Festival 175 Brochure

Schedule of Events

Sunday 26th June

Beagles Puppy Show

Warden's Play: Donkeys' Years

Picnic in the Park with Mary Berry

BBC Big Band and Claire Martin

Monday 27th June

Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt

Dr George McGavin

Professor Frank Close OBE

Dr Melanie Britton

Warden's Play: Donkeys' Years

Professor Victoria Nash

Professor Lucie Green

Dr Nick Hawes

Sir Charles Burrell

Art Private View: End of Year Show

Jonathan Black

An Evening with Jamie Laing

Tuesday 28th June

Leavers' Recital: Joshua Thompson

Organ Recital: Henry Morris

Africa Brooke

The Good, The Bad & The Rugby Live

Wednesday 29th June

Prof. Carl Gombrich & Dr Amelia Peterson

Gina Miller

Professor Emma Smith

Dr Charlie Lee-Potter

Music Scholars Recital

A Celebration of Stephen Sondheim

Archie Manners

Thursday 30th June

Recital: Tom Way

Bands & DJs Night

Sunday 26th June | 5pm | College Pond

Picnic in the Park with Dame Mary Berry

Pack your hampers and foldable chairs, and join us to launch Festival 175 with the star of the Great British Bake Off and national treasure, Dame Mary Berry. Dame Mary will judge a Radley College Bake Off competition and cakes will be on sale in aid of local charities.

Guests should bring their own food, but there will be an ice cream van, cash bar and live music from Radley boys

Sunday 26th June | 3pm | Mansion

Beagles Puppy Show

The Beagles Puppy Show is a highlight of the College calendar. Come along and see the Radley College Beagles put through their paces. It promises to be a great afternoon out

Sunday 26th June | 4:30pm | Chapel Quad

Donkeys' Years

John Moule, Warden of Radley College, and James Sheldrake direct Michael Frayn’s Donkeys’ Years Six former students spend the weekend at their old university college. A series of unfortunate events provides the backdrop for a classic bedroom farce

Donkeys’ Years will also be staged on Saturday 25th June at 7:45pm and Monday 27th June at 1:30pm

Sunday 26th June | 7pm | Festival Stage

BBC Big Band with Claire Martin OBE

We are delighted to welcome the BBC Big Band to Radley Widely regarded as one of Europe's finest big bands, they will join forces with the internationally renowned jazz singer, Claire Martin OBE for an evening of music that we'll never forget.

The Radley College Big Band will perform a short set at 7pm, before the BBC Big Band take to the stage at 8pm. Guests are welcome to stay in the grounds after the Picnic in the Park event. Seats are available on a first come first served basis.

"Claire Martin is easily the best British singer of her generation." The Times

Claire Martin OBE

Science and Technology

Monday 27th June | 9:30am | Festival Stage

Sir Nigel Shadbolt

The Contemporary Impact of AI

Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt is a leading researcher in Artificial Intelligence (AI). He is Principal of Jesus College and a Professor of Computing Science at the University of Oxford.

Monday 27th June | 9:30am | Silk Hall

Dr George McGavin

All Creatures Small and Great: How Insects Make the World Work

Dr George McGavin is one of the UK’s foremost entomologists and leading authorities on the natural world, an author, explorer and TV presenter.

Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt

Science and Technology

Monday 27th June | 11am | Festival Stage

Professor Frank Close OBE

How Peter Higgs found the answer to life the universe and almost everything

Frank Close OBE is Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Exeter College. He was formerly Vice President of the British Association for Advancement of Science, Head of the Theoretical Physics Division at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and Head of Communications and Public Education at CERN.

Monday 27th June | 11am | Silk Hall

Dr Melanie Britton

The Future of Rechargeable Batteries

Melanie is Senior Lecturer in Physical Chemistry at Birmingham University. She has over 15 years experience of developing MRI and pulsed field gradient experiments to probe chemistry and molecular motion in complex systems.

Monday 27th June | 3pm | Silk Hall

Professor Lucie Green

A Journey to the Centre of the Sun

Lucie Green is a Professor of Physics and a Royal Society University Research Fellow based at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, UCL’s Department of Space and Climate Physics. She is a renowned science communicator.

Dr George McGavin

Monday 27th June | 3pm | Festival Stage

Professor Victoria Nash

Children and the Internet: A Digital Dilemma

Victoria Nash is the Director, an Associate Professor, and Senior Policy Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII). She holds several digital policy advisory roles, including membership of the UK Government’s Council on Internet Safety (UKCIS) Evidence Group. She is frequently called on to give expert evidence in UK and EU policy consultations.

Monday 27th June | 4:15pm | Festival Stage

Dr Nick Hawes, Oxford Robotics

An Uncertain Mission: Robots & AI

Nick Hawes completed a PhD (2004) in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Birmingham before completing post-doctoral positions at MIT's Media Lab Europe in Dublin, and in the School of Computer Science at the University of Birmingham. He joined the Oxford Robotics Institute as Associate Professor and Pembroke College as a Tutorial Fellow in 2017.

Monday 27th June | 4:15pm | Silk Hall

Sir Charles Burrell

The Knepp Estate: A Rewilding Journey

Charlie Burrell inherited Knepp Castle Estate in 1983. Today, 3,500 acres of Knepp are devoted to a rewilding project involving free roaming herds of cattle, horses, pigs and deer as drivers of habitat creation. Knepp received a People Environment Achievement award for Nature in 2015 and, in 2017, the Anders Wall award for contribution to the rural environment within the European Union.

Professor Lucie Green

Monday 27th June | 8pm | Festival Stage

An Evening with Jamie Laing

Old Radleian Jamie Laing has become one of TV's brightest stars. After rising to prominence on Made in Chelsea, he has appeared on Celebrity Hunted, The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off, 8 Out of 10 Cats and Strictly Come Dancing, where he finished as a runner up. He hosts two popular podcats: Private Parts and 6 Degrees alongside Spencer Matthews.

Jamie launched his own sweets company in 2012, Candy Kittens Now a fully vegan brand, Candy Kittens are stocked in most of the UK's leading supermarkets. He has also invested in a number of start-ups and is a social media superstar. Jamie will tell stories from his time at school, share anecdotes from his bachelor years on Made in Chelsea and talk about his future plans. Jamie will be happy to answer audience questions too. It promises to be an unforgettable night

Monday 27th June | 6pm | Sewell Centre

Private View: End of Year Show

The End of Year Show at the Sewell Centre Gallery is the highlight of the Radley College Art Department's year.

Monday 27th June | 6pm | SLT

Jonathan Black

Jonathan Black has been Director of the Careers Service at the University of Oxford since 2008 after a varied career including in management consultancy, publishing, and co-founding a successful medical publishing start up. Jonathan writes the fortnightly, Dear Jonathan column for readers’ careers questions in the Financial Times

Jonathan Black

Tuesday 28th June | 6pm | Coffee Shop

Africa Brooke

Africa Brooke is a consultant, coach, strategist, and speaker who helps public figures, entrepreneurs, teams, and individuals with personal or professional challenges related to self-censorship and self-sabotage. Africa will explore the role of cancel culture and wokeism in modern society.

Africa Brooke

Tuesday 28th June | 8pm | Festival Stage

The Good, The Bad and The Rugby: Live

Rugby fans, it’s time to get lined up as England heroes James Haskell and Mike Tindall come to Festival 175 with the world’s most popular rugby podcast – The Good, The Bad and The Rugby.

Joining James and Mike for The Good, The Bad And The Rugby: Live will be their co-host, former Sky Sports’ rugby presenter Alex Payne. The trio will take to the stage to recreate the trademark banter they have on air, as The Good (Alex), The Bad (James) and The Rugby (Mike) share tales from on and off the pitch for what promises to be a night filled with surprises and laughter.

Alex Payne, James Haskell and Mike Tindall

Humanities & The Arts

Wednesday 29th June | 8:45am | Theatre

Professor Nigel Biggar CBE

Decolonisation: what it is, why it matters, what’s wrong with it and what should be done about it

Professor Nigel Biggar CBE is the Regius Professor of moral and pastoral theology at the University of Oxford, where he also directs the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Life. He previously held the Chair of Theology at the University of Leeds; and Chair of Theology and Ethics at Trinity College Dublin.

Wednesday 29th June | 10am | Theatre

Wednesday 29th June | 8:45am | Festival Stage

Sir Anthony Seldon

From Boris to Walpole: Our good, bad and ugly prime ministers

Sir Anthony Seldon is a leading authority on contemporary British history and education. He was formerly Master of Wellington College and Vice Chancellor of the University of Buckingham. He is author or editor of over 40 books on contemporary history, politics and education and is the author on, and honorary historical advisor to, Downing Street.

Professor Carl Gombrich and Dr Amelia Peterson

The Future: Interdisciplary Education

Carl Gombrich is an interdisciplinary educator, academic, former opera singer and co-founder of the London Interdisciplinary School. Dr Amelia Peterson is a social scientist with a background in policy and consulting. Amelia studies education reforms and their relationship to social, geographic and labour market inequalities.

Sir Anthony Seldon

Francis Hoar and Benjamin Butterworth

The State of the Nation: A Debate

The lawyer Francis Hoar came to public prominence when he acted for the claimant in the judicial review challenging the lawfulness of the original COVID-19 lockdown. He has acted in judicial reviews of regulations imposing travel regulations and the lawfulness of child vaccination. Benjamin Butterworth is a journalist and political commentator who was previously Chair of Young Labour in London. He is a Senior Reporter and Late Editor for the i, and has also written for The Guardian and The Washington Post.

Wednesday 29th June | 11:15am | Stage

Gina Miller

In Conversation

Entrepreneur Gina Miller rose to prominence when she challenged the government over its authority to trigger article 50 without parliamentary approval. The supreme court ruled in her favour. In September 2021, she launched the True and Fair Party.

Wednesday 29th June | 11:15am | Theatre

Professor Emma Smith

Shakespeare's relevance today

Emma Smith is Professor of Shakespeare Studies at the University of Oxford and a Tutorial Fellow at Hertford College. She has written for publications across the world, and has acted as a consultant to various television and radio programmes.

Wednesday 29th June | 1:30pm

Dr Charlie Lee-Potter

The evolution of the novel

Charlie is a writer, broadcaster and academic. Her Reportage and the Evolution of the Novel, was shortlisted for the University English Book Prize.

Dr Charlie Lee-Potter

Gina Miller

Wednesday 29th June | 6pm | Bigside

College BBQ

A highlight of the College calendar for boys and staff. Please note, this event is for Radley College students only.

Wednesday 29th June | 7:30pm | Festival Stage

A Celebration of Stephen Sondheim

Join the cast of our production of Sweeney Todd, guest performers and Radley College staff for this intimate exploration of song featuring music from Sondheim’s major works as well as his lesser-known shows including Sunday In The Park With George, Company, Merrily We Roll Along, Into The Woods, A Little Night Music and Saturday Night.

Wednesday 29th June | 9pm | Festival Stage

Archie Manners

Old Radleian Archie Manners is a Youtube Creator, Magician and TV Presenter. He created some of the most successful viral content in recent years – from flying Katie Hopkins to Prague to collect a fake award to tricking Tiger King’s Carole Baskin into giving her first ever broadcast interview. Join us to watch Archie perform spellbinding magic tricks and share stories from his life in the spotlight.

Archie Manners

Thursday 30th June | 7:30pm | Festival Stage

Kabantu

Reinventing global sounds, throwing away the rulebook. Kabantu is a collective from Manchester who unravel new marriages of music from around the globe to celebrate the space where different cultures collaborate.

They have performed at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, live sessions for BBC Free Thinking Festival, BBC Radio 3 In Tune, World on 3, a TedX Talk to a sold out Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and an array of prestigious festivals and venues across the UK including Cadogan Hall, The Sage Gateshead, St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, Orkney Folk Festival, Aldeburgh Music, Celtic Connections, Musicport, Spitalfields Festival and Cambridge Folk Festival

Kabantu join us as part of their second album tour. They will be working alongside primary school children from Abingdon and Blackbird Leys as part of their visit

Thursday 30th June | 9pm | Festival Stage

Radley Bands & DJs

We're ending Festival 175 in style with Radley College bands and DJs taking to our Festival Stage for a party long into the night. Pull on your dancing shoes and join us for an unforgettable finale.

Friday 1st July | 9am | Various Venues

Inter-Social Sport

An Inter-Social Sports Day for Radley College students