March 2012 Lent terms often see savage weather ... - Radley College

March 2012
Lent terms often see savage weather and widespread illness, but we have been blessed this year; scarcely a
sporting fixture has been affected, and the boys have, by and large, stayed healthy. It has been a very good term,
only bookended by the desperately sad news at its very start of Jim Summerly’s death, and by a fitting memorial
service for a much loved history teacher and Radley institution on the last day of term.
For much of a Lent term, academic matters preoccupy us. For 6.2 term starts with reflections on the Oxbridge
campaign – many congratulations to the 13 who gleaned offers and places in an increasingly tough environment –
and on UCAS in general. This year 6.2 boys have done exceptionally in terms of the numbers of offers from
hitherto widely competitive universities like Bristol, Durham, UCL, Edinburgh and Exeter. The grades demanded
are high, however, and the boys know that they must work very hard to fulfil offers of A*AA or indeed AAA. The
inspiration for the innovatory New College of the Humanities (linked to London University), the philosopher A.C.
Grayling, came to Radley to talk about his vision for a new philosophically based degree course at his private
university college. As part of his visit, he spoke to 6.2 and to the Philosophy Society, a real treat for that
flourishing entity, the inspiration of our own Iain Campbell, A.C. Grayling gave us an evening to remember.
The Mocks showed that 6.2 had understood the importance of revising hard and preparing thoroughly. There is
more work, of course, to be done. For both 6.2 and 5 th Form, these Easter holidays need to balance necessary R
and R with a carefully planned, rigorously adhered to, revision plan.
I know that many of you appreciate our recently introduced scheme of sending home internal reports as e-mail
attachments. When we started this, the Sub Warden set out our intentions, that parents should have a sight of
what were essentially internal working documents for tutors and form masters to have regular spot checks on how
boys were progressing which initiated a discussion about degrees of progress between boy, form master and tutor.
We have never insisted on written comments from dons in these internal reports, just Effort and Achievement
grades, and I would reiterate that sending these 3 weekly reports home is merely to allow you to see the evidence
on which we are acting. The end of term report, of course, is that moment when we report specifically to you.
We constantly look to broaden your sons’ intellectual, cultural and social experience beyond the classroom. Many
of you will have read of those independent schools who have become linked to academies. Council and SMT have
consistently maintained that we should only engage in such partnerships if the good we are able to do for the
academy is matched by a benefit for both dons and boys here at Radley. We are delighted to announce, then, that
we have reached an agreement which we believe fulfils those criteria. We have joined with The Education
Fellowship (the lead Sponsor whose head, Sir Ewan Harper, has experience of running 18 academies) in a new
academy venture, Desborough School in Maidenhead. It is, like us, a boys school and of roughly the same size.
Experience from other public schools who have trodden this path is that contacts will grow between the schools
across time, as we learn where we can best help and how we can best bring boys together in mutually
advantageous partnerships. Andrew Reekes, in retirement, will establish Radley’s links with the school.
Some of you will know, too, that Mark Jewell, who masterminds our overseas links, has established a connection
with Gehandu School in Tanzania, and a number of Radleians are going there this summer to help in the school
and then – in down time – to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. We retain our contacts, for next year, in Romania and
Kerala. All these links, at home and abroad, are designed to open Radleian’s minds to the experience of others,
perhaps less privileged, and prepare them to take their places in a multi-cultural country and a global economy.
Wednesday afternoon activities continue to involve 135 boys in community links and dons frequently comment
that seeing boys operating out of their comfort zone is one of the most important aspects of the education here.

In preparing them for that we have always seen a central attribute for Radleians as that of having the confidence to
present themselves in public, Declamations is a wonderful training. This year, by common acclamation, we had
the strongest ever Reprise, the pick of the 5 year groups’ top declaimers. The winners were: 6.2, Senior Prefect
Tommy Siman reading ‘Pike’ (Tommy has been a winner extraordinarily, for all 5 years of his Radley career); 6.1,
Jamie Robinson, ‘The Oxford Hysteria of English Poetry’; 5 th Alexander Johnstone, ‘The Shield of Achilles’;
Remove Ned Campbell, declaiming an extract from ‘The Iliad’; and in the Shells, Conor Mosedale declaiming
‘The Beacon Fires’. This is Liz Murtagh’s last year running Declamations; she has maintained the highest
standards in a uniquely Radley event and we are very grateful to her. Acting is also a wonderful developer of selfconfidence,
and one of our leading actors, Jon Tarcy, who was a marvellous Sweeney Todd last term, has secured
an unconditional place at the Central School of Speech and Drama, one of the country’s leading drama schools to
which over 6,000 aspirants applied. This term we had two excellent productions in the Theatre, the Remove play
‘The Madness of George III’ in which Thor Winkler von Stiernhielm gave an extraordinary performance in the
lead role, and ‘Arcadia’, the 6.1 play with a very strong cast. George May directed both plays, a feat of
considerable stamina and patience!
This term has seen the usual richness of musical performance. John Warner and Tom Bennett both gained
Performance diplomas, only the fourth and fifth boys to achieve that accolade while at Radley. Will Ford won a
Choral Scholarship to New College Oxford, and Lawrence Halksworth won a scholarship to the Royal College of
Music. A large number of boys achieved grade 8 with distinction in their public exams. Our leading musicians
performed very well in the Concerto Concert with a professional orchestra in February and the Choir continued to
sing to a high standard in Sunday Chapel. Term ended with an excellent Piano Extravaganza.
The Art department’s accommodation is straitened at the moment; the Sewell Gallery has been reduced to dust as
the ground is cleared ready for the erection of the new Art Galleries, History Department and social centre on the
site of the Old Gym. It will be a wonderful new building and will allow the artists to show case their work.
Radley prides itself on its Sport, and that in two regards. Firstly it is very satisfying to be able to provide our boys
with good coaching culminating in a chance to play for the school; on a Saturday we quite regularly put out 18
Hockey sides, and 11 Soccer sides. Add to that the rowing eights who compete this term at the Heads of the River,
up to 10 crews, and all our minor sports teams nearly 500 boys will be participating for the school. Further
grounds for satisfaction rest in the quality of our sides; Radley remains a notable scalp for other schools which
seems to raise their collective games when they play us. For our first teams this is a considerable pressure. Yet the
record of the 1 st XI Hockey, for example, shows how well they manage that. They have played exhilarating
Hockey, scoring heavily, losing only once and putting leading Hockey schools to the sword under an inspirational
Captain, Hamish Miller. The 1 st XI Soccer showed resilience after a slow start to reach the final of the LB Trophy
for Southern Independent schools where they will meet Loughborough GS in April. They retained the Barker
Trophy having won the league involving all our major competitors.
A promising Colts 1 st XI Hockey just missed out on winning their league, but a number of other sides (2 nd XI, 4 th
XI and Midgets 3, 4 and 5) triumphed. On the river, the Schools Head showed that our crews continue to make
progress in narrowing the gap with three term rowing schools and I am sure that the participation of two ORs,
Justin Webb (Isis) and Ed Bosson (who coxes the Cambridge blue boat) will prove an inspiration on Boat Race
day.
Our Rackets and Real Tennis players have also had a good season. At the National Schools Real Tennis
Championships, the Radley pairs contested the final, Hamish Miller and Ben Boddington beating Ben Robinson
and George Buckley. At home in the pool we saw two school records broken: Hugo Zeal set a time of 60.66
seconds for the senior 100m freestyle and the U16 quartet of Louis à Brassard, Oscar Perry, Guy Walker and
Charlie Elwes broke the 4 x 50m medley record. Last, but by no means least, the golf team of Tom Beasley,
Johnny Wright, Keith Seward, Robin Eliot and Charlie Bailey won the West of England Schools Trophy, our first
win at Burnham since 2004.
The weather forecasters are bullish and Liz joins me in wishing you a very happy Easter break.