INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS INSPECTORATE - Radley College

Radley College 5
Pupils’ Learning and Achievements
2.12 Pupils’ learning and achievements are excellent. Pupils gain wide knowledge, skills and
understanding of the many subjects and activities provided. In the course of their education,
they are able to develop these effectively to provide the essential skills and attitudes for work
and study at high levels. The college’s aim that boys will leave having learnt what it is to
work hard and also how to learn is clearly met, and academic achievement has further
improved since the last inspection.
2.13 Pupils show a high degree of critical and creative thinking. The depth of discussion in many
lessons, the abundance of high quality artwork and design technology (DT) on display
around the campus, and the first class musical and drama performances are all testament to
this.
2.14 Pupils’ numeracy skills are well developed and they apply mathematics and mathematical
concepts very well. This was observed, not only in mathematics lessons but also, for
example, in geography coursework in Year 11 involving a high standard of graph work and
statistical analysis.
2.15 Likewise, boys have significant literacy skills, seen in the well-constructed and articulate
prose produced across the age range. Boys express themselves confidently both in the
written and spoken word. The latter skill was a hallmark of lessons observed, such as the
Year 13 history lesson where pupils were discussing the military and political issues which
lay behind the actions of British politicians in the 1930s, when faced with the rise of the
Third Reich.
2.16 ICT is an integral part of life at Radley and boys use it widely. They use it to access learning
materials, to send work to dons and to enhance the presentation of their projects and
coursework. Computer aided design is introduced in Year 9 DT and the boys are keen to
exploit the possibilities it offers them. One Year 10 pupil was proud to show his birdhouse
design developed using specialist software. Boys design and give digital presentations in
class, as in a Year 11 geography lesson on global energy issues.
2.17 No differences in relative attainment between different groups of pupils were observed and
all subjects achieve excellent results. Indeed, boys who attained relatively low scores on
entrance to the college went on to achieve grades in the highest band at A level in the
Summer of 2007.
2.18 Results reflect consistent progress at GCSE and A level. Pupils’ attainment in GCSE and at
A level is high in relation to their abilities. During the last three years for which national
comparative data was available at the time of the inspection, results at both levels were far
above the average for all maintained schools and well above the average for maintained
selective schools. The most recent results in 2007 were of a similar standard. Nationally
standardised measures show that progress from Year 9 to Year 13 is well above national
norms.
2.19 As well as these notable examination achievements, there are numerous other individual and
team successes. An observational pencil portrait was selected from thousands of entries for
exhibition at Tate Modern. A gold medal was won in the national physics Olympiad. The
engineering education scheme pupil team solved an engineering problem posed by RAF
Benson; it has since been adopted in the RAF’s Puma helicopter fleet. A number of army
and gliding scholarships have been awarded. The 1 st XI hockey team was unbeaten in 2007
and rowing continues to flourish. Success in music and drama is strong. During the
inspection, as one of a series of ‘coffee concerts’, a sixth form pianist took to the platform,