tutors have grown inexorably
over the years with new generations of
parents quite rightly more involved than
Niall Murphy -
Tutor of K Social
their predecessors, and the new Socials will
unquestionably help them by reducing the
number of boys in their care. Smaller units will
give boys greater opportunity to represent their
Socials and to have responsibility within them.
The new Socials are very well placed in the
campus, set back from the main drive, Chestnut
Avenue, and close to all the teaching areas as well
as the New Theatre and Music School. David
Welbourne’s design will create a pleasing profile
to visitors as they drive up to Memorial Arch.
Building work started in April 2007, with a
completion date in the following Summer term,
in plenty of time for the opening in September
2008. The Tutors’ houses already exist, J being
the original Orchard House and K the Bursar’s
house, and the Tutors have been appointed.
Mark Hindley, who has taught English at Radley
since 1999, has been a sub-tutor in H Social,
coach of successful rugby, hockey and cricket
teams, and latterly Head of Careers, will be the
first Tutor of J Social. He is married with three
small children. Niall Murphy, who joined Radley
straight from Cambridge in 1993, is the current
Head of History. He used to be residential
sub-tutor of H Social, and is another successful
games coach – rugby, hockey and athletics. He is
married with a baby daughter.
Parents’ most frequently asked question is
how the full complement of boys in J and K will
be created for September 2008. Already the lists
of Shell boys starting in J and K that September
have closed, and demand is strong for subsequent
4 THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER