N E W S L E T T E R - Radley College
N E W S L E T T E R - Radley College
N E W S L E T T E R - Radley College
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<strong>Radley</strong><br />
THE<br />
N E W S L E T T E R<br />
VOLUME 10<br />
| Music on Tour | The Redevelopment of the Sports Centre |<br />
| The <strong>Radley</strong> Year 2009/10 | Universities Stateside | Golf |
Music on T<br />
One of the joys of <strong>Radley</strong> <strong>College</strong> is the all-round nature of the school. We all passionately<br />
believe in offering boys the widest possible opportunities, whether they are academic,<br />
sporting or artistic. The spectre of boys rushing into rehearsals fresh from the cricket field<br />
or the river is a common one and in my view, nothing makes them into better performers.<br />
Indeed in one year no fewer than 6 members of the 1st VIII boat were top musicians.<br />
There are, however, occasions when<br />
total immersion can bring benefits: the<br />
rowers frequently spend entire days at<br />
regattas thinking of nothing but rowing,<br />
the cricketers on many a Saturday miss<br />
parts of morning school to leave for a<br />
match and are rarely seen back at college<br />
before 8 o’clock in the evening, having<br />
been living the game for an entire day.<br />
In the musical sphere it is the occasions<br />
when we take music outside <strong>Radley</strong><br />
that not only reinforce the team nature<br />
of music but also give the opportunity<br />
for an uninterrupted focus on musical<br />
performance, whether solo or large<br />
ensemble.<br />
For the past few years we have taken large<br />
groups of boys to perform abroad: Venice<br />
was our first foray, and was followed<br />
in subsequent years by visits to Prague,<br />
Berlin, Paris and Barcelona. Currently in<br />
the planning stages is a tour to Tallinn<br />
(Estonia), a city well known for its<br />
beautiful venues and architecture.<br />
Front Cover: Note Dame, Paris, Below: St John’s Smith Sqaure, London<br />
In planning these trips we look at a<br />
number of issues, first and foremost<br />
being what kind of concert opportunities<br />
we can find. We take a broad spectrum<br />
of ensembles with us, everything from<br />
the chapel choir, big band and baroque<br />
ensemble through to funk bands and close<br />
part harmony groups. Finding venues<br />
that will accept such an eclectic mix of<br />
music in one concert is not always easy.<br />
We look for a very significant central<br />
church where we can sing: we have been<br />
fortunate to have sung Mass in St Mark’s,<br />
Venice, performed concerts in Barcelona<br />
Cathedral, the basilica of Montserrat and<br />
Notre Dame. We have found that visiting<br />
a local school to give a varied concert<br />
is an ideal opportunity for the boys to<br />
mix with children of their own age.<br />
Visiting an outlying town where entire<br />
communities have turned out to pack a<br />
small church and enjoy everything from<br />
Vivaldi to funk has been very rewarding<br />
indeed. Audiences are always amazed<br />
to see the same boys performing in a<br />
variety of different styles. This large mix<br />
of ensembles makes the practicalities<br />
challenging. Everything has to be taken<br />
with us, and we are becoming experts at<br />
negotiating Heathrow terminals with large<br />
keyboards, electric guitars, drum kits and<br />
saxophones of various types.<br />
Tours involve around sixty boys from all<br />
year groups and socials and it’s wonderful<br />
to see them mix and form such a tight<br />
team. In fact teamwork is essential on<br />
these occasions and, on arrival at venues,<br />
boys are expected to help unload, put<br />
together instruments, stands, move<br />
furniture and give out programmes; in<br />
short the entire team tackles the challenge<br />
of putting on a complicated concert in a<br />
short time in a building that perhaps only<br />
has one 30 amp outlet!<br />
For most of us, however, the summit of<br />
all these experiences has been singing<br />
in some of the greatest ecclesiastical<br />
buildings, and experiencing first-hand<br />
their amazing acoustics. The boys will<br />
tell you that listening to the echo of Notre<br />
Dame or St Mark’s in Venice is very<br />
different from making your own sound to<br />
fill the enormous void of these places, and<br />
then hearing it coming back to you. One<br />
of the most memorable experiences for me<br />
with the boys was performing a piece of<br />
Gabrieli in St Mark’s, in the same building<br />
for which it was originally composed 500<br />
years ago. Such pieces give no printed<br />
guide as to speed. As soon as we started<br />
rehearsing, it became clear from the<br />
acoustic alone, the speed at which the<br />
composer had intended the music to go. It<br />
was a wonderful moment where the voice<br />
of the composer was coming back to us<br />
echoing over the ages.<br />
There are lots of other nonmusical activity<br />
too: on our last trip to Barcelona, apart<br />
from enjoying the local food, the boys<br />
enjoyed seeing inside the amazing football<br />
stadium, a trip to the beach and a tour of<br />
the unfinished cathedral of La Sagrada<br />
Familia.<br />
2 THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER<br />
THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER<br />
Foreign touring is by no means the only<br />
time when music is taken outside <strong>Radley</strong>.<br />
In fact it happens on a weekly basis. As<br />
part of the Vth form’s community service,<br />
we take four minibuses of musicians each<br />
week to four different venues around<br />
Oxfordshire, including schools for the<br />
disabled, old people’s homes and nursing
our<br />
homes. Boys lead the concerts by<br />
introducing the musical items and we<br />
finish with a singsong when the residents<br />
earn their cups of tea and cake by singing<br />
along to old classics while the boys<br />
accompany them on their instruments.<br />
The boys then serve tea and cake,<br />
remaining for a chat before returning<br />
to school for lessons. Some of the most<br />
significant of these occasions have been<br />
some of the hardest for the boys. Staff at<br />
nursing homes have often told us that the<br />
music has provoked responses, perhaps<br />
smiles, perhaps a foot tapping, from<br />
people who otherwise have remained<br />
completely unresponsive for months.<br />
This is indeed community service, and<br />
something the boys don’t forget.<br />
The Chapel choir here at <strong>Radley</strong> is an<br />
extremely busy ensemble numbering<br />
now around 90 boys who sing services<br />
on a weekly basis. Whilst we have been<br />
very creative in our own Chapel with<br />
fitting the boys in, it takes ingenuity<br />
doing the same at cathedrals in the<br />
south of England and colleges in<br />
Oxford. Nevertheless such occasions are<br />
memorable, and in addition to singing<br />
evensong the boys have the opportunity<br />
to learn something of the history and<br />
architecture of the buildings. This is<br />
followed by the customary visit to Pizza<br />
Express (we have found every city has at<br />
least two!).<br />
The increasingly busy diary also<br />
lists concerts in London, organists<br />
performing on the rather nice organ<br />
at Oxford Town Hall and the big band<br />
playing as a regular fixture at <strong>Radley</strong><br />
Village Fete.<br />
Come to hear us perform at a town near<br />
you!<br />
Stephen Clarke, Precentor<br />
New <strong>College</strong> Chapel<br />
Coventry Cathedral<br />
THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER 3<br />
THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER 3
The Redevelo<br />
Sports<br />
The <strong>Radley</strong> <strong>College</strong> Sports Centre has<br />
been transformed to provide a much<br />
more vibrant and energetic environment,<br />
following the development of a fitness<br />
suite and weights room, and the<br />
refurbishment of the swimming pool,<br />
changing rooms and reception areas.<br />
Together with the squash courts, real<br />
tennis court and sports hall, the centre<br />
boasts some first class facilities. Indeed,<br />
with the recent introduction of the real<br />
tennis court, <strong>Radley</strong> has become the only<br />
school to have both a real tennis and a<br />
rackets court.<br />
The new fitness suite occupies an area<br />
that was largely unused. Not only does<br />
it provide excellent facilities, it has<br />
also enhanced the visual aspect of the<br />
centre. The suite has over thirty pieces<br />
of traditional gym equipment such as<br />
treadmills, cross trainers and rowing<br />
machines. It also has nine ‘spin bikes’<br />
and the centre runs a number of weekly<br />
spin classes, with spinning becoming an<br />
important part of many people’s training<br />
regime.<br />
The weights room is extremely popular<br />
amongst boys and plays a critical role in<br />
preparing them for their chosen sports.<br />
4 THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER
pment of the<br />
entre<br />
One of the most pleasing things has been<br />
the number of boys using the facility in the<br />
evenings. Following Prep, the gym facilities<br />
are open for the boys and there are usually<br />
at least 30 in attendance. Of course, it is<br />
not just Radleians who have benefitted<br />
from the new facilities, around 150<br />
members of staff use the gym which helps<br />
towards having a fit and healthy workforce.<br />
The young, enthusiastic team at the sports<br />
centre, together with dons in charge<br />
of swimming, water polo, squash and<br />
triathlon have worked hard to achieve<br />
great results in the past year. Swim training<br />
for the boys takes place five days a week<br />
and a number of boys recently took part in<br />
the ‘Henley Swim’ a 2k swim in the river,<br />
upstream! Likewise, in triathlon, a number<br />
of boys who had been training all year<br />
took part in the Henley Triathlon and all<br />
finished in the top ten.<br />
The Sports Centre now has facilities that<br />
boys, members of staff and an increasing<br />
number of external users are enjoying.<br />
It is hoped that next year will be just as<br />
successful with the centre going from<br />
strength to strength.<br />
Andrew Ashton, Bursar<br />
THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER 5<br />
THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER 5
THE RADLEY<br />
General<br />
Each term this year has started with<br />
external difficulties to overcome: first<br />
‘Flu, then snow, then volcanic ash. <strong>Radley</strong><br />
surmounted the challenges…<br />
<strong>Radley</strong> had an excellent Ofsted Welfare<br />
inspection in September 2009, achieving<br />
the highest standard ‘outstanding’.<br />
Old Radleians made their mark in<br />
various ways across the course of the year:<br />
Andrew Strauss captained the England<br />
team to victory in the Ashes series in<br />
late Summer 2009; Owen Paterson, MP,<br />
became Secretary for Northern Ireland<br />
in the Coalition Cabinet in May 2010; Lt.<br />
Rowley Gregg won the MC for his ‘courage,<br />
forthright leadership and determination’<br />
in Helmand Province; tragically Lt. Col.<br />
Rupert Thorneloe, the most senior serving<br />
British Officer to be killed on active service<br />
since the Falklands, and Lt. Dougie Dalzell,<br />
both died in Afghanistan; Charlie Langton<br />
sculpted the beautiful silver trophy for<br />
the Epsom Derby; Simon Wolfson (Next)<br />
became Lord Wolfson in the Birthday<br />
Honours.<br />
Academic<br />
The A level results, from an historically<br />
weaker year group, were exceptional: 90.0%<br />
A*,A,B, close to last year’s record. 66 boys<br />
got 3A*/A or more; 66% of all A levels<br />
were A*/A. Will Handy (Cheltenham,<br />
d) got 6A*, Rory Robinson (Twyford,<br />
f), Jack Jervoise (Cothill, b) and Nick<br />
Pattinson (Aldro, c) 5A*s each, outstanding<br />
achievements.<br />
At GCSE we had a good year with<br />
81.93% of papers marked A*/A. 10 boys<br />
achieved a full house of 10A*s. There were<br />
extraordinary results in English Language<br />
where 131/138 candidates achieved A*/A.<br />
<strong>Radley</strong> competed in the finals of the<br />
Royal Society of Chemistry ‘Top of the<br />
Bench’ competition at Loughborough and<br />
were placed 6th out of 24. The team was<br />
made up of Freddie Scheckter (Farleigh,<br />
a), Freddy Rendall (Hall Grove, c), Simon<br />
Stalder (Caldicott, e) and Alexander Budd<br />
(Bedford Prep, b).<br />
Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy<br />
Five boys entered the Chemistry Olympiad<br />
Round 1 – a challenging written test of<br />
chemical knowledge. Silver certificates<br />
were awarded to Will Handy (Cheltenham,<br />
d), Nick Pattinson (Aldro, c), Jack Jervoise<br />
(Cothill, b) and Rory Robinson (Twyford,<br />
f) and a bronze certificate to Petar Dimov<br />
(Romain Rolland, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria,<br />
c).<br />
September 2009 saw the launch of<br />
‘Standing on the Shoulders of Giants’; 28<br />
lectures by dons ranging from Black Music<br />
and Feminist Art to Marxism and Ideas<br />
of Death led to over 70 boys choosing to<br />
research and write a 6,000 word project of<br />
their own devising for an Edexcel Extended<br />
Project AS. Such an exercise is valuable,<br />
both in its own right and as evidence for<br />
universities of a boy’s willingness to work<br />
independently.<br />
‘Declamations’ was again an<br />
outstanding event; 570 boys learnt prose<br />
or poetry culminating in the finals in<br />
February superbly and sensitively judged<br />
by Cynthia Hall, Headmistress of Wycombe<br />
Abbey. The winners were: 6.2 Ali Maxwell<br />
(Cothill, a); 6.1 Ed Dillon-Robinson<br />
(Cumnor House, e); 5th Tommy Siman<br />
(Abingdon Prep, h); Remove Charlie<br />
Huntingford (Colet Court, a); Shell Luke<br />
Olver (Dragon, h).<br />
Once again the school has been host<br />
to a talented array of visiting speakers:<br />
Frankie Dettori, John Whittingdale, Sir<br />
John Rose, Professor Richard Holmes,<br />
Tom Bower, Charles Crawford, Dr<br />
Angela Gallop, Paul Watson, Lawrence<br />
James all came and spoke just in the<br />
Michaelmas Term alone. Daniel Hannay<br />
MEP spoke brilliantly on the eve of the<br />
General Election and announced the<br />
results of <strong>Radley</strong>’s own, hotly contested,<br />
School Election in which the 4 candidates<br />
(Johnnie Bicket (Maidwell Hall, k), Lib<br />
Dem; Henry Whittingdale (Orwell Park,<br />
j), Conservative; Angus Gubbins (Cheam,<br />
g), UKIP; Ed Dillon-Robinson (Cumnor<br />
House, e), Labour) spoke really well,<br />
especially in Question Time.<br />
The annual <strong>Radley</strong>/St Helen’s<br />
Conference was a great success on the<br />
subject of the Media, and once again it<br />
honed boys’ (and girls’) debating skills.<br />
Philip Howard (Summer Fields, h) and<br />
Archie Manners (Ludgrove, c) acquitted<br />
themselves very well in the Conference<br />
debate.<br />
One of the unexpected – and delightful<br />
– developments of the year was the growth<br />
of the Philosophy Society. David Vaccaro<br />
took on its leadership and has generated<br />
extraordinary enthusiasm for philosophical<br />
debate amongst the boys; lively virtual<br />
exchanges, weekly visiting philosophers<br />
from Oxford, and attendance at Oxford<br />
University open debates with speakers like<br />
Christopher Hitchens have stimulated great<br />
interest among 6th Formers, and comprise<br />
both a valuable training in itself and<br />
excellent practice for demanding university<br />
interviews. A particular success was the<br />
visit of veteran campaigner Peter Tatchell.<br />
It has been a quiet year for the<br />
‘Chronicle’, but creative writing has<br />
flourished under Christopher Ellott’s aegis.<br />
A succession of visiting poets and writers<br />
including Greg Leadbetter and the Poet<br />
Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, have conducted<br />
classes and reading to help boys, and<br />
other enthusiastic writers in the <strong>Radley</strong><br />
community, write better.<br />
Debating has flourished. In the ESU<br />
regional competition <strong>Radley</strong> were runnersup;<br />
Hamish Miller (King’s Hall, a) was ‘Best<br />
Overall Questioner’ and Will Patterson<br />
(Cothill, b) was ‘Best Overall Chairman’.<br />
In the ESU Mace Debating Regional Final<br />
Philip Howard (Summer Fields, h) and<br />
Archie Manners (Ludgrove, c) took <strong>Radley</strong><br />
into the top 6 of 72 entered schools in the<br />
West Region.<br />
6 THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER
YEAR 2009/10<br />
Activities<br />
CCF has had a busy year, with our very<br />
successful Biennial Inspection (conducted<br />
by Maj. Gen. Adrian Bradshaw, father of<br />
Freddie, a) and the usual programme of<br />
Field Weekends and camps. In February<br />
the Army section was hosted by our new<br />
sponsor unit, 21 Sqn. Royal Logistics Corps,<br />
at Dalton barracks – KAM’s old base.<br />
November saw the arrival of our new RSM,<br />
WO1 Leo Healy, fresh from a deployment to<br />
Afghanistan with 2 Rifles. Richard Jackson<br />
(husband of TSJ) has joined the RN section<br />
as an officer, and James Pitts (Head of IT at<br />
King Alfred’s, Wantage) the Army section.<br />
Hugh Handy (Cheltenham, d) and Charlie<br />
Palmer (Cottesmore, b) were awarded Army<br />
Scholarships.<br />
<strong>Radley</strong> dons, staff and boys have given<br />
a tremendous amount of their time and<br />
effort in support of many charities this year,<br />
through sponsored runs, cycle-rides, golf<br />
marathons, a ‘Krispy Kreme Donut Day’<br />
and other initiatives. Perhaps the most<br />
challenging last year was the 24-hour ergo<br />
in support of Multiple Sclerosis. This year,<br />
with the memory of two fallen Old Radleians<br />
and a number of injured OR soldiers<br />
very close to our hearts, the fund-raising<br />
efforts for ‘Help for Heroes’ and the ‘Rifles<br />
Regimental Trust’ have been outstanding,<br />
raising £1,000s. Adam and Frederic Bolton<br />
(both Summer Fields, g) cycled from Land’s<br />
End to John O’Groats and raised £8,000 for<br />
the Ear Foundation. Four 6.1 boys, Jamie<br />
Chaplin-Rogers (King Edward VI School, a),<br />
Humphrey Kelly (Farleigh, j), Barney Muir<br />
(Twyford, j), Archie Nelson (Summer Fields,<br />
j) and Tom White (Twyford, j), rode from<br />
England down through France and raised<br />
£28,000 for Jack’s Place Hospice.<br />
Radleians continue to be involved in<br />
Community Action Projects. Concert parties<br />
visit residential homes across Oxfordshire,<br />
and 5th Form boys, as part of the Wednesday<br />
Afternoon Activities, teach in primary<br />
schools. New this year has been the link with<br />
the fledgling Oxford Academy (formerly<br />
Peers School); 5th Form Radleians have<br />
taught able Y8 and 9 children from the<br />
Academy the rudiments of Latin, and several<br />
dons have taught – Maths and Physics – on<br />
<strong>Radley</strong>’s games afternoons.<br />
In July a group of eleven 6.1s<br />
accompanied by 3 dons (MRJ, EEND and<br />
SPA) went to Moreni for 2 weeks where they<br />
taught English to 120 Romanian children.<br />
Despite the challenge, the boys rose to it<br />
and discovered that teaching was more<br />
demanding than they would have thought.<br />
A lot was achieved in the space of those two<br />
weeks: the children improved their English<br />
language skills and got an opportunity to find<br />
out more about English traditions, history,<br />
culture and daily life whereas the Radleians<br />
got a deeper insight into a country about<br />
which they knew so little. For both parties,<br />
it was a very enriching experience which<br />
enabled teenagers coming from different<br />
backgrounds to work closely together.<br />
The <strong>Radley</strong> boys were Gardie James Duff<br />
(Ardvreck, a), Hugh Handy (Cheltenham,<br />
d), Will Richardson (Edgeborough, h),<br />
Andrew Sweerts de Landas Wyborgh<br />
(Cothill, a), George Hesselgren (Trevor<br />
Roberts School, e), Alex McCourt (Oratory<br />
Prep, e), Rob Crawford (British School,<br />
Warsaw, h), Ed Leeming (Summer Fields,<br />
a), John Drummond (Belhaven Hill, h),<br />
George Popescu-Craiova (Colegiul National<br />
GH Munteanu Murgoci, Romania, k), and<br />
Thomas Binnie (Moulsford, c).<br />
Nine 6.2 Radleians, together with<br />
GJAH and Rachel Batley, travelled to Kerala,<br />
India in July for the annual Community<br />
Partnerships project. The task that lay ahead<br />
was to build a house from foundations<br />
upwards, together with adding a verandah<br />
to a house built by one of the original<br />
<strong>Radley</strong> projects to the area. The main<br />
project benefitted a local farming family<br />
on Mankotta Island who were forced to<br />
live in basic shacks, often in feet of water,<br />
during the summer monsoon months.<br />
With the recent problems of flooding in<br />
nearby Pakistan, the importance of assisting<br />
vulnerable communities such as this was<br />
evident. The boys, assisted by local builders<br />
and carpenters, set about the job with<br />
enthusiasm and humour. Following days of<br />
cement mixing, brick throwing, snake and<br />
spider dodging, and taking a little time out<br />
for Indian dancing and river swimming,<br />
the buildings were completed successfully.<br />
The teamwork between individuals from<br />
different walks of life was rewarding for all<br />
concerned. The completion of the project<br />
takes the total number of houses built by<br />
Radleians to thirteen, and the contribution to<br />
quality of life of the local people of Mankotta<br />
has been significant. The following boys<br />
took part: Sebastian Agace (Ludgrove, b),<br />
Nicholas Downs (Malsis School, b), Henry<br />
Church (Sussex House, e), Henry Dunn<br />
(Caldicott, e), George Henderson (Summer<br />
Fields, e), Jack Jervoise (Caldicott, b), Tom<br />
Over (Horris Hill, e), Tom Parker (Horris<br />
Hill, e) and Alexander Wright (Northcote<br />
Lodge, e).<br />
There are approx 150 boys involved in<br />
the DofE at Bronze or Gold level at present.<br />
Forty two Remove and Vth form boys have<br />
completed or are about to complete their<br />
Bronze Award. Thirty five 6.1 boys will<br />
shortly be completing their Gold Award –<br />
an ‘all-time’ record! The following 6.2 boys<br />
will be going to The Palace to receive their<br />
Gold Awards this Summer: Charlie Burton<br />
(Summer Fields, c), Nick Downs (Malsis<br />
School, b), Jack Emmett (Moulsford, h),<br />
Fergus Franks (Dargon, j), Freddie Hunter<br />
(Cheam, h), James Kane (Caldicott, g), Nick<br />
Pattinson (Aldro, c) and Guy Scott (Summer<br />
Fields, d).<br />
THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER 7<br />
THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER 7
Arts<br />
In Drama the main <strong>College</strong><br />
production, Les Misérables, included a<br />
company of over 100 either on stage, in<br />
the orchestra or backstage and was a huge<br />
success over six performances, including<br />
one to local primary and prep schools.<br />
The Remove Play ‘The Royal Hunt of the<br />
Sun’ directed by OHL and the Shell Play<br />
‘Dick Barton’ directed by GHSM both<br />
fielded large, strong casts also reflecting<br />
the rapid increase in boys taking GCSE<br />
and A level Theatre Studies. In both A2<br />
and AS practical exams a number of boys<br />
gained full marks for some very exciting<br />
scripting and performance. We have<br />
had great success with both the National<br />
Youth Theatre and National Youth Music<br />
Theatre this year. Ranulf Kinloch-Jones<br />
(Cheltenham, c), Piers Saich (Papplewick,<br />
k), Alex Poole (International School,<br />
Geneva, g), George Carter (Cothill, k)<br />
and Jon Tarcy (Shrewsbury House, g) all<br />
gained places with the NYT, and Tom<br />
Milligan (Caldicott, k) returns to the<br />
NYMT in a major role joined by Piers<br />
Saich (Papplewick, k). For the second year<br />
running <strong>Radley</strong> has provided the NYMT<br />
with their DSM, the most important<br />
backstage role on any production, with<br />
this year the place being filled by Hugh<br />
Stephens (Caldicott, k).<br />
Music has remained very strong<br />
despite the exodus in 2009 of such a<br />
talented 6.2. In fact, the Chapel Choir<br />
has never been better, or larger, with up<br />
to 80 boys, including Choristers, in its<br />
number. They have sung variously at<br />
Coventry Cathedral and New <strong>College</strong>,<br />
at Carol Services, Remembrance Sunday<br />
and Confirmations (Anglican and<br />
Catholic), as well as at memorial services<br />
for David Goldsmith and Bert Robinson.<br />
Orchestral musicians produced high<br />
quality performances in the Warden’s<br />
Music, Christmas Concert, Scholars’<br />
Concert and the Competitions – Wharton<br />
piano, Hudson String, Gunn Brass and<br />
Woodwind. Instrumentalists were also part<br />
of the powerful Les Misérables band. Each<br />
week they performed at Coffee Concerts.<br />
Meanwhile another stirring Piano<br />
Extravaganza involved over 60 pianists in a<br />
host of different partnerships.<br />
It has been another good year in<br />
the Art Department even if the Head<br />
of Department, Ian Ellis, was away on<br />
sabbatical for the Michaelmas Term – his<br />
outstanding April exhibition of sketchbook<br />
paintings recording his North American<br />
Journey were recompense. In December<br />
Jordan Reeve (Pinewood, d) won a prize<br />
and has an illustration printed in the Espo<br />
calendar. Henry Whittingdale (Orwell<br />
Park, j) went through to the second<br />
round of Articulation, a History of Art<br />
competition run by Roche Court, talking<br />
about the role of commissioned artists<br />
within schools, illustrated by our sculpture<br />
here at <strong>Radley</strong> by Julian Wild which was<br />
completed last year. Unfortunately he was<br />
not successful in the final round, but he did<br />
meet Antony Gormley, who was judging<br />
the competition! However Arthur Laidlaw<br />
OR (Dragon, h) won the Shepherd and<br />
Woodward/Turrill Sculpture Competition<br />
with his ipod man, a sculpture made whilst<br />
at <strong>Radley</strong>.<br />
Sport<br />
Through illness, and the usual<br />
debilitating crop of injuries, the school<br />
continued to play its Rugby. The fixture<br />
list seems, by accident or design, to have<br />
become even tougher – the addition of<br />
St. Paul’s this year, for example – but<br />
even so <strong>Radley</strong> won over 70% of matches<br />
played. There were notably successful<br />
block fixtures where nearly all matches<br />
were won: Marlborough, won 17 lost 2;<br />
Abingdon, won 12 lost 3; Sherborne, won<br />
16 lost 2; St. Edward’s, won 12 lost 1).<br />
The Colts were especially strong (Colts<br />
2, 3 and 4 unbeaten) as were the Junior<br />
Colts whose lower teams JC 4 and 5 were<br />
invincible). The 1st XV enjoyed nailbiters:<br />
early matches, win or lose, were typical –<br />
36:35; 17:19; 19:20 – but they played some<br />
exhilarating rugby under Captain Charlie<br />
Goodwin (Sandroyd, k).<br />
Both Hockey and Soccer results have<br />
been strong with about 89% of Hockey<br />
and Soccer games won or drawn. The<br />
1st XI Hockey had some fine wins and<br />
reached the last 8 of the National interschools<br />
hockey competition, whilst<br />
Colts and Midgets sides did well in the<br />
Southern Division of hockey schools. In<br />
both Soccer and Hockey senior sides have<br />
done very well with 2nd and 3rd XIs very<br />
strong. The soccer 1st XI has, on its day,<br />
played attractive and skilful football. But<br />
the most important thing has been to see<br />
the involvement of lots of boys in a range<br />
of teams on Saturday afternoons. Sadly<br />
it is getting increasingly difficult to find<br />
opposition able to offer us 18 Hockey, or<br />
10 Football, fixtures and we are looking<br />
further afield to provide the necessary<br />
competition.<br />
The cricket season has been equally<br />
successful. By mid June the 1st XI had<br />
remained unbeaten, played 10, won 9<br />
drawn 1, with notable scalps of Eton<br />
(away), Marlborough, Harrow (away),<br />
Winchester, Charterhouse and Bradfield.<br />
Hector Freyne (Summer Fields, j) was<br />
proving an outstanding Captain. Alex<br />
Hearne (Dragon, j) (104 v Bradfield), Wilf<br />
Marriott (Farleigh, g) (110 v Winchester)<br />
Nick Gubbins (Elstree, h) (118 v Eton)<br />
scored centuries for the 1st XI and Andrew<br />
8 THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER
Tinsley (summer Fields, d) had taken<br />
7-29 v Cheltenham, 5-49 v Rugby and 5-22<br />
v Bradfield for the 1st XI. Other sides,<br />
especially 2nd XI and Colts 1st XI were<br />
also strong. However, Oundle rained on<br />
our parade to end the unbeaten run. In<br />
the holidays, Wilf Marriott played for<br />
Hampshire 2nd XI, and Alex Hearne and<br />
Nick Gubbins played for Essex 2nd XI and<br />
Middlesex U17 respectively. Alex and Nick<br />
played for England Schools at Lords against<br />
an MCC side featuring Wilf Marriott.<br />
It has been the most successful season<br />
on the river for a decade or so. At the<br />
National Schools Championships the<br />
1st VIII won silver in a magnificent row<br />
which discomforted eventual winners, an<br />
outstanding Eton crew. J16.1 won gold,<br />
J16.2 and J16.3 silver and bronze, J15.1 and<br />
J15.2 won silver, and J14.2 won silver. This<br />
followed a series of wins at Wallingford and<br />
Bedford regattas.<br />
Wallingford Regatta took place at Dorney<br />
Lake over a distance of 2,000m and was<br />
the first sprint race of the summer season.<br />
The 1st VIII won the J18 Eights division<br />
in a decisive manner with Shrewsbury in<br />
second place and Bedford Modern in third.<br />
The Colts 1 also won the J16 Eights division<br />
in fine style. They also won at Marlow<br />
Regatta.<br />
Bedford Regatta over a distance of 1,200m<br />
was another good day for the <strong>Radley</strong> crews<br />
with the 1st VIII winning the J18 Eights<br />
event (despite a last minute replacement<br />
due to injury) as well as the J18 coxed four<br />
event. The four from the J15.1 VIII won<br />
the coxed four event and J15.2 won their<br />
division in the Eight. The 14.2 Octuple<br />
were also victorious in their division. In the<br />
holidays Tom Stewart (Maidwell Hall, f)<br />
and Ed Bosson (Caldicott, d) rowed for the<br />
British VIII in the World Championships.<br />
Harry Hill (Thomas’s Clapham, h) won<br />
gold for Britain in the Coupe Regatta. Four<br />
of the J16 VIII rowed for GB J16 VIII at<br />
Nantes, defeating France (Ollie Wynne-<br />
Griffith (Aldro, j), Rufus Eadie (Maidwell<br />
Hall, d), Charlie Shaw (Westbourne House,<br />
h) and Theo Bromfield (Cothill, a)). Oscar<br />
Richards (St Ronan’s, h) won gold in the<br />
England Home Counties Regatta VIII.<br />
In Squash Ollie Hayes (Dragon, f)<br />
captained the seniors this year, Hector<br />
Stirling (Ludgrove, g) won the 2009-10<br />
Martyn-Hemphill Shells championship,<br />
and Jack Roddan (Caldicott, c) became<br />
school champion in a close fought match<br />
with Ollie Hayes at the end of the season in<br />
front of a large crowd.<br />
The Water Polo team has been<br />
developing into a great squad for future<br />
fixtures. Many Removes have joined in<br />
this year. In the Lent Term we won our<br />
first match defeating Cheltenham with an<br />
impressive performance by Tom Gearing<br />
(St Andrew’s SA, f) who scored 7 goals. In<br />
the Summer Term, F Social won the Inter-<br />
Social Water Polo competition. This team<br />
was unbeatable.<br />
Swimming: six members of the team<br />
have been training towards the Henley<br />
Swim which took place on Sunday 27th<br />
June.<br />
The tennis club has won 70% of our<br />
139 matches. A full fixture day would see 22<br />
<strong>Radley</strong> teams (130+ boys) representing the<br />
school, but sadly few others can match this.<br />
There has been success at the top of the<br />
school with the 1st team as Hamish Miller<br />
(King’s Hall, a) and Ed Monbiot (Sussex<br />
House, h) were finalists at the St George’s<br />
Pairs Competition, the team came 2nd<br />
out of 16 schools in the ISL competition<br />
for RHWM tournament. The 1st IV, led<br />
by Henrik Boris-Möller (Svaneskolan,<br />
Sweden, g), are in the Regional Final of<br />
the National Schools Competition. The<br />
Junior Colts also won their RHWM league<br />
and each JC team went unbeaten on<br />
afternoons against Shrewsbury, Harrow,<br />
Abingdon and Marlborough. Colts teams<br />
too won every match against Winchester,<br />
Wellington, Abingdon and Shrewsbury.<br />
<strong>Radley</strong>’s 1st IV and JC1 competed in the<br />
ISTA championships at Eton. At the<br />
National Schools’ Finals (Glanvill Cup) the<br />
1st IV finished in the top 10 schools in the<br />
country. Henrick Boris-Möller was selected<br />
to play for the Independent Schools’<br />
Invitation VI.<br />
The new Real Tennis court saw<br />
through its second full season in 2009-<br />
10, with 30 <strong>College</strong> matches of which 21<br />
were won and 4 drawn. Seacourt Club,<br />
Oratory, Canford, Clifton, Eton, Rugby<br />
and St Edward’s provided junior or school<br />
opposition, while Oxford and Durham<br />
Universities, Holyport, Hardwick, the<br />
Jesters and the Dedanists the more senior.<br />
The highlight was arguably Tom Buckley’s<br />
(Moulsford, b) victory in the National U16<br />
singles championships at Queen’s, while<br />
he and Ben Boddington (Moulsford, g)<br />
reached the National U19 doubles semifinal.<br />
George Buckley (Moulsford, b)<br />
and Rupert Boddington (Moulsford, g)<br />
achieved the same in the U15 event. In the<br />
National Schools’ event, the 1st pair (Tom<br />
Buckley and Dan Brownlee (Oratory Prep,<br />
e)) came 4th, though the team shared the<br />
overall title with Canford thanks to the<br />
victory of Angus McAlpine (Cothill, k)<br />
and Rory Odam-Smith (Cothill, b) who<br />
triumphed in the 2nd pairs event, even<br />
beating <strong>Radley</strong>’s captains, Jimmy Donger<br />
(Dragon, h) and Ludo Roupell (Ludgrove,<br />
h). Ben Boddington and Ben Robinson<br />
(Beaudesert Park, h) gained a very worthy<br />
2nd place in the Colts event, while Charlie<br />
Grimshaw (Woodcote House, c) and<br />
George Buckley came 4th. In the British<br />
Junior Real Tennis Singles, Tom Buckley<br />
came 3rd in U18 event.<br />
The Beagles hit a golden vein at<br />
the South of England Show at Ardingly,<br />
winning 6 classes, as well as the cup for the<br />
pack with most prizes.<br />
Ed Bosson (Caldicott, d) is set to enter<br />
the Guinness Book of World Records after<br />
becoming the first person to “wakeboard”<br />
across the English Channel.<br />
THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER 9
10 THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER<br />
10 THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER<br />
Universitie
s Stateside<br />
One doesn’t have to dig deep to find links<br />
between <strong>Radley</strong> and the United States:<br />
former Warden Dennis Silk was born in<br />
California, whilst renowned civil rights<br />
lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith OBE (1973-<br />
1978, F Social) decided against a place<br />
at Cambridge in favour of taking up a<br />
Morehead Scholarship to the University<br />
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The<br />
current Warden and Sub Warden have on<br />
more than one occasion travelled ‘across<br />
the pond’ to meet up with ORs who live<br />
and work in the US. At any one time there<br />
will be several Radleians in the school with<br />
a US family background. Genealogical<br />
links aside, in what other ways is there<br />
a relationship between <strong>Radley</strong> and our<br />
former colony?<br />
Recent years have undoubtedly seen a<br />
growth of interest from Radleians in<br />
continuing their education at an American<br />
university. In truth only a trickle of<br />
students have ultimately enrolled on their<br />
degree course in the USA, but this trickle<br />
looks like growing. This can be explained<br />
only in part by the increasing difficulty of<br />
securing a place at a ‘top’ UK university –<br />
that is in a sense the negative reason for<br />
looking in a different direction. What are<br />
the positive reasons?<br />
George Cederquist (1992-1997, E Social)<br />
was always more likely than most to cross<br />
the Atlantic for his higher education, given<br />
his US family background. However, his<br />
recollection of “the exposure you get to so<br />
many different subjects” gives a big clue as<br />
to what attracts others to the US university<br />
system. Those for whom a decision on<br />
specialization does not come easily like the<br />
idea of the liberal arts approach whereby, in<br />
George’s words, you arrive “without a clue<br />
as to what you’ll major in”. As it is, George<br />
did pursue the sort of musical career that<br />
looked most likely in his <strong>Radley</strong> days,<br />
but he was more than happy to embrace<br />
the philosophy that “the knowledge of<br />
one subject can only be furthered by the<br />
knowledge of others”. A more recent <strong>Radley</strong><br />
“export” is Henry Woodward-Fisher (2003-<br />
2008, G Social), who is currently studying<br />
at Harvard. Like George he appreciates the<br />
extraordinary range of options available<br />
within his studies, contrasting this with<br />
the specializing approach that is typical<br />
of UK universities. Fully immersed in<br />
the “can do” culture of his surroundings,<br />
Henry is spending this year in China as<br />
he moves towards his degree in East Asian<br />
Studies, pausing briefly from his summer’s<br />
internship to say how “excited and amazed”<br />
he continues to be by the opportunities on<br />
offer – and to confirm plans for a visit to<br />
<strong>Radley</strong> in January to spread the good news<br />
about Harvard.<br />
Taking a more holistic view of the<br />
applicant is undoubtedly a reflection of<br />
the more rounded approach to studying<br />
that permeates through the US higher<br />
education world. Scholarship programmes<br />
that are geared to rewarding and nurturing<br />
talented leaders, sportsmen and artists<br />
are a key feature of the selection process.<br />
Indeed it was just one of these programmes<br />
that drew Clive Stafford-Smith to North<br />
Carolina and so influenced his career<br />
path. Even a brief sojourn within the<br />
dynamic US system can influence a young<br />
student’s outlook, as evidenced by a threeweek<br />
summer visit to William and Mary<br />
<strong>College</strong> in Virginia by Jamie Crole (2004-<br />
2009, H Social), funded by the Malcolm<br />
Robinson Memorial Award. He talks of<br />
the “fantastic experience” of exploring a<br />
period of history that was new to him,<br />
something that two summer 2010 visitors<br />
to the same location (Barney Bracher, C<br />
Social and Alistair Shawcross, E Social)<br />
have also enjoyed. Barney talks of his eyes<br />
being opened to the exciting possibilities<br />
of studying outside Europe and his delight<br />
at gaining an “understanding of culture<br />
and history from an entirely different<br />
perspective” is palpable. It’s reassuring to<br />
hear from a current 6.2 student the view<br />
that the “structure and standard of <strong>Radley</strong>’s<br />
teaching” would offer every chance of<br />
academic excellence within the US system.<br />
We naturally expect that the four 2010<br />
leavers who are heading to US universities<br />
this autumn will be achieving just that.<br />
Quite how dramatically the growth of<br />
OR traffic across the Atlantic will be is a<br />
story still to be told, but there are signs to<br />
indicate that there will be many exciting<br />
chapters: our US universities adviser Dr<br />
Jon Tabbert is seeing plenty of interest<br />
from parents of boys lower down the<br />
school, whilst ten 6.1 boys are shortly to<br />
start a series of SAT tutorial sessions being<br />
provided by a specialist company. It’s clear<br />
that imaginations are being captured – and<br />
an exciting expansion of <strong>Radley</strong>’s trans-<br />
Atlantic links looks a near certainty.<br />
Paul Gamble,<br />
Director of University Entrance<br />
Petar Dimov (C Social), Christian von Celsing (G Social) and Tim Nye (G Social)<br />
discuss their plans to go to university in the US with Paul Gamble in the Careers Library<br />
THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER 11<br />
THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER 11
Golf<br />
We are incredibly fortunate to have such<br />
a wonderful facility as our nine-hole golf<br />
course. Anyone who has seen the way<br />
that the course has developed over the<br />
last eight years or so will realise the debt<br />
we owe to Adam King and his staff, who<br />
do a tremendous job. Week in, week out,<br />
the greens are among the best in our area<br />
and as the holes develop more character<br />
– with the planting of trees, placement of<br />
bunkers and facilitating of different levels<br />
of rough – so it continues to evolve. With<br />
the help of generous support from the OR<br />
Golfing Society we have recently started<br />
a programme of regular coaching – using<br />
professionals from Huntercombe GC -<br />
and being able to use some of the course<br />
for this has been a huge benefit, especially<br />
in the visualisation of shots. All boys<br />
can benefit from the coaching, which<br />
generally takes place in pairs, roughly<br />
matched on ability; the boys are e-mailed<br />
the details about this a few weeks in<br />
advance.<br />
As with all sports at <strong>Radley</strong> we play on a<br />
competitive circuit with regular fixtures<br />
against Wellington, Eton, Marlborough,<br />
Bradfield etc. The seniors play at least<br />
sixteen matches per year and the juniors<br />
(mainly Removes and Shells) about eight.<br />
One of the highlights of the year is the<br />
West of England trophy at Burnham-and-<br />
Berrow which takes place at the end of<br />
the Lent term. We spend two nights down<br />
at Burnham in a quality tournament<br />
involving 8 strong sides – traditionally we<br />
have an impressive record, although we<br />
haven’t won the trophy since 2004. Last<br />
term the seniors, led by Maxi Hamilton<br />
(Elstree, G Social), had one of their<br />
best starts to a season, winning the first<br />
six matches. The first pair, Maxi and<br />
Henrik Boris-Möller (Svaneskolan, Lund,<br />
Sweeden, G Social), recorded a notable<br />
victory over the first pair from Wellington<br />
- both scratch players. The juniors are<br />
also developing into a fine squad with the<br />
likes of Keith Seward (Hereward House,<br />
B Social) and Alex Wright (Caldicott, C<br />
Social) pushing for a place in the top-side.<br />
The coaching has had a most positive<br />
impact on the club as a whole and, in<br />
order to gain selection for one of the<br />
teams, it is advisable for boys to have a<br />
few lessons and try to fix up a game with<br />
one of the regulars in the teams, especially<br />
Tom Beasley (Abingdon Prep, B Social)<br />
who is the Captain of Golf in his 6.1 year.<br />
We are always on the lookout for new<br />
talent and anyone who feels that they may<br />
have slipped through the net should give<br />
me a nod.<br />
Like other minor sports, golf has to<br />
compete for boys’ time and, in the course<br />
of a busy term, it is not always easy for<br />
everything to be fitted in. However, some<br />
of our most successful golfers have often<br />
played a number of other sports as well,<br />
such as Tom Atkinson (Elstree, G Social)<br />
and Tom McPhail (Dragon, H Social), the<br />
latter being selected for the Swift’s tour to<br />
America in 2005. Having said that, it is<br />
always useful to have a core of players for<br />
whom golf is their prime sport and it is<br />
amazing how the old adage that ‘the more<br />
they play the better they get’ rings true.<br />
There was no better example of this than<br />
Duncan Montgomery (Cothill, H Social)<br />
(no relation to Colin!) who virtually<br />
lived on the course and his handicap<br />
plummeted from over 20 to scratch. I<br />
hope that many others will get the ‘bug’<br />
and follow his lead – it is a wonderful<br />
game to get to know.<br />
Harry Hammond,<br />
Master in Charge of Golf<br />
12<br />
12<br />
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NEWSLETTER Website: www.radley.org.uk . Admissions enquiries: 01235 543174 . admissions@radley.org.uk<br />
NEWSLETTER